Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost differential of powering RAF flights by sustainable fuel compared with traditional fuel.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
While the RAF conducted a test flight on 15 November 2022 using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel, we have made no estimate of the cost differential for all RAF flights to use such fuel as it is not available at scale and is not yet manufactured in industrial quantities.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with aircraft manufactures about the safe use of (a) sustainable and (b) synthetic fuels in the RAF.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has discussed the use of sustainable and synthetic fuels in air platforms over a number of years. These discussions enabled the Royal Air Force (RAF) to fly the UK's first military air transport flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel on one of their operational Voyager aircraft. This was a joint endeavour between the MOD and industry partners, Airbus, AirTanker and Rolls-Royce, with the fuel supplied by Air BP.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Minister for Veterans or anyone nominated on his behalf has plans to meet with (a) former military personnel and (b) representatives of the Justice 4 Veterans group, to discuss issues of concern to those groups; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
There are no plans to meet with Justice4Veterans. It has long been accepted by the UK Government that some veterans developed disabling non-specific symptoms on their return from the Gulf. Extensive international research has failed to establish a discrete underlying disorder or causal factors. Any veteran of the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict who believes their health has been adversely affected by their Service can apply for compensation under the War Pension Scheme, which covers any injury, illness, or death caused by Service before 6 April 2005.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many unoccupied properties owned by his Department are located in (a) East Riding of Yorkshire and (b) Yorkshire.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I am interpreting your questions as referring to Service Family Accommodation (SFA) for which the Ministry of Defence (MOD) owns the freehold.
There are no unoccupied (void) SFA properties owned by the MOD located in the East Riding of Yorkshire and 56 unoccupied properties in Yorkshire.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to prevent vexatious lawsuits being brought against British servicemen.
Answered by Mike Penning
This Government is committed to putting a stop to ill-founded claims against our service personnel resulting from military operations overseas. We recently announced our presumption to derogate from the relevant Articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in future conflicts, whenever the conditions for doing so are met. Derogation will help to protect our military personnel from opportunistic ECHR-based legal claims, which will support them in taking difficult decisions on the battlefield. This will enable us to spend more of our growing defence budget on Service personnel rather than fees for lawyers. We will announce further measures in due course.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when a British frigate or destroyer was last assigned to protect the Falkland Islands; whether there has been any change in his Department's policy on the provision of such protection: and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South) duty provides a tangible presence in the South Atlantic, maintaining a commitment to provide support and reassurance to British Overseas Territories in the region, including the Falkland Islands.
The last frigate or destroyer in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands was the Type 23 frigate HMS LANCASTER; she completed this task in early December 2015.
There has been no change to our policy. We continually review our security posture in the Falkland Islands, which remain defended by a range of military assets including the patrol vessel HMS CLYDE, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship and around 1,200 UK personnel operating Royal Air Force Typhoon jets, ground defences and supporting infrastructure. In addition, other Royal Navy ships would be retasked to the Falkland Islands if required.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received on British service personnel being served food which contains mould and maggots; and what monitoring his Department undertakes to ensure that all food served to such service personnel is of a satisfactory standard.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Department is aware of concerns that have been expressed in the media about the standard of food.
The Department has in place a number of safeguards to ensure a good quality of food. These include; contract monitoring, site visits, reviews, customer engagement and assurance by Single Service catering subject matter experts to improve on the service provided.
Any complaint over food can be raised through the chain of command or directly with the contractor by way of a complaints book.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what research his Department has conducted or reviewed into the effect of military naval sonar on the navigation of whales and other cetaceans since 2004.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence (MOD), together with NATO and other international partners, is actively involved in developing knowledge of the effect that use of military sonar has on the marine ecosystem. Since 2008 it has used the Environmental Risk Management Capability (ERMC), a Decision Support Tool that utilises the underpinning research conducted over the past 20 years.
The MOD continues to fund relevant research including behavioural effects, marine mammal distribution, and marine mammal mitigation capability. The MOD also maintains a robust independent review process that ensures that relevant science is reviewed against the current ERMC practice and, where necessary, implemented. This ongoing process is supported by leading independent marine science organisations and the Government's Joint Nature Conservation Committee.