Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to include the Northern Ireland Security Guard Service in the issuing of the Wider Service medal.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The guarding of military establishments in Northern Ireland by the Northern Ireland Security Guard Service is not activity that falls within scope of the eligibility criteria for the Wider Service Medal.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to respond to Question 5212 on Armed Forces: Health tabled by the hon. Member for East Londonderry on 5 December 2023; and if he will place a copy of his Answer in the library of the House.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I responded on 11 December 2023 to advise that it would take time to collate the requested information. I have now received advice from my officials that the information is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in this response.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Defence People and Families during the debate on Nuclear Test Veterans: Medical Records on 28 November 2023, Official Report, column 247WH, what his planned timetable is to decide on public release of the 150 Atomic Weapons Establishment files on Nuclear Test Veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I plan to visit the Atomic Weapons Establishment this month to personally review the information and consider its release into the public domain.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2023 to Question 6993 on Puma Helicopters, when does he expect delivery to (a) commence and (b) be completed.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As I outlined in my speech at the International Military Helicopters Conference earlier today, I am pleased to confirm that we have now launched the next stage of the New Medium Helicopter competition.
Industry's detailed responses to the Invitation to Negotiate will provide a clearer understanding of aspects, such as suppliers' production capacity, which will enable us to confirm the timelines for the programme, and we expect to proceed to contract award in 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with his NATO counterparts on increasing defence spending, in the context of further potential international conflict.
Answered by James Heappey
We are in a new era of global threats to the international order, most notably Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. The UK has led the conversation on defence spending at NATO, including at last year's Summit in Vilnius, where Leaders agreed a new Defence Investment Pledge to spend at least 2% GDP on defence, and to do so urgently.
The Government remains committed to spending at least 2% of GDP on defence, and the Prime Minister has set the aspiration to increase defence spending to 2.5%, when the economic and fiscal conditions allow. Now is the time for all Allied and democratic nations across the world to ensure their defence spending is growing.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) readiness of the Armed Forces in relation to the security of the Falkland Islands.
Answered by James Heappey
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question 9446 on 22 January 2024 to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell).
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with his NATO counterparts on the expansion of the number of enhanced opportunities partners since February 2022.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK Government engages regularly with NATO Allies and Partners. NATO currently has five Enhanced Opportunity Partners (EOPs), who make significant contributions to NATO operations and have enhanced opportunities for dialogue and cooperation with Allies. Any partner can request EOP status, which must then be agreed by all NATO Allies. Most recently, NATO recognised Ukraine as an EOP. No partner has requested EOP status in the interim.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he plans to have with his European counterparts on preparing for potential Russian aggression in Europe in the next five years.
Answered by James Heappey
The Secretary of State for Defence regularly holds discussions with our European allies, whether at NATO, through the Joint Expeditionary Force or bilaterally, on how we can ensure that we will continue to deter and defend against Russian aggression both in the short term and into the future.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions army bomb disposal units were called out in Northern Ireland in the period between 1 January 2023 and 1 July 2023.
Answered by James Heappey
Data for the period 1 January 2023 to 1 July 2023 can be found below:
Total Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) Tasks | Total Conventional Munition Disposal (CMD) Tasks |
92 | 16 |
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2024 to Question 6765, what steps he is taking to increase the number of countries participating the International Fund for Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
The Secretary of State, Ministers and officials engage frequently with international counterparts to ensure continued support and solidarity for Ukraine. This includes seeking additional contributions to a range of initiatives including the International Fund for Ukraine, the international group delivering Air Defence systems to Ukraine and the Maritime Capability Coalition.