Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2021 to Question 134251 on Military Aid: Coronavirus, what tasks members of the armed forces deployed to the NHS headquarters in Skipton House that are not involved in the vaccine rollout effort are conducting.
Answered by James Heappey
There are now five Armed Forces personnel deployed to Skipton House not involved in vaccine rollout tasks. Four of these are working as MOD Liaison Officers to NHS England, primarily assisting NHS National Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) with Military Assistance to Civil Authority (MACA) requests. There is also one officer on a 12-month placement to NHS England, working alongside NHS England Strategic Leadership.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2021 to Question 134251 on Military Aid: Coronavirus, what specific tasks members of the armed forces deployed to the NHS headquarters in Skipton House to assist with the rollout of the vaccine are conducting.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence has further increased its support to Skipton House, with 28 Service personnel now deployed to assist with the rollout of the vaccine. 26 of these personnel are supporting primarily the NHS Vaccine Delivery programme through operational and logistical planning assistance, and two military officers are providing Chief of Staff support to enhance coordination of vaccine procurement for Her Majesty's Government.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the armed forces are working at the NHS headquarters in Skipton House London (a) to assist with the rollout of the covid-19 vaccine and (b) in total.
Answered by James Heappey
The total number of Armed Forces personnel currently working at the NHS headquarters in Skipton House is 31. 27 of these are assisting with the rollout of the COVID 19 vaccine.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British armed forces personnel have been recruited from the British Overseas Territories in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Heappey
The requested information is provided in the following table:
Intake of UK Regulars, British Overseas Territory Citizens, for the last five Financial Years (FY)
FY | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 |
Intake | ~ | 10 | 10 | 10 | ~ |
Notes:
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Gurkhas are serving in the armed forces.
Answered by James Heappey
As at 1 October 2020, there were 3,740 Gurkhas serving in the Armed Forces. This is the latest available figure and can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-index
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of recruitment per recruit to the armed forces.
Answered by James Heappey
The most recent single Service estimates for the cost of recruitment per successful recruit can be found in the table below. These figures represent the costs incurred from application to commencement of basic training
Service | Cost per recruit | Financial Year |
Royal Navy | £13,407 | 2018-19 |
Army | £12,228 | 2018-19 |
Royal Air Force | £14,642 | 2019-20 |
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that British armed forces personnel residing in the UK receive a covid-19 vaccine as quickly as possible.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and other Government Departments to ensure that Armed Forces personnel residing in the UK receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the earliest practicable opportunity. Defence is being guided by JCVI guidance, ensuring individuals most at risk from complications of COVID-19 are being offered the vaccine first.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that British armed forces personnel serving overseas will receive a covid-19 vaccination as quickly as possible.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and other Government Departments to ensure that Armed Forces personnel serving overseas receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the earliest practicable opportunity. Defence is being guided by JCVI guidance, ensuring individuals most at risk from complications of COVID-19 are being offered the vaccine first.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of recent Russian Naval activity near British Territorial Waters on UK security.
Answered by James Heappey
In the week of 23 November, nine Russian naval vessels were observed in international waters around the UK. The presence of four surface ships, four support vessels and a submarine were tracked and observed by Royal Navy units including HMS Lancaster and HMS Northumberland. These ships were supported by Royal Air Force assets including F-35 jets, Typhoon and P8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
All of these units were at readiness for homeland security tasks such as this and responded with professionalism and skill. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force's response was coordinated with and supported by NATO allies who had ships and aircraft in the region.
The Russian naval presence had no impact on force generation for planned future naval activity.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the armed forces were dismissed for drug usage in 2020.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The misuse of drugs within the Armed Forces is considered unacceptable. It has always been the view of the Ministry of Defence that drug misuse threatens the efficiency and discipline of the Services, where individual responsibility and teamwork are essential to operate highly technical, expensive, and potentially lethal equipment. The Services campaign against drug misuse and have a comprehensive education programme to inform all personnel of the dangers and consequences of misusing drugs – including dismissal from service.
The requested information can be found in the table below:
Service | 2020 drug usage dismissals1 |
Royal Navy | 86 |
Army | 424 |
Royal Air Force | 33 |
Total | 543 |
1 As of 9 December 2020