Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many King's Coronation Medals his Department has issued.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal qualifying criteria has been amended and re-published as at 12 March 2024. It is anticipated that a significant cohort of Service personnel on Reserve engagements will now qualify under the revised criteria.
The below table shows the number of Platinum Jubilee Medals issued as at 15 March 2024.
Medal type | Total number of medals despatched | Total number of medals despatched due to distribution issued and replacements | Total number of medals issued by MOD to MOD personnel (single issue) |
HM the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal | 139,352 | 2,103 | 137,249 |
Due to distribution issues, additional medals have been despatched so that eligible individuals receive their medal as swiftly as possible. The originally issued medals are in the process of being located by the single Service Unit Admin or Logistics staff and returned to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Medal Office.
The below table shows the number of King’s Coronation Medals issued as at 15 March 2024.
Medal type | Total number of medals despatched | Total number of medals despatched as replacements due to damage whilst on duty | Total number of medals issued by MOD to MOD personnel (single issue) |
HM the King’s Coronation Medal | 21,535 | 20 | 21,515 |
Due to the lead time for receiving raw materials, production, delivery and internal MOD distribution, the project to award the bulk of the King’s Coronation Medal 2023 to eligible MOD personnel will take until October 2024 to conclude.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Platinum Jubilee Medals his Department has issued.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal qualifying criteria has been amended and re-published as at 12 March 2024. It is anticipated that a significant cohort of Service personnel on Reserve engagements will now qualify under the revised criteria.
The below table shows the number of Platinum Jubilee Medals issued as at 15 March 2024.
Medal type | Total number of medals despatched | Total number of medals despatched due to distribution issued and replacements | Total number of medals issued by MOD to MOD personnel (single issue) |
HM the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal | 139,352 | 2,103 | 137,249 |
Due to distribution issues, additional medals have been despatched so that eligible individuals receive their medal as swiftly as possible. The originally issued medals are in the process of being located by the single Service Unit Admin or Logistics staff and returned to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Medal Office.
The below table shows the number of King’s Coronation Medals issued as at 15 March 2024.
Medal type | Total number of medals despatched | Total number of medals despatched as replacements due to damage whilst on duty | Total number of medals issued by MOD to MOD personnel (single issue) |
HM the King’s Coronation Medal | 21,535 | 20 | 21,515 |
Due to the lead time for receiving raw materials, production, delivery and internal MOD distribution, the project to award the bulk of the King’s Coronation Medal 2023 to eligible MOD personnel will take until October 2024 to conclude.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans to begin issuing the Wider Services Medal.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The award of any new medals and the timing for their issue would be announced at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the effect of spending and investment by his Department and the armed forces on the local economy in Solihull constituency since 2015.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold spending data at constituency level. Since 2015-16, MOD expenditure with UK Industry in the West Midlands has increased from £575 million to £802 million in 2021-22. The total number of direct jobs supported in the region as a result of this MOD spending is 5,000, creating huge economic benefits across the West Midlands, including to the constituency of Solihull.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safety of personnel in military buildings that may contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Surveys are currently being conducted to identify buildings which may have been constructed with RAAC on Ministry of Defence land.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to remediate military buildings containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Surveys are currently being conducted to identify buildings which may have been constructed with RAAC on Ministry of Defence land.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department holds data on the number of veterans who are to be awarded the new Nuclear Test Medal.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As of 16 October 2023, the Ministry of Defence Medal Office has processed a total of 2,519 successful Nuclear Test Medal applications. Of these 1,060 medals have been dispatched.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has recently made of the operational capacity of volunteer gliding squadrons; and what steps he is taking to increase the availability of gliding induction courses for air cadets.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Air Force (RAF) No.2 Flying Training School has eight units that are currently providing Gliding Induction Flights to members of the RAF Air Cadets, with two more units planned to commence flights in early 2024.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Independent Medical Expert Group spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
On 2 October 2023, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a value for money audit of all EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) spending in the Civil Service.
The audit will dovetail with the public sector productivity review, aiming at delivering a leaner, more efficient Government.
The audit forms part of our drive to improve productivity across the public sector by driving down waste and improving performance. The findings and actions of the audit will be announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
On 2 October 2023, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a value for money audit of all EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) spending in the Civil Service.
The audit will dovetail with the public sector productivity review, aiming at delivering a leaner, more efficient Government.
The audit forms part of our drive to improve productivity across the public sector by driving down waste and improving performance. The findings and actions of the audit will be announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn.