Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's definition is of UK personnel in each of the categories of (a) loan service personnel, (b) exchange officers, (c) liaison officers, (d) embeds and (e) secondees.
Answered by James Heappey
The definitions of these categories are as follows:
Loan Service. Loan Service is defined as being the loan of Service personnel from the United Kingdom Armed Forces to assist a Commonwealth or foreign country. Loan Service personnel are subject to United Kingdom Service regulations; they are administered and receive pay and allowances in the usual way and are consequently subject to United Kingdom income tax. They are not subject to Host Nation taxation.
Exchange Officers. Exchange officers are deployed into key posts globally. They may be deployed for Service-specific or joint operational reasons. They work for the HN, usually in exchange for a HN officer working in the UK. They create Defence Engagement effect by projecting a positive image of the UK, generating understanding of host nation tactics, procedures and capability, and symbolising the close cooperative relationship between services. Exchange officers provide an opportunity to assist UK efforts in other ways, such as by gaining insight into another nation's ways of thinking or working practices.
Liaison Officers. Defence deploys a wide range of liaison officers to foreign militaries and sometimes elsewhere within a foreign partner's security architecture. Liaison officers are specifically intended to facilitate information sharing and provide a means to deliver persistent influence on the HN. In general, liaison officers remain under the command and control of the sending nation.
Embedded Officers. The UK also has a significant number of embedded officers, mainly serving in US headquarters. Embedded officers create tailored DE effect, depending on their role and the agreement of the HN. In general, embedded officers come under the command and control of the HN.[1]
Secondee Service. Secondee Service places UK military personnel within a company, such as BAE Systems or NETMA. While such service is considered a tour of duty it is governed by bespoke TACOS for the duration of the secondment, agreed between the Company, the individual and the RAF. Seconded personnel temporarily leave the Air Force, are paid by the company but retain their right to promotion etc. Seconded service supports DE access and influence in a similar way to loan service.
[1] Embedded UK personnel operate as if they were the host nation's personnel under that nations' chain of command, but they remain subject to UK domestic, international and host nation law'.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason BAE Systems’s weekly freighter flight from Warton Aerodrome in Lancashire to Ta’if in Saudi Arabia routinely goes via RAF Akrotiri; and what interaction personnel at RAF Akrotiri have with the aircraft, its passengers and its cargo.
Answered by James Heappey
These BAE Systems operated flights provide logistics support for UK-supplied aircraft and systems operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force, which play a key role in the defence and security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These flights night-stop at RAF Akrotiri, both inbound and outbound from Saudi Arabia, for the wellbeing of the crew, to refuel and to assure the security of the aircraft and its cargo.
These flights do not carry passengers, nor is cargo loaded or off-loaded at RAF Akrotiri. During the present Covid-19 crisis the crews are provided with dedicated on-base accommodation, which allows them to be isolated fully from RAF Akrotiri personnel.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what cargo on carried by BAE Systems’s weekly freighter flight from Warton Aerodrome in Lancashire to Ta’if in Saudi Arabia via RAF Akrotiri.
Answered by James Heappey
These BAE Systems operated flights provide logistics support for UK-supplied aircraft and systems operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force, which play a key role in the defence and security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These flights night-stop at RAF Akrotiri, both inbound and outbound from Saudi Arabia, for the wellbeing of the crew, to refuel and to assure the security of the aircraft and its cargo.
These flights do not carry passengers, nor is cargo loaded or off-loaded at RAF Akrotiri. During the present Covid-19 crisis the crews are provided with dedicated on-base accommodation, which allows them to be isolated fully from RAF Akrotiri personnel.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Royal Air Force’s airstrike against Daesh in an isolated location west of Tuz Khurma in Northern Iraq on 10 April 2020 was in response to an attack by Daesh on Hashd al-Shaabi fighters in the district of Tuz Khurma on that day, and whether Hashd al-Shaabi requested that air strike.
Answered by James Heappey
The Royal Air Force airstrike on 10 April 2020 was not in response to an attack by Daesh on fighters from the Popular Mobilisation Forces, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, and it was not in response to a request from that organisation.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has an agreement to provide pilots for (a) non-combat and (b) combat situations for the Typhoon aircraft purchased by the Royal Air Force of Oman from BAE Systems.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK provides fewer than five RAF Typhoon pilots in role to serve on Loan Service. The Loan Service team is in place across the Sultan's Armed Forces to deliver advice, capability development and training directly to the Sultan's Armed Forces and is employed in a variety of roles to achieve this.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK personnel serve with the Royal Air Force of Oman’s (a) No. 8 Squadron and (b) No. 6 Squadron; and what the (i) rank and (ii) task is of those personnel.
Answered by James Heappey
Under the Loan Service agreement with Oman, the UK currently has fewer than five Loan Service personnel working with No. 8 and No. 6 Squadron. I am withholding the exact number of UK personnel to mitigate the risk of them being identified by the information provided. I am also withholding details relating to rank and role as disclosure would, or would likely, prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and another state.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the career destinations were of recruits enlisted at the Army Foundation College but not completing phase two training in each year since 2015.
Answered by James Heappey
Information is not held about the future career paths of those, including those enlisted at the Army Foundation College, who do not complete phase two training and so leave the Army.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard advises the latter on operations related to the conflict in Yemen.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The British Military Mission to Saudi Arabia do not advise the Saudi National Guard on operations in Yemen.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the internal security training provided by the British military mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard comprises; and whether riot control is included in that training.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The British Military Mission provides a variety of training to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, including occasional internal security training which includes a public order element.
The British Military Mission provides training in appropriate and proportionate use of force, the rules of engagement, human rights compliance and de-escalation procedures in line with the principles of Her Majesty's Government's Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the agreement between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia governing the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The 1964 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia governs the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard. This is a confidential agreement between two sovereign states which the United Kingdom Government is unable to publish without the permission of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are not prepared to authorise the publication of bilateral MOUs.