Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of veterans who left the armed forces before 2018 have been issued with a Veteran's ID card.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Veterans' Recognition Scheme has a two-phase rollout. Phase one is complete; with all Service leavers since December 2018 automatically receiving a recognition card as part of the discharge process.
Phase two aims to extend access to the recognition card scheme to veterans who left their service before December 2018. The Government remains committed to delivering recognition cards to veterans and will begin issuing cards by the end of this year. The MOD is currently determining how best to achieve this, working with veterans and other stakeholders.
As phase two has not yet launched, no cards have been issued to any veterans who left Service prior to December 2018.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department will complete its assessment of the application numbered CRM: 0698000204 for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence continues to process ARAP applications at pace thanks to the recruitment of more caseworkers and improved systems and processes. In the first half of 2023, we have issued over 29,000 eligibility decisions and we aim to process all outstanding initial applications by August 2023.
If the hon. Member would like an update on a specific case, I will happily provide one via correspondence.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 56 of the Concluding Observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of the UK to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, published on 22 June 2023, what steps he plans to take in response to each of the recommendations in that paragraph; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces have no plans to raise the minimum age of recruitment. All recruitment into the UK military is voluntary and no young person under the age of 18 years may join our Armed Forces unless their application is accompanied by the formal written consent of their parent or guardian. We take the duty of care towards all recruits seriously, in particular those under 18 years of age. We have robust, effective and independently verified safeguards in place to ensure that under-18s are cared for properly.
Service personnel aged under 18 are not deployed on hostile operations outside the UK or on any operations where they could be exposed to hostilities. All new recruits, regardless of age, can discharge within their first three to six months of service.
Our policies on under-18s in Service comply with national and international law. In addition to the comprehensive welfare system that is in place for all Service personnel we remain fully committed to meeting our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and have taken steps to bestow special safeguards on young people under the age of 18.
The provision of education and training for 16-year-old school leavers provides a route into the Armed Forces that complies with Government education policy and offers a significant foundation for emotional, physical and educational development throughout an individual's career. All recruits aged under 18 receive key skills education in literacy and numeracy, should they need it, and all are enrolled in apprenticeships. The Armed Forces remain the UK's largest apprenticeship provider, equipping young people with valuable and transferable skills for life. Over 95% of all recruits, no matter what their age or prior qualifications, enrol in an apprenticeship each year. The Armed Forces offer courses in a wide range of skills, such as engineering, information and communications technology, construction, driving, and animal care. Ofsted regularly inspects our care of newly joined young recruits, and we are very proud of the standards we achieve.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of UK participation in the Trident II Service- Life Extension programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The United Kingdom (UK) approved participation in the United States (US) led Life Extension programme to enable Trident II D5 missiles to remain in service until at least the 2040s at a cost of £320.5 million. To maintain the shared inventory with the US, the UK additionally participates in other missile related programmes to sustain key components and extend the service life of the boost rocket motors at a cost of £140 million and £361 million respectively, taking the total cost to £821.5 million.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what was the cost to the public purse of the nuclear replacement warhead programme as of 26 June 2023.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The cost of the Replacement Warhead Programme up to 31 March 2022 (the last audited accounts) was £127 million.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of funding allocated to the defence nuclear enterprise in the spring budget 2023 his Department plans to allocate to (a) Atomic Weapons Establishment and (b) associated programmes.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The £3 billion uplift announced for the Defence Nuclear Enterprise in the Spring Statement now forms part of its overall funding allocation for the next two years. Funding will be managed routinely through the Department’s in year financial processes and allocated to nuclear projects in accordance with Departmental priorities.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length of service in the British Armed Forces was for personnel who departed the services in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Members question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what sum from the contingency fund set aside to support the Dreadnought programme had been spent at the most recent date for which data are available.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor (Alex Chalk) on 22 March 2023 to Question 168002 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey).
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to figure 3 of the report from the National Audit Office entitled The Defence Nuclear Enterprise: a landscape review, published on 22 May 2018, HC 1003, if he will publish a breakdown by programme of forecast expenditure for that Enterprise in 2023/24.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In collaboration with HM Treasury, the Ministry of Defence is in the process of establishing a definition of the nuclear enterprise for reporting purposes that will encompass the majority of the Ministry of Defence nuclear spend. This spend will form a separate line in the department’s Supply Estimates.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's estimated expenditure is for the defence nuclear enterprise (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of total departmental expenditure, in each year from 2023-24 to 2027-28.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 June 2023, to Question 189997.