Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to provide funding for Sea Viper’s enhancement.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The enhancement of Sea Viper is named Sea Viper Evolution, which includes upgrades to the Type 45 Destroyer's Multi-Function Radar, Combat Management System (CMS), Weapon Command and Control (C2), and the Aster 30 missile. The first stage, called Capability 1, is in Demonstration and Manufacture Phase as of March 2023. The next stage, called Capability 2, is in Assessment Phase as of June 2023, completing in 2025.
Departmental spending plans will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the non-commercially sensitive details of his Department’s Portfolio Management Agreement with MBDA.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Non-commercially sensitive details of the Ministry of Defence’s Portfolio Management Agreement with MBDA have been announced. There are no plans to publish further details.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of supply chain jobs supported by his Department’s contract with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is estimated the current live Ministry of Defence contracts with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd to deliver TYCHE to orbit have supported approximately 100 jobs in the direct supply chain.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has written to defence contractors to seek efficiency savings.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Senior officials continue to engage with our strategic suppliers on how we can drive efficiency into our contracts and ensure we deliver the Defence programme affordably.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual increase for furniture charges was in Single Living Accommodation in each year since 2010.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There is no separate charge for furniture in Single Living Accommodation.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate the cost to the defence industry of lost output resulting from disruption linked to political protest in the last 12 months.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence regularly monitors risks and issues facing our suppliers as part of our supply chain resilience work. We have not made a specific estimate of financial costs over the past 12 months.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of supply chain jobs supported by the work of Team Hersa.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Since the creation of Team Hersa and the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Directed Energy Weapons Demonstrator Programme in 2020, the MOD estimate is that 249 supply chain jobs have been supported.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of jobs created by Team Hersa.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Since the creation of Team Hersa and Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Directed Energy Weapons Demonstrator Programme in 2020, the MOD estimate is that 49 jobs have been created.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with his US counterpart on the decision to suspend certain licenses for arms exports to Israel.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Secretary regularly speaks with his US counterpart on a wide range of matters of mutual interest.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK-based jobs are (a) directly and (b) indirectly linked to the Global Combat Air Programme.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are over 3,500 personnel working directly on Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) in the UK across Ministry of Defence and our industry partners; BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK and MBDA UK.
These partners are supported by hundreds of organisations, including SMEs and academic institutions, spread across the UK. Major combat air industrial hubs in the north-west and south-west of England, and Edinburgh are supporting the development of the advanced skills base and industrial technologies right across the country.