Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel are deployed in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; and on what duties.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 13 June 2023 there were 154 UK Service personnel deployed to the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Those personnel are deployed under Op SHADER and provide mobility support and force protection to the Counter-DAESH coalition activity under Operation Inherent Resolve.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the review of welfare provision for veterans will include a detailed examination of the medical discharge process.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The independent review of His Majesty’s Governments’ veterans' welfare support services, announced by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs on the 2 March 2023, will encompass the MOD’s Veterans’ Welfare Services, as well as the Northern Ireland Veterans Support Office, and the Government's role in the Veterans’ Gateway, and how they fit into wider Government support to veterans. It will also align with the Reviews of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees that are currently underway.
The medical discharge process is delegated to the single Services to afford each branch of the Armed Forces the necessary flexibility to respond effectively to the unique and varying environments in which their people are employed. While each of the single Services' medical discharge process is subject to regular review, there are no current plans to include these in the independent review.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the time taken by the UK military flying training system on the delivery of fast jet pilots.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK Military Flying Training System (UK MFTS) continues to deliver sufficient appropriately trained aircrew to meet Defence’s operational requirements. While it is recognised that there have previously been delays within UK MFTS pipelines, a range of measures have been put in place to address known issues.
Furthermore, holding periods for Fast Jet trainee pilots are reducing and are forecast to continue to improve to an optimal period of time.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether both tracked and wheeled solutions will be considered for the Mobile Fires Platform; and if he will take steps to ensure that all companies that have expressed interest in the Mobile Fires Platform and have responded to Requests for Information will have an opportunity to submit proposals for an interim solution.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Work is ongoing to evaluate potential vehicle types against the requirements for the Mobile Fires Platform, with delivery being accelerated to bring this capability into service earlier this decade.
In line with the Defence Secretary’s announcement to the House on 16 January, the Army is looking at solutions for an interim artillery capability, however it would be inappropriate to comment further whilst commercial options are being explored.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that a 6th generation air system replacement for the Typhoon aircraft is (a) designed and (b) manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The Integrated Review confirmed our intent to develop a Future Combat Air System (FCAS) as a replacement for the capability provided by our Typhoon fast-jets. The 2018 Combat Air Strategy and 2021 Defence and Security Industrial Strategy both outline the importance of sustaining national defence industrial capability.
In the summer of 2021, we awarded the national contract, initially worth £250 million, for concept and assessment work under the FCAS Acquisition Programme. This was awarded to BAE Systems, Leonardo, MBDA and Rolls-Royce (Team Tempest), with flow through to the wider national supply chain. The Concept & Assessment Phase will define the capability we require and invest in the skills and infrastructure needed to deliver it. Our Team Tempest partners now have 2,500 people working on FCAS across the UK, with many more in the supply chain, and this number is growing. Under the Acquisition Programme, £1 billion has already been invested in UK Research & Development through the FCAS Technology Initiative, with a further £1 billion set to be invested over the coming years. This is laying the groundwork for the programme's later stages, with the aim of delivering FCAS in a shorter timeframe than previous programmes.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 April 2022 to Question 155693, on Artillery: Armoured Fighting Vehicles, whether tracked as well as wheeled vehicles will be considered for the Mobile Fires Platform.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave in response to his question 155693 which explained that we are evaluating all potential vehicle types against the requirement for Mobile Fires Platform.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 April 2022 to Question 155693, on Artillery: Armoured Fighting Vehicles, what the timeframe is for the finalisation of key performance indicators, the request for proposal and contract award for the Mobile Fires artillery programme.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 25 April 2022 in response to his Question 155692.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Mobile Fires Platform programme is planned to focus on certain types of armoured vehicles.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Work is ongoing to evaluate potential vehicle types against the requirements for Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) as they mature.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the Mobile Fires Platform programme; and when the procurement process is planned to commence.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Work continues to refine the requirements for Mobile Fires Platform and evaluate potential procurement routes.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to accelerate the process for veterans to obtain a certificate of service to enable them to apply for a veterans railcard.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
All Service leavers are provided with a Certificate of Service as part of the discharge process. Should a veteran require a replacement for any reason, they can simply request a replacement by phoning the Joint Personnel Administration Call Centre (JPAC) on 0800 085 3600 and a replacement is issued free of charge usually within two to five working days of the request.