Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much (a) his Department and (b) each of its Arm’s Length Bodies has spent on external public relations since 5 July 2024; and which firms that funding went to.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
A full Departmental response is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Public Relations spend is managed locally across the various departments within the Ministry of Defence, and Arms Lengths Bodies within their own individual budgets. Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Directorate of Defence Communications in the Ministry of Defence Head Office spend on media and voice training for Ministers since 5 July 2024 is nil.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in Scotland on (a) the potential impact of armed forces' training activities on (i) nature conservation and (ii) public access to the countryside in Dumfries and Galloway and (b) the proposed national park in Galloway.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials have engaged with Scottish counterparts on the impact of Armed Forces training on nature conservation and public access to the countryside in Dumfries and Galloway.
MOD officials have developed Integrated Rural Management Plans (IRMP) for MOD sites in Dumfries and Galloway. These plans include a level of ecological impact assessment and public access management. The IRMPs identify appropriate avoidance or mitigation measures that must be applied to manage the impact of military training and operations on these sites.
MOD officials have not held any discussions with counterparts in Scotland on the proposed national park in Galloway.