Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on the procurement of new land platforms (a) MRVP and (b) MIV; and if he will make a statement
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Multi-Role Vehicle - Protected programme is being delivered in two packages. The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) has been identified as the preferred option for Package 1, Command, Liaison and Logistic Vehicles, procured through a Foreign Military Sales case. A decision on the procurement of JLTV is due in 2020. For Package 2, Troop Carrying Vehicles and Future Protected Battlefield Ambulances, the competition is ongoing. Subject to the conclusion of current negotiations and internal approvals, the competition winner is planned to be on contract early in 2020.
The Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) programme is now in the Assessment Phase and progress is developing, as internal assessment of the case is undertaken.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether bidders participating in the procurement process for fleet support ships are required to provide carrier strike group 21 capabilities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 April 2019, to Question 241496.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the procurement of Type 31e frigates, what weighting his Department has put on firms bidding for contracts that will sourcing (a) products and (b) materials from the UK supply chain; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Supply chain development is an important consideration in evaluating bidders' proposals in the Type 31e competition. Bidders are incentivised to demonstrate how they intend to strengthen the UK supply chain through increased security of supply, supply chain capability development and the mitigation of supply chain vulnerabilities. I cannot discuss specific criteria or their weighting at this time as to do so would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether bidders participating in the procurement process for fleet support ships are required to provide (a) carrier strike group 22, (b) carrier strike and (c) carrier-enabled power projection capabilities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Fleet Solid Support ships will not directly provide a carrier strike or carrier-enabled power projection capability but will facilitate these through the delivery of food, stores and ordnance to the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. Bidders for the main design and build contract are not required to provide any specific carrier strike capability.
All sensitive equipment that would be used in the support of carrier strike operations will be subject to a separate UK-only competition after main contract award.
The term Carrier Strike Group 22 is not recognised.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what weighting has been put on exportability of the platform in the assessment criteria for the procurement of Type 31e frigates; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Exportability is an essential facet of the bid assessment for the Type 31e frigates. It is taken into account in both the Exportability and Adaptability evaluation criteria. I cannot discuss specific criteria or their weightings at this time as to do so would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence but can assure the hon. Member that the exportability of bidders' designs is positively valued.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on procuring (a) type 31e frigates and (b) fleet support ships; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There has been no change to our plans. On Type 31e, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Defence (the Rt Hon the Earl Howe), on 6 March 2019 (Official Report, Col. 608) in the House of Lords. On Fleet Solid Support procurement, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 March 2019 to Question 234164 to the hon. Member for Clwyd South (Ms Jones).
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The number of staff employed in the Department on the dates requested are shown below.
20 December 2018
Military Strength | 196,120 |
Civilian Employees | 47,940 |
Total | 244,060 |
23 June 2016
Military Strength | 201,350 |
Civilian | 46,410 |
Total | 247,760 |
The military figures include both trained and untrained Service personnel, Ghurkhas
and the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.
All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias.
Totals have been rounded separately and therefore may not equal the sum of their rounded parts.
- zero or rounded to zero
The civilian figures are MOD Main personnel, including DE&S. Personnel from DSTL, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, other agencies and arm’s length bodies are not included.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the additional staff required by his Department in the event that the UK leaves the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence currently has a central team who deal exclusively with Defence issues relating to the UK's decision to leave the EU. The central team draws on a wide network of subject matter experts across all relevant business areas within Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defence currently estimates that it does not need to recruit any additional staff if the UK leaves the EU with or without a deal, and will continually review workforce plans and reprioritise as necessary.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on the procurement of new land platforms (a) MRVP and (b) MIV; and if he will make a statement
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Multi-Role Vehicle - Protected programme is being delivered in two packages. For Package 1, Command, Liaison and Logistic vehicle, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, manufactured by Oshkosh, has been identified as the preferred option. No final decision has yet been made. For Package 2, Troop Carrying Vehicle and Future Protected Battlefield Ambulances, a competition is on-going and a decision is anticipated in 2019.
The Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme is in the assessment phase, concluding in 2019, with the Ministry of Defence taking forward negotiations via the Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) to look at options to purchase the vehicles.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what consultations his Department has conducted on the proposed outsourcing of veteran services; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing high quality services to our veterans and their families and we are continually looking for ways to improve these services. The Future Service Delivery Contract (FSDC) competition was launched on 6 April 2018 to re-compete the currently outsourced contract for the delivery of military pay, pensions and administration of personnel records which expires in November 2019.
Included in the scope of the project is the market testing of some areas that are not currently outsourced, including some elements of veterans services; the Armed Forces Compensation Schemes and the War Pensions Schemes (and their associated support services). Their inclusion for market testing in no way indicates that the outcome will be the addition of these services to the already outsourced contract. However, we owe it to taxpayers and our serving military and veterans to explore whether the market can deliver increased value for money and more up to date digital enhancements to improve the efficiency and quality of the services. We also need to be sure that the current in-house delivery is still providing the best value and quality for Defence.
The FSDC Project has regularly engaged with Trades Unions and stakeholders across Defence. Formal TU Consultation will take place at the appropriate time, should the market testing show that an external provider could provide better value for money.