Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many planes operated by the Royal Air Force have landed in (a) Lebanon, (b) Egypt, (c) Jordan and (d) Syria since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The RAF undertakes regular flights to the Middle East region as part of our routine engagement and to conduct humanitarian aid airdrops as part of the Jordanian led mission. For operational security considerations we will not comment further.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish details of the items that Royal Air Force operated planes landing in Israel since 7 October 2023 have carried on board.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Royal Air Force operated planes landing in Israel since 7 October 2023 have been used by Ministers, officials and UK Armed Forces personnel conducting diplomatic and defence engagement, and to transport life-saving medical supplies.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel from his Department have been transported to Israel on RAF operated planes since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Ministers, officials and UK Armed Forces personnel have travelled to Israel using RAF aircraft. This information is not held centrally within the Ministry of Defence, we are unable to give a specific number.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many planes operated by the US Air Force have taken off from RAF Akrotiri since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Ministry of Defence does not comment on the operations of our Allies.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Air Force operated planes have flown to Israel since 24 April 2024.
Answered by Leo Docherty
As of 8 May 2024, two Royal Air Force operated planes have flown to Israel since 24 April 2024.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many planes operated by the Royal Air Force have taken off from Israel since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty
There have been 59 Royal Air Force aircraft that have taken off from Israel from 7 October 2023 to 9 May 2024.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2024 to Question 23954 on Energy: Debts, what allowance for servicing consumer debt is permitted by Ofgem in setting the level of the Default Tariff Cap.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Ofgem has announced a one-off price cap adjustment of £28 (equivalent to around £2.33 per month) to be applied between April 2024 and March 2025 for direct debit and standard credit customers. This is intended to enable suppliers to recover reasonable costs as a result of increased levels of bad debt, ensuring the retail energy market remains resilient and suppliers are able to offer consumers an appropriate level of support in managing their debts.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of financially incentivising the use of sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by Anthony Browne
On 25 April 2024, the government’s response to the second consultation on the UK SAF Mandate was published. This confirmed the final design of the scheme which, subject to parliamentary approval, will come into force on 1 January 2025.
The SAF Mandate builds upon the success of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RFTO), providing a long-term incentive to supply sustainable aviation fuel through a guaranteed level of demand.
As part of the SAF Mandate’s design, the government has published Cost Benefit Analysis documents that comprehensively present the possible costs and benefits of the scheme.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many incidents of British soldiers paying for sex in Kenya have been (a) investigated and (b) proven since the introduction of JSP 769: Zero tolerance to sexual exploitation and abuse in July 2022.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
There have been three investigations since July 2022 related to Service personnel's suspected engagement in transactional sex in Kenya. Each of which resulted in "no case to answer".
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to help support Edinburgh Airport to provide pre-clearance for travellers to the US.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Government is supportive of the principle of US pre-clearance and there have been initial discussions between the UK and US governments, however, pre-clearance requires a commercial agreement between the airport operator and US authorities for these to be advanced.
It is important to note pre-clearance is not something which could be quickly implemented at UK airports. Careful negotiation across the UK Government and with the US would be required before pre-clearance could become a reality at UK airports.