Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16506 on Israel Defence Forces, whether (a) UK-Israel military cooperation and (b) the sale of arms was discussed during the meeting between the Chief of the Defence Staff and his Israeli counterparts on 25 November 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The topics mentioned in the hon. Member's question were not raised during the meeting between Lieutenant General Halevi and the Chief of the Defence Staff on 25 November.
In terms of the subject of discussions, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 27 November 2024, to Question 16506.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he met the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces during his visit to the UK in November 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As part of the concerted UK effort, along with allies and partners, to reach a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza, the Chief of the Defence Staff hosted his counterparts from Israel and other international partners on Monday 25 November. The Secretary of State did not meet with Lieutenant General Halevi.
Discussions recognised Israel’s right to security, as well as including the UK calls for an immediate ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza, the need for greater humanitarian access into Gaza, the release of all hostages, and the requirement for all parties to comply with international humanitarian law.
We continue to work with international partners to encourage de-escalation and promote long-term peace and security in the Middle East.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the impact of the cyber attack against Capita in March 2023 on the security of civil servants' pensions data.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Integrity and Security of the Civil Service pension scheme is a matter for the Cabinet Office as the lead Department for the scheme. Any assessment of the impact of the reported Capita data breach on the security of civil servant pension data is a matter for the Cabinet Office and should be directed to them.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress his Department has made on processing applications under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy for former employees of Crown Agents and their families who remained in Afghanistan.
Answered by James Heappey
Since April 2021 we have relocated over 11,000 ARAP eligible individuals and their families to safety in the UK. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these figures by job role or specific organisations.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress the Government has made on applications under all four categories of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Programme.
Answered by James Heappey
Of the estimated 16,500 ARAP eligible individuals to which we owe debt of grattitude, we have relocated 11,437 individuals. This figure includes principals and dependants. Data fidelity does not allow for this figure to be broken down by ARAP categories or professions.
We continue to receive a high number of applications, however the majority of these are duplicates or are ineligible. We are now actively processing and issuing decisions on more applications per month than we are receiving, allowing us to make progress on clearing the backlog.
Our primary focus is on identifying and relocating the estimated remaining 5,300 eligible individuals, using HMG employment records to target our efforts. Significant progress has been made to accelerate the process in recent months, including additional Defence resource being made available and an enhanced casework system.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil service jobs (a) his Department and (b) its agencies had located in Scotland in (i) March 2011 and (ii) in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Leo Docherty
As at March 2011 there were 5,550 Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian jobs located in Scotland.
The latest published figures confirm that as at 1 April 2020 there were 3,970 MOD civilian jobs located in Scotland.
The figures are full time equivalent and are based on the personnel station location. The March 2011 data includes c104 Meteorological Office personnel. However, as the Meteorological Office has since ceased to be a part of MOD, these are not included in the April 2020 data.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the gender balance is of full-time permanent contract staff in his Department.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
As at 1 October 2020, there were 19,620 male and 13,037 female full-time civilian staff employed on a permanent contract by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The most recent publication for the MOD Diversity Dashboard can be found on the Gov.uk website, at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-diversity-dashboard-index
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the gender balance is of temporary contract staff in his Department.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
As of 31 December 2020, the Ministry of Defence including Defence Equipment & Support but excluding Trading Funds and Agencies, directly employed 245 female, 1,082 male and 86 undisclosed gender civilian staff on a temporary contract .
The gender balance of individual consultants and contractors employed through wider service contracts is not centrally held.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women in his Department have participated in the Crossing Thresholds programme since 2018.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
Since 2018, 158 women in the Ministry of Defence have participated, or are participating, in the Crossing Thresholds programme. The Positive Action Pathway is currently being redesigned by Civil Service Learning and is no longer running; however, 134 civilian staff took part in the scheme from when it began in 2018 until it was suspended for redesign.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian staff in his Department have taken part in the Positive Action Pathway scheme since 2018.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
Since its inception in 2018, 158 women in the Ministry of Defence have participated, or are participating, in the Crossing Thresholds programme. The Positive Action Pathway is currently being redesigned by Civil Service Learning and is no longer running; however, 134 civilian staff took part in the scheme from when it began in 2018 until it was suspended for redesign.