Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the July 2018 Dunne Report findings on the disparity in defence spending across the UK.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 June 2020 to Questions 64207 and 64208.
Informed by the Dunne Review and our own refreshed Industrial Policy, the Defence Prosperity Programme announced on 5 March 2019 aims to grow our contribution to the economy, including through sustaining an internationally competitive and productive UK Defence sector.
Activity underway includes a pilot with Invest Northern Ireland on a Defence Technology Exploitation Programme to help SMEs develop stronger links and new routes to market through primes and upper tier companies across the UK.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of his Department's procurement budget has been spent in Northern Ireland in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) regularly publishes expenditure with UK industry, broken down by both region and industry group.
The latest bulletin on MOD regional expenditure can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201819
For Northern Ireland, MOD expenditure over the last five financial years is detailed in the table below.
Financial Year | Expenditure (£ million) |
2014-15 | 123 |
2015-16 | 103 |
2016-17 | 107 |
2017-18 | 110 |
2018-19 | 117 |
The figures in this table have been rounded to the nearest £1 million and adjusted for inflation using HM Treasury Gross Domestic Product deflators (September 2019).
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on procurement in each UK region, in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) regularly publishes expenditure with UK industry, broken down by both region and industry group.
The latest bulletin on MOD regional expenditure can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201819
For Northern Ireland, MOD expenditure over the last five financial years is detailed in the table below.
Financial Year | Expenditure (£ million) |
2014-15 | 123 |
2015-16 | 103 |
2016-17 | 107 |
2017-18 | 110 |
2018-19 | 117 |
The figures in this table have been rounded to the nearest £1 million and adjusted for inflation using HM Treasury Gross Domestic Product deflators (September 2019).
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to ensure his Department's budget on procurement is spent equitably throughout the UK.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to ensuring that its procurement and contract award processes obtain the best commercial outcome for the taxpayer. We do this in a way that looks to strengthen UK economy and prosperity, where it is relevant to what is being procured and is fair and non-discriminatory.
To maximise UK economic benefits from defence procurement, the MOD uses the Treasury's Green Book framework. As required in that policy, our spending and investment decisions are appraised on the basis of costs and benefits to UK society overall, irrespective of the location of the expenditure.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the funding allocated by Government Research & Development investment to each programme in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Ministry of Defence Research and Development expenditure from 2007-19 is available from the Office for National Statistics Dataset for Research and development expenditure by the UK Government.
The report can be found using the following link:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/researchanddevelopmentexpenditure/datasets/scienceengineeringandtechnologystatisticsreferencetables
The figures are contained in the table below:
MOD Research and Development Expenditure 2007-19
Total Net Expenditure (£ million) at current Prices | |||
Year | Research | Development | Total |
2007-08 | 635 | 1,505 | 2,139 |
2008-09 | 584 | 1,406 | 1,991 |
2009-10 | 575 | 1,177 | 1,752 |
2010-11 | 534 | 1,159 | 1,693 |
2011-12 | 553 | 753 | 1,306 |
2012-13 | 565 | 895 | 1,460 |
2013-14 | 586 | 931 | 1,516 |
2014-15 | 616 | 1,088 | 1,704 |
2015-16 | 604 | 1,032 | 1,636 |
2016-17 | 605 | 1,018 | 1,623 |
2017-18 | 553 | 1,081 | 1,634 |
2018-19 | 546 | 1,101 | 1,647 |
Note: R&D expenditure meets the Frascati international definition of R&D.
Research and Development expenditure often covers multiple programme areas and therefore MOD cannot breakdown expenditure at programme level.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of British armed forces dress and combat uniforms are produced in (a) the UK, (b) China and (c) other countries.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence has a number of contracts for clothing with UK and international suppliers. However, details of the quantities and location of where British Armed Forces dress and combat uniforms are produced are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the 77th Brigade has been deployed as part of the response to the covid-19 outbreak in the UK.
Answered by James Heappey
A team from the Ministry of Defence, including members of the Army's 77th Brigade, is currently supporting the UK Government's Rapid Response Unit in the Cabinet Office and are working to counter dis/misinformation about COVID-19. Additionally, 77th Brigade planners, including from the Brigade's Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps, have also deployed as part of Defence's wider support to the Government's response to this national emergency.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Military Aid to Civil Authority (MACA) requests have been made to his Department from Northern Ireland; and how many have been approved.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence has received four Military Aid to Civil Authority (MACA) requests from Northern Ireland for support during the COVID-19 outbreak. Three were approved and one was not undertaken because a commercial alternative was identified.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when procurement on Fleet Solid Support Ships will recommence.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence People and Veterans (Johnny Mercer) to the right hon. Member for North Durham (Kevan Jones) on 27 February 2020 in response to Question 19771.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the renewed procurement for Fleet Solid Support Ships will be open to international competition.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence People and Veterans (Johnny Mercer) to the right hon. Member for North Durham (Kevan Jones) on 27 February 2020 in response to Question 19771.