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 (a) number and (b) proportion of staff employed by his Department who are in receipt of universal credit; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The number and proportion of staff employed by the Ministry of Defence in receipt of universal credit is not held. The Department does not record or collate information on staff in receipt of universal credit as standard.
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 has been made on procuring fleet support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; 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 given to him by my hon. Friend the then Minister for Defence Procurement (Guto Bebb) on 9 July 2018 to Question 906314 and on 19 June 2018 to Question 152792 from the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman).
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 his Department has made on procuring 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)
The Ministry of Defence took the decision to stop the procurement of the Type 31e Frigate because we had not received sufficient compliant bids for the Competitive Design Phase. The market was formally notified on 20 July 2018.
We communicated our plans for the first stage of the new procurement on 13 August 2018 by issuing a Prior Information Notice (PIN). This PIN invited potential suppliers to a short period of early market engagement to allow us to share with industry key elements of the new procurement, including technical and commercial information. The outcome of this market engagement will inform the next steps of the new procurement process.
There has been no change in our plan to procure a first batch of five new Type 31e Frigates for £1.25 billion.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to restrict the competition of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships being procured to UK-only bidders; 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 given to him by my hon. Friend the then Minister for Defence Procurement (Guto Bebb) on 9 July 2018 to Question 906314 and on 19 June 2018 to Question 152792 from the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman).
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 assessment he has made of the effect of investment in land equipment programmes on the Scottish defence industry.
Answered by Guto Bebb
The Defence Industry in Scotland continues to play an important role in delivering cutting-edge capabilities for our Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes regional expenditure statistics, although these are not broken down by defence programme. In 2016-17, the MOD spent £1.592 billion with UK Industry and commerce in Scotland, sustaining 10,500 jobs. Further details can be found at the link below:
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 (a) armament and (b) sensors are planned to be included in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fleet support ships which are currently being tendered; what combat systems will be used to control those armament and sensors; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Guto Bebb
The programme to deliver the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Fleet Solid Support ships is in the Assessment Phase. We expect that the ships will be provided with a limited range of weapons and sensors for self-protection, most likely to include small arms, and close range guns such as Phalanx. The exact equipment provision has not yet been finalised but will remain consistent with the defensive measures provided to RFA vessels.
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 (a) armament and (b) sensors are planned to be included in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fleet support ships which are currently being tendered; what combat systems will be used to control those armament and sensors; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Guto Bebb
The programme to deliver the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Fleet Solid Support ships is in the Assessment Phase. We expect that the ships will be provided with a limited range of weapons and sensors for self-protection, most likely to include small arms, and close range guns such as Phalanx. The exact equipment provision has not yet been finalised but will remain consistent with the defensive measures provided to RFA vessels.
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 his Department has made on procuring fleet support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Guto Bebb
The Fleet Solid Support ships are being procured through international competition. The project began a four-year assessment phase in April 2016 and has recently completed a period of market engagement with UK and international shipbuilders.
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 his Department has made on procuring Type 31e frigates; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Guto Bebb
The programme to procure the Type 31e Frigate was launched in September 2017 and since then we have been engaged with potential suppliers to understand the market place and assess industry's ability to deliver.
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 anti-submarine warfare capability he plans to include on the Type 31e General Purpose Frigate; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are currently considering a range of capability requirements based on the role of the Type 31e, their operating environment and likely future threats that will be faced. Final decisions on Type 31e capabilities will be made closer to the Main Investment Decision point.