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Written Question
Armed Forces: Oldham
Tuesday 14th January 2020

Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been recruited by the armed forces from the Oldham Metropolitan Borough area in each year from 2010 to date.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The requested information is available for the past five years and is provided in the following table:

Intake to the Untrained Regular Force from Oldham Local Authority:

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

Tri-Service

50

50

40

30

40

Notes:

1. The requested information is only held from 2014 onwards.

2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 in line with disclosure control policy. Figures ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid bias, 5 or fewer is represented by '~', 0 is represented by '-'.

3. Due to limitations with the data sources, figures are approximate prior to rounding.


Written Question
Armed Forces: Oldham
Monday 5th December 2016

Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what strategies and programmes his Department has put in place to support people in Oldham wishing to serve in the armed forces following the closure of the local armed forces recruitment office.

Answered by Mike Penning

The Army provides excellent employment opportunities not just for the people of Oldham, but across the UK. As Britain's biggest provider of apprenticeships the Army offers chances not just for a job, but for a career and ongoing training supporting Her Majesty's Government's social mobility agenda too.

Since 2012 Army recruitment has been delivered in partnership with Capita, under the Recruiting Partnering Project. This has focussed on modern and convenient recruiting processes, including online tools and facilities. Applications to join the Army are initiated through the Army website and candidates receive extensive advice and support throughout the application process from recruiting advisors based at the Army National Recruiting Centre, Upavon. Similar processes and support are available to applicants for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Face-to-face support and advice is available at the nearby Armed Forces Careers Office in Manchester.


Written Question
Defence: Procurement
Monday 28th November 2016

Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will issue guidance on how local small and medium-sized enterprise businesses can benefit from defence supply chain procurement.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

The Ministry of Defence recognises the value of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to defence, and in 2015-16 direct spend with SMEs amounted to more than £700 million with nearly 5,000 different suppliers. Furthermore, we have taken positive action to provide SMEs increased access to the defence market.

In March 2016, a revised SME policy was published to make it easier for companies to work with defence. This revised policy, which applies throughout the supply chain, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-policy-for-small-and-medium-enterprises.

Key revisions include:

A new supply chain champion and a supply chain advocate network, to provide single points of contact for suppliers;

A reduction in bureaucracy and red tape; and

An online resource for suppliers that explains our policy, advises how to target funding streams, and signposts opportunities.

Improvements have also been made to the Defence Contracts Online advertising service, which, alongside the Government's Contracts Finder portal, provides suppliers with free access to defence opportunities.


Written Question
Trident
Monday 28th November 2016

Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to allow and support British companies to bid for contracts in the procurement process for the Trident successor programme.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

The use of competition remains the cornerstone of defence procurement and this approach has been successful in driving efficiency into the UK defence industry.

We are working with our Tier One contractors, who are responsible for procurement, on a range of measures designed to ensure opportunities are better advertised and to encourage British companies to bid for contracts.

The Dreadnought class submarine programme represents billions of pounds of investment in thousands of British jobs, across hundreds of firms, from Scotland to the South of England

85% of BAE Systems supply chain for the new submarines is based in the UK.


Written Question
Army Reserve: Greater Manchester
Wednesday 13th July 2016

Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to invest in the Failsworth TA Centre.

Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton

There are no plans to invest in the infrastructure of Failsworth Army Reserve Centre beyond routine maintenance and running costs.