Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of extending the Borders Railway line from Tweedbank to Carlisle.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

The UK Government is committed to working with local partners in the Borders to boost economic growth, in line with our growth mission.

The project referred to sits within the Borderlands Growth Deal. Local partners are submitting proposals for a reset to the Deal for review by late autumn, which will set out revised plans to ensure the programme has the greatest possible economic impact.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of service personnel failed their annual fitness test in each year since 2013.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The requested information is provided in the following tables:

Royal Navy

Table Notes:

• Data prior to 2015 is incomplete and has been excluded.
• Year awarded represents the year the competence was awarded to the employee.
• Data for 2024 is up to 21 October 2024.

Army

Table Notes:

• Year awarded represents the year the competence was awarded to the employee.
• Data for 2024 is up to 18 October 2024.

Royal Air Force

Table Notes:

• Data prior to 2016 is incomplete and has been excluded.
• Year awarded represents the year the competence was awarded to the employee.
• Data for 2024 is up to 18 October 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many annual fitness tests were cancelled due to the safe temperature being exceeded (a) one (b) two and (c) three hours before the start time in each year since 2013.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Ministry of Defence does not hold any information of annual fitness tests being cancelled due to the safe temperature being exceeded because this information is not recorded.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel died within 24 hours of completing their annual fitness test in each year since 2013.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

Since 2013, two Army personnel have sadly died whilst undertaking the combat fitness test element of the annual fitness test. No other personnel have died within 24 hours of completing their annual fitness test during this period.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's response to the Coroner report on the death of Corporal Joshua Hoole, dated 27 January 2020, when the common tri-service suite of reporting and investigation forms was completed; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the new processes.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has overhauled safety policy beginning in 2020 to provide clear direction that all suspected or confirmed heat illness cases must be reported, and to improve the quality of reporting safety occurrences. The MOD is now moving to a single safety occurrence reporting system known as MySafety.

Individual Defence organisations’ safety occurrence reporting procedures instructs their personnel on ‘how’ to report safety occurrences and the Commanders Guide to Joint Service Publication (JSP) 375 Chapter 41 (Heat Illness Prevention) specifies ‘what’ minimum data is required for reporting heat illness cases, for example: the time, location, Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer reading, Met Office weather forecast, type of activity being undertaken, and a description of the illness or injury.

The MOD has also developed and implemented heat illness prevention training that must be completed by all military personnel at the earliest opportunity (for example in Phase 1 training for new entrants) to reinforce the heat illness prevention policy, including reporting, that is set out in JSP 375 Chapter 41.

While work was undertaken in 2020 to move to a more common set of reporting and investigation forms, several individual Defence organisations continue to use separate reporting systems to report incidents of suspected or confirmed heat illness including exertional heat illness. The Army and UK Strat Com have already adopted MySafety as a unified reporting system. The remaining Front Line Commands are expected to follow suit by April 2025. MySafety has already seen an increase in reporting numbers and quality, but the full benefits will not be realised until Full Operating Capability is reached in October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what improvements have been made to (a) how and (b) what data is reported for heat illness cases following the inquest into the death of Corporal Joshua Hoole in 2019.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has overhauled safety policy beginning in 2020 to provide clear direction that all suspected or confirmed heat illness cases must be reported, and to improve the quality of reporting safety occurrences. The MOD is now moving to a single safety occurrence reporting system known as MySafety.

Individual Defence organisations’ safety occurrence reporting procedures instructs their personnel on ‘how’ to report safety occurrences and the Commanders Guide to Joint Service Publication (JSP) 375 Chapter 41 (Heat Illness Prevention) specifies ‘what’ minimum data is required for reporting heat illness cases, for example: the time, location, Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer reading, Met Office weather forecast, type of activity being undertaken, and a description of the illness or injury.

The MOD has also developed and implemented heat illness prevention training that must be completed by all military personnel at the earliest opportunity (for example in Phase 1 training for new entrants) to reinforce the heat illness prevention policy, including reporting, that is set out in JSP 375 Chapter 41.

While work was undertaken in 2020 to move to a more common set of reporting and investigation forms, several individual Defence organisations continue to use separate reporting systems to report incidents of suspected or confirmed heat illness including exertional heat illness. The Army and UK Strat Com have already adopted MySafety as a unified reporting system. The remaining Front Line Commands are expected to follow suit by April 2025. MySafety has already seen an increase in reporting numbers and quality, but the full benefits will not be realised until Full Operating Capability is reached in October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list every date on which the Health and Safety Executive issued his Department a notification of contravention since 2013.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

Health and Safety Notices of Contravention (NOC) can be issued to any organisation within Defence at a local level and this information is not held centrally by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes details of NOC it has issued to organisations including the MOD on its website which can be found at this link - Notices found - Enforcement notices public (hse.gov.uk).

Furthermore, it may be helpful to provide a list of Crown Censures which are served on the department by the HSE for a more serious breach of health and safety law if the HSE deems that, but for Crown immunity, there would have been sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.

The MOD and Reserve Forces and Cadet Associations have received the following Crown Censures since 2013:-

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the (a) date and (b) place of every coroner's inquest that established heat as a cause of death for service personnel since 2013.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

From 1 January 2013 to 13 October 2024, three UK Armed Forces personnel tragically died from heat related causes confirmed by a Coroner and listed on the death certificates. All three deaths occurred in July 2013. The inquest for all three deaths began on 26 June 2015 at Solihull Council, Civic Suite, Council House, Solihull, West Midlands.

Found: Essex; Conservative) Charlie Maynard (Witney; Liberal Democrat) Gordon McKee (Glasgow South; Labour) Ms Julie

Found: Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex; Conservative) Charlie Maynard (Witney; Liberal Democrat) Ms Julie

Found: Essex; Conservative) Charlie Maynard (Witney; Liberal Democrat) Gordon McKee (Glasgow South; Labour) Ms Julie

The committee has a remit to scrutinise the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.  Much of the that scrutiny focuses on specific issues. But it also holds wider sessions looking at the work of the Department more broadly, often by speaking directly to the Secretary of State, but also bringing in the arms length and associated bodies.

Submit Evidence (by 13 Jan 2025)

The committee has launched an inquiry on how to build the workforce that is needed to deliver the policies and infrastructure for the UK’s clean, secure energy mission.  

Submit Evidence (by 13 Jan 2025)

The Committee has launched an inquiry into community energy. The Committee aims to: