Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press release entitled Capability boost for UK's global military operations as contract confirmed for new Chinook, published by his Department on 14 March 2024, whether the RAF’s Voyager aircraft are certified to aerial refuel extended-range Chinook helicopters.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The RAF Voyager will not be used to refuel Chinook ER due to the different speeds at which the two aircraft operate.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time applications to the armed forces have been submitted per (a) constituency and (b) region each year since 2010.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what dual serving parent provisions the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force offers to serving personnel.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has a range of policies designed to support relationships where both partners are serving members of the Armed Forces.
These include a number of Joint Service Publications (JSP), which, for example, set out eligibility for the occupation of Service Family Accommodation at a mid-way point between two different duty stations (JSP 464), provide Flexible Working and Flexible Service options to allow for changes in type of engagement and variation in working patterns to assist with family responsibilities (JSP 760), and gives options for the transfer of annual leave between partners and shared parental leave (JSP 760). These are supplemented by other single Service specific policies, as well as a Tri-Service Service Couples Network which acts as a forum to exchange information and advice.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what dual serving parent provisions the Royal Fleet Auxiliary offers to personnel.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) are employees of the Civil Service so have different dual serving parent provisions from the Royal Navy. The RFA are committed to empowering and supporting a diverse workforce and have a number of options to help support modern family life. For dual serving parents specifically, measures include a process to deconflict sea assignments, enhanced shared parental pay and a policy that enables those that have undertaken a qualifying period delivering a worldwide sea assignment to apply for an shore-based role for up to three years. In addition, RFA employees who have partners in the Armed Forces and who are being assigned to another geographical location outside of the travel to work area have additional protections and may apply for Priority Mover Status.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of personnel in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have been women in each year since 2010.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The information requested is provided below:
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
Total Female Strength | 121 | 129 | 119 | 120 | 121 | 117 | 127 | 134 |
% of Total Strength | 5.2% | 5.5% | 5.6% | 6.3% | 6.6% | 6.3% | 6.6% | 6.9% |
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| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
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Total Female Strength | 134 | 136 | 146 | 159 | 176 | 173 | 175 |
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% of Total Strength | 7.0% | 7.2% | 8.0% | 8.7% | 9.9% | 10.0% | 10.5% |
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Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) men and (b) women took Extended Special Unpaid Leave from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in each year since 2010.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Members of the RFA are given the opportunity to apply for Extended Special Unpaid Leave in the form of a career break. Such breaks enable employees to take an unpaid absence from the workplace for more than three months up to a maximum of five years to fulfil caring responsibilities, study, cover a period of Reservist Mobilisation or to take a break from paid employment.
The following table contains numbers of RFA personnel who have taken Extended Special Unpaid Leave for each year since 2010.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Male | 13 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 11 | ~ | 9 | 11 | 7 | ~ | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Female | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
Note: Any figure less than 5 have been replaced by ~. This is in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Royal Fleet Auxiliary offer personnel the option of taking Extended Special Unpaid Leave.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Members of the RFA are given the opportunity to apply for Extended Special Unpaid Leave in the form of a career break. Such breaks enable employees to take an unpaid absence from the workplace for more than three months up to a maximum of five years to fulfil caring responsibilities, study, cover a period of Reservist Mobilisation or to take a break from paid employment.
The following table contains numbers of RFA personnel who have taken Extended Special Unpaid Leave for each year since 2010.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Male | 13 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 11 | ~ | 9 | 11 | 7 | ~ | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Female | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
Note: Any figure less than 5 have been replaced by ~. This is in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Capability boost for UK's global military operations as contract confirmed for new Chinooks, published on 14 March 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the foreign exchange rate on the value of the contract for new Chinook helicopters.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Foreign Military Sales agreement with the US Government is denominated in US dollars in common with all such cases. The forecasted cost of the programme is based on the most up to date exchange rate predictions from Defence Economics. The risk of future foreign exchange exposure will be mitigated by the Department’s use of forward purchasing arrangements.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Capability boost for UK's global military operations as contract confirmed for new Chinooks, published on 14 March 2024, what is the Initial Operating Capability of the new Chinook helicopters; and when this will be achieved.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 15 February 2024 to Question 12919.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press release entitled Capability boost for UK's global military operations as contract confirmed for new Chinook, published by his Department on 14 March 2024, what the cost is of the 14 new Chinook helicopters.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Chinook Extended Range Programme has an Approved Budgetary Level of £1.5 billion. Final costs will be subject to the conclusion of negotiations with the US Government and Boeing, and variance throughout the life of the programme in common with all FMS cases.