Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps their Department is taking to improve response times to written parliamentary questions.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Written Parliamentary Questions.
There are three types of Written Parliamentary Question. The Cabinet Office's Guide to Parliamentary Work sets out the timelines departments should seek to meet. This can be found here:
Departmental performance on Written Parliamentary Questions is publishedat the end of each session by the Procedure Committee and is therefore publicly available. You can find details of the last session's PQ performance here:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmproced/385/report.html
This year's data will be published by the Procedure Committee when the session concludes.Every effort is made to reply to Written Parliamentary Questions withinthe original deadline. However, if the matters raised in the question require substantial investigation, it might not be possible to provide a substantive reply to a case within the departmental deadline.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what data their Department holds on the average response time to written parliamentary questions in the last six months; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of that response time.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Written Parliamentary Questions.
There are three types of Written Parliamentary Question. The Cabinet Office's Guide to Parliamentary Work sets out the timelines departments should seek to meet. This can be found here:
Departmental performance on Written Parliamentary Questions is publishedat the end of each session by the Procedure Committee and is therefore publicly available. You can find details of the last session's PQ performance here:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmproced/385/report.html
This year's data will be published by the Procedure Committee when the session concludes.Every effort is made to reply to Written Parliamentary Questions withinthe original deadline. However, if the matters raised in the question require substantial investigation, it might not be possible to provide a substantive reply to a case within the departmental deadline.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information their Department holds on the level of staff retention; and what steps they are taking to improve staff retention.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the importance of retaining our people, who are our most valuable asset, and we actively work to explain and enhance our ‘offer’ to our existing civilian workforce to ensure that we retain experienced colleagues.
MOD Civil Service turnover is 10.7%, which compares to a Civil Service average of 13.6% and a UK average of 17%. The average length of service for our Civil Servants is approximately 13 years.
We recognise that we have a multi-generational workforce so our solutions to improve retention target all stages of the employee life cycle. As set out in the Haythornthwaite Review of Armed Forces Incentivisation, we recognise the skills and experience that can be obtained from zig-zag careers; this also applies to our civilian staff.
We strive for our people to feel valued as soon as they join, thrive in our department, and leave well, speaking highly of the organisation and considering a return in the future.
Our retention activity is based around the following key areas of focus:
- better promotion of our existing offer
- learning, development, and career pathways which support professional progression
- pay, pension and employee benefits
- maximising flexibilities in how we work
- improving line management and leadership.
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 (a) enhance cybersecurity and (b) protect personal data.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes its cybersecurity and data protection obligations very seriously. The Cyber Resilience Strategy for Defence published in May 2022 sets out the steps that the Department is taking to enhance cyber security, thereby also protecting personal data in accordance with UK GDPR Article 5(1)f. The strategy is underpinned by four funded and dedicated defensive cyber programmes to mitigate cyber risks against our platforms, weapon systems and core digital infrastructure.
The MOD uses the Information Commissioner’s Office Accountability Framework to determine, monitor and drive data protection improvement measures across the Department. These are delivered through a network of Data Protection Advisors within each main business area.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Armed Forces have been requested by agencies of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to help search for animals listed under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 in the last ten years.
Answered by James Heappey
No such requests have been made of the Ministry of Defence in the last ten years.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps their Department is taking to improve its digital services to provide better (a) accessibility and (b) user experience for the public.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government's Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) is responsible for producing the Service Standard (https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard) which guides Government teams as to how they should design and produce content providing information regarding public services.
Government teams are required to make sure that all information is accessible across all channels, including online, phone, paper and face to face. Government teams must also make sure that everyone can use their services, including disabled people, people with other legally protected characteristics, people who do not have access to the internet and/or lack the skills and/or confidence to use the internet.
CDDO provides clear guidance on how to make non-digital parts of a Government service as widely accessible as possible by providing a contact for users and providing forms in alternative formats for example, large print, braille or audio CD.
All of the Ministry of Defence's public-facing digital services are designed in full accordance with Government Digital Service design patterns to ensure usability and accessibility. A notable example of success is our service to Apply for a Deceased Person's Military Record, which is one of HM Government's Top 75 services. This meets the "Great" service standard, including being compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 to AA standard and recently hitting a 96 per cent customer satisfaction rate.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
London weighting is paid to staff who have a Permanent Duty Station (PDS) in London. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) operates two London Weighting allowances, for Inner and Outer London. Staff who are contractual home workers do not have a London PDS and are therefore ineligible for London Weighting.
Flexible working arrangements enable Departments to make efficient use of resources, and the offer also ensures the Civil Service can attract and retain a diversity of talent. “Future Workplace” is the MOD’s interpretation of the wider Government Smarter Working programme. As part of this approach MOD has developed hybrid working arrangements which typically require Civil Servants to spend 2-3 days in the office each week, and the option of 2-3 days working from home. This will be dependent upon the activity and outcomes to be delivered. All employees agree their working location with their local line management.
Details of Departmental headquarters’ occupancy are published on a regular basis and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to ensure that staff in his Department who are under investigation for alleged misconduct are not named before those allegations are proven.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) policies for MOD Civil Servants follow the Civil Service's wider discipline policy. This makes clear that disciplinary matters are strictly confidential. This also sits alongside a separate Whistleblowing/Raising a Concern policy, in line with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Veterans' Places, Pathways and People portfolio grants stage 2 at achieving its objectives.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is responsible for administering the HM Treasury funded Veterans' Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund. The Veterans' Places, Pathways and People (VPPP) programme is funded through the Veterans' Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.
The Fund awarded £9 million to 14 major projects through the VPPP programme. This programme supported projects to encourage the development of safe, welcoming places for veterans to go in their local area, support for the people (staff and volunteers in organisations that support veterans) to be able to have access to good quality training, and to connect veterans into wider pathways, including for mental health support and treatment.
The VPPP strategic leads are delivering significant projects. These grants are due to conclude in March 2024; and will complete formal end of grant monitoring processes. All the grants are currently being monitored against agreed delivery plans. Additionally, the Trust is undertaking an evaluation into the VPPP programme as a whole.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the veterans mental health strategic lead grants at achieving their objectives.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is responsible for administering the HM Treasury funded Veterans' Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund. The Veterans' Places, Pathways and People (VPPP) programme is funded through the Veterans' Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.
The Fund awarded £9 million to 14 major projects through the VPPP programme. This programme supported projects to encourage the development of safe, welcoming places for veterans to go in their local area, support for the people (staff and volunteers in organisations that support veterans) to be able to have access to good quality training, and to connect veterans into wider pathways, including for mental health support and treatment.
The VPPP strategic leads are delivering significant projects. These grants are due to conclude in March 2024; and will complete formal end of grant monitoring processes. All the grants are currently being monitored against agreed delivery plans. Additionally, the Trust is undertaking an evaluation into the VPPP programme as a whole.