Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of civil servants at Defence Business Services have had information security training in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
There are three information security courses which are mandatory for civil servants in Defence (Protecting Personal Data, Information & Knowledge Awareness and Records Management Awareness). These courses replaced the Defence Information Management Passport (DIMP) which had a three-year expiry timeframe and retired fully in early 2023. Staff who are still covered by the DIMP do not need to complete the three new security courses until their DIMP expires.
Data shows that approximately 43% of the Defence Business Services workforce have completed all of the necessary security information courses, or are still covered by the DIMP. A Civilian Mandatory Learning Review is underway to tackle a range of issues, including compliance, to ensure a higher proportion of the workforce complete their mandatory learning in future.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 16 May 2023 to Question 184569 on Ministry of Defence: Data Protection, if he will make an estimate of the number of people affected by personal data incidents.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
This information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in (a) the US and (b) France on the war in Sudan since the start of that conflict.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is working with a range of partners to end hostilities, allow safe, unhindered humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians. Foreign Office Ministers are in regular contact with international partners on Sudan. The Deputy Foreign Secretary discussed Sudan with USAID Administrator Samantha Power on 29 January 2024. Lord Benyon spoke to US and French colleagues at the Paris Humanitarian Conference on 15 April 2024. The UK Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and Red Sea also regularly engages with her American and French counterparts.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many (a) people and (b) entities connected to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan have been sanctioned by the UK Government.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Five entities connected to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been sanctioned under the UK Sudan sanctions regime. We do not speculate on future designations as it would reduce their impact. However, our sanctions policy is continually under review.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what estimate his Department has made of the number of civilians killed in Sudan since the start of the civil war in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
In their most recent assessment, dated 18 April 2024, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded 16,650 reported fatalities in Sudan. However, the reported number of people killed in Sudan is a conservative estimate due to the extremely limited access environment and ongoing internet and telecommunication disruptions. We continue to call on both warring parties to de-escalate immediately and abide by their responsibilities under International Humanitarian Law to protect civilians.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Department has spent on the Ajax programme as of 14 May 2024.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
As of 14 May 2024, £4.096 billion has been paid against the General Dynamics Ajax contract milestone payment plan.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many programme milestones the Ajax programme has (a) passed and (b) missed since January 2023.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Since January 2023, one Ajax programme milestone has been successfully achieved and no programme milestones have been missed.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of when Ajax will have (a) initial and (b) full operating capability.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Regarding Ajax’s Initial Operating Capability, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave him 16 January 2024 to Question 9150. Ajax’s Full Operating Capability is expected to be achieved between October 2028 and September 2029.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications were made to join the Maritime Reserves in each month since January 2023.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
Below are the requested figures counted to September 2023. Due to how recruiting data is collected, these are the most up to date figures.
Application | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep |
Regular | 3060 | 2575 | 2434 | 1793 | 1883 | 2028 | 2573 | 2470 | 1837 |
Reserve | 238 | 225 | 217 | 185 | 151 | 193 | 292 | 280 | 213 |
Figures define an application as an online application submitted by an individual and accepted by the Recruit Information Technology System, the application system.
With reference to the Rt Hon Gentleman’s similar WPQ of 6 Mar 24, note that the definition used to identify applications before Sept 2017 differs from that used after. Previously an application would be counted after a candidate had submitted an Armed Forces Career Office Form 4 and sat the Recruit Test. As a result, application data after Sept 2017 is not comparable to application data prior to Sept 2017.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications were received to join the full time Royal Navy in each month since January 2023.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
Below are the requested figures counted to September 2023. Due to how recruiting data is collected, these are the most up to date figures.
Application | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep |
Regular | 3060 | 2575 | 2434 | 1793 | 1883 | 2028 | 2573 | 2470 | 1837 |
Reserve | 238 | 225 | 217 | 185 | 151 | 193 | 292 | 280 | 213 |
Figures define an application as an online application submitted by an individual and accepted by the Recruit Information Technology System, the application system.
With reference to the Rt Hon Gentleman’s similar WPQ of 6 Mar 24, note that the definition used to identify applications before Sept 2017 differs from that used after. Previously an application would be counted after a candidate had submitted an Armed Forces Career Office Form 4 and sat the Recruit Test. As a result, application data after Sept 2017 is not comparable to application data prior to Sept 2017.