Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Military Aid to the Civil Authorities requests have been received for assistance on operations in the English Channel in the last 12 months.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence has collaborated with the Home Office on countering illegal migration issues in the English Channel for over a year. Defence has provided a range of support including the provision of surveillance, planning expertise, and assisting in the delivery of trials of novel tactics which could help the Border Force and Home Office better interdict and deter migrant vessels. This has currently amounted to four requests under the mechanism of Military Aid to the Civilian Authority during 2021.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that UK operational readiness is unaffected by military assistance to the covid-19 response in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence has taken prudent steps to assure the continued delivery of all its critical outputs. Measures have been put in place to protect critical Force Elements, ensuring that UK operational readiness remains unaffected by military assistance to COVID-19. This includes in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, where Defence has provided three military planners to support the Staffordshire Local Resilience Forum.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure veterans are protected from vexatious claims.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
On 18 March 2020 the Government introduced the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill to help tackle vexatious claims and the cycle of reinvestigations against our Armed Forces personnel and veterans. Due to the impact of COVID on parliamentary business, the progression of the Bill to Second Reading has been delayed, but is now planned for 23 September.
In addition to the Overseas Operations Bill, we intend taking forward some of the key recommendations from HH Lyons' 2017 review to improve the Service Justice System, including Sir Jon Murphy's recommendation for the establishment of a tri-Service Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU), and for an oversight body for complaints against the Service Police. These measures are intended to deliver a stronger, more collaborative and effective role for the Service Police within the Service Justice System.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to commemorate VE Day.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence will be supporting the Government plans to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day to ensure that our nation's veterans are appropriately commemorated. An announcement will be made in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more Combined Cadet Forces in academy and local authority schools.
Answered by James Heappey
As a result of the Cadet Expansion Programme – a joint Ministry of Defence and Department for Education initiative – we now have over 500 cadet units in schools, almost two thirds of which are in academies and local authority schools.
The priority for the programme, originally launched in 2012, has been to focus on state schools in areas of high deprivation and the majority of school cadet units are now in the state sector. There is now a further ambition within the programme to increase the number of cadets across all school cadet units to 60,000 by 2024.
Being in the cadets equips young people with unique skills and experiences which can help them in day to day life. Cadets are taught transferrable skills that can help with future aspirations and long-term career goals, such as relationship building, problem-solving and teamwork.