Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Royal Navy vessels are on duty in the Gulf; and when those vessels are planned to return to the UK.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
At present, there are six Royal Navy vessels on duty in the Gulf. These are HMS Bangor, HMS Blyth, HMS Ledbury, HMS Middleton, RFA Fort Rosalie and RFA Cardigan Bay. The Ministry of Defence does not release details of planned deployment dates as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the housing maintenance contract with Carillion- Amey is fit for purpose.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
CarillionAmey now meet, for the most part, their key contractual targets. Stakeholders have recognised this improved performance. Ministry of Defence officials carry out comprehensive assurance checks, and results are reported back to governing bodies and are subject to external review.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has his Department made of the potential merits of the use of 3D printing for equipment maintenance for operations.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The impact of 3D Printing on defence is being studied thoroughly, through research programmes, international collaboration and trials. Areas of study include the potential impact on logistics, in-field repair, reducing equipment development times and enhancing the performance of defence components.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has received from the Department for International Development for its operation in support of hurricane hit islands in 2017.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The detailed costs of the Defence response to hurricanes Irma and Maria are being compiled and will be reported on in due course.
The Ministry of Defence will recover the majority of its additional costs from the cross-Government Immediate Response fund established for the relief effort. Any additional costs will be funded from the Deployed Military Assistance Pool, which exists to support unforeseen short term military activity.
The cross-Government fund includes contributions from the Conflict Security and Stabilisation Fund, Department for International Development and the Treasury Reserve.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has his Department made of the potential merits of the use of 3D printing for equipment maintenance for operations.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The impact of 3D Printing on defence is being studied thoroughly, through research programmes, international collaboration and trials. Areas of study include the potential impact on logistics, in-field repair, reducing equipment development times and enhancing the performance of defence components.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many serving regular army personnel have served for more than three years.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The number of Regular Army personnel who have served for more than three years is shown below:
| Total Regular Army Strength | Length of Service is 3 years or more |
Total | 82,210 | 64,520 |
Source: Defence Statistics (Army) |
Figures shown are as at 1 October 2017.
The figures are for trained and untrained Regular Army personnel and exclude the Gurkhas and Army Future Reserve 2020 populations.
Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army Reserve personnel not including members of University Officer Training Corps have served for a period of over one year.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The number of Army Reserve personnel, not including members of the University Officer Training Corps, who have served for over one year is 25,780.
Figures shown are as at 1 October 2017.
Army Future Reserve 2020 (FR20) includes volunteer reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserves and those volunteer reserves serving on Full Time Reserve Service and Additional Duties Commitment. Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included.
Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of participants in university Officer Training Corps complete (a) the Army Reserve Commissioning Course and (b) the Commissioning Course for Regular Officers.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Between 1 October 2009 and 1 September 2012 a total of 9,250 officer cadets attended the University Officer Training Corps (UOTC). The number of those who went on to hold a commissioned rank in the Army is shown below:
Commissioned Rank | Number |
Regular Officers | 1,040 (11%) |
Reserve Officers | 400 (4%) |
The date parameters were selected to allow sufficient time for the cadet to complete their university and subsequent Royal Military Academy Sandhurst commissioning course. The numbers above do not include personnel who joined the Army as a soldier.
Notes
Figures include Regulars and Group A Reserves who held a commissioned officer rank and had previously been officer cadets at University Officer Training Corp units.
Some regular Officers (around 160) initially held a reserves commission and therefore appear in both figures..
Those who became a Regular Officer and subsequently joined the Group A Reserve have not been double counted within those who joined Group A reserves.
Professionally qualified personnel, such as doctors, who commission on entry, i.e. before they attend a commissioning course, are included in the figures.
Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which defence systems and equipment his Department regards as critical for retaining sovereign defence capability.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
In the National Security through Technology White Paper 2012 (Cm8278) the Government committed to take action to protect our freedom of action and operational advantage where essential for national security. The White Paper describes four general cases in which this is most likely to apply, with examples, including aspects of cryptographic production, deployment and support, and weapons and propulsion systems for the UK's nuclear deterrent. We do not comment on the precise circumstances or aspects of capabilities we might regard as critical on national security grounds.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2017 to Question 8803, how many personnel have (a) applied for and (b) received the General Service Medal 2008 with the West Africa clasp.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
As of 13 September 2017, 98 personnel were eligible for the General Service Medal 2008 with the West Africa clasp, of which five have been issued.