Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord Campbell of Pittenweem has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord Campbell of Pittenweem has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The Government has already addressed procedural issues raised by this case, through the implementation of the recommendations made by Nigel Boardman’s review of COVID-19 communications contracts.
We have published updated guidance on the options available to contracting authorities when undertaking procurements in an emergency (PPN01/21) and the management of conflicts of interest in commercial environments (PPN04/21). Further updated transparency guidance is due to be published shortly.
The Government’s Procurement Green Paper sets out how we will reform public procurement to simplify processes, reduce bureaucracy and create a fair, open and competitive system.
To protect the interests of all involved the Government does not comment on the specifics of ongoing process.
The Prime Minister will make any decision on the matter public once the process has concluded.
The Government’s priority is to support the UK’s world class R&D sector. We have put in place this additional funding to shore up talent and invest in R&D infrastructure across the UK, while also aiming to secure the UK fusion sectors’ commercial leadership and capabilities.
We are committed to levelling up and where funding delivered via UKRI is England only, there will be an additional funding allocation for the Devolved administrations. The approach to funding distribution is being developed and my Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation has written to DA colleagues on this matter. Further details will be announced in due course.
As of April 2019, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) investment in AI relevant research and innovation activities totals over £1bn. This breaks down as follows:
Businesses have matched £742m of Innovate UK and EPSRC investments by at least £265m cash and in-kind contributions. The Catapult network, supported by UKRI and additional third-party investments, also have a key role to play in this space in enabling AI and data capabilities across sectors and leveraging further private investment.
Almost 300 organisations receive funding from UKRI for AI research and innovation. Industry organisations receiving funding include, Five AI Ltd, Oxbotica Ltd, Nissan Motor Manufacturing, Westfield Sports Car Ltd, and Vivacity Labs Ltd. Our most active institutions in this area include; University College London, The University of Oxford, Imperial College London, The University of Manchester, and The University of Edinburgh.
We are strongly committed to supporting UK manufacturing, which plays a vital role in the UK economy by driving innovation, exports, job creation, and productivity growth.
We are also committed to ongoing engagement with industry to ensure?our manufacturers?have the support?they need to maintain production effectively. We have put in place an unprecedented package of Government support for businesses during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The Business Productivity Review announced a £56 million package of support and set out the steps we will take to boost business productivity, focusing on leadership and management skills, technology adoption, and external support. These measures will help businesses respond to and recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic..
Through our Business Basics Programme, we are also testing new ways of encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including those in the manufacturing sector, to adopt tried and tested technology and management practices that can boost productivity.
Through the Made Smarter programme, we are investing up to £167 million to help UK manufacturers to adopt and innovate in industrial digital technologies that will make our firms more productive. We are investing up to £147 million for a Manufacturing Made Smarter Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund programme to develop innovative solutions to manufacturing challenges, as well as £20 million through our Made Smarter North West Pilot to support up to 3000 manufacturing SMEs to adopt and exploit digital technologies to increase their productivity. This could add £115 million to the North West economy and increase productivity by up to 25% by 2030.
We are supporting the aerospace industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) with £1.95 billion of funding for research and development (R&D), matched by industry, over 13 years up to 2026. UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is also providing £125 million to the Future Flight Challenge for research on greener ways of flying through advances in electric and autonomous flight technology, which is expected to generate an additional £175 million of match-funding from industry. We are also co-investing in aerospace productivity improvement and innovation programmes to support small and medium-sized businesses backed with over £135 million of public funding.
In addition, aerospace companies are currently drawing upon the unprecedented £330 billion package of additional COVID-19 business support measures that the Government has put in place. We are in discussion with the sector, through the AGP, about how to best support the industry to recover.
Aviation is also an important sector for the UK’s economy, and businesses across the industry will also be able to draw on our package of economic measures. This includes a Bank of England scheme for firms to raise capital, two business interruption loan guarantee schemes for businesses of all sizes, Time to Pay flexibilities with tax bills, financial support for employees, and VAT deferrals.
If businesses across these sectors face severe and urgent financial difficulties due to COVID-19 following the Government’s cross-economy wage and financial interventions, we remain open to discussions about bespoke financial support as a last resort. Any intervention would need to protect the interests of taxpayers. Requests may be made formally, in writing, to the Business Secretary.
Furthermore, the Government has a long-standing programme of support to maintain the competitiveness of the UK automotive sector. Through our landmark Automotive Sector Deal, we have secured joint investment and long-term commitments to develop world-leading battery technologies, positioning the UK as the location of choice for the development and deployment of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.
The Government, alongside industry, has jointly committed almost £1.5 billion through the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Faraday Battery Challenge to research, develop, and commercialise low-carbon automotive innovations. In October last year, we announced up to £1 billion of new money to support R&D to support electric vehicle manufacture.
Her Majesty's Government (HMG) does not routinely publish the names of SAGE participants in line with advice from the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure and standard procedure for COBR meetings, to which SAGE gives advice. For the COVID-19 response and to ensure transparency on who is contributing to the scientific advice being given to the Government, we have published the names of those participants who have agreed for their names to published at this point. HMG will publish the minutes of relevant SAGE meetings once the body stops convening on this emergency. The minutes will also list all of the attendees.
The names that have been published are available on the SAGE page on GOV.UK.
The Government monitors acquisitions and mergers closely. When a takeover may have a significant impact on the UK we will not hesitate to investigate further and take appropriate action. We are examining this deal carefully to understand its impact on the UK.
The final conclusions of the Government’s Telecoms Supply Chain Review in relation to high risk vendors were announced on 28 January. The Government has been clear, however, that as risks, threats and technology changes we need to keep the position under review. On the 15th May the US Department of Commerce announced that they were taking further action against Huawei. The National Cyber Security Centre is considering what the impact of the US sanctions might be.
DCMS stood up the Cross-Whitehall Counter Disinformation Unit on 5 March 2020, bringing together cross-government monitoring and analysis capabilities. Its primary function is to provide a comprehensive picture of the extent, scope and impact of disinformation and misinformation on the response to Covid-19. Where misinformation and disinformation is identified, the Unit works with partners to ensure appropriate action is taken on this, including direct rebuttal on social media. We are working closely with social media platforms to help them identify and remove incorrect claims about the virus, in line with their terms and conditions, as well as promote authoritative sources of information. The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport held a roundtable with major platforms earlier this month to explore how they can further limit the spread of misinformation.
Government is also running a counter disinformation campaign, “Don’t feed the Beast” which aims to increase audience resilience by educating and empowering those who see, inadvertently share and are affected by false and misleading information. The campaign promotes the SHARE checklist, providing the public with five easy steps to identify false content, encouraging users to stop and think before they share content online.
The department has already introduced the new compulsory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum. From next term we expect the RSHE curriculum to be implemented in full. School leaders have been asked to dedicate time from INSET days to consider how best to do this.
The department is updating statutory guidance for Keeping Children Safe in Education for this September. This will ensure schools have even clearer guidance on how to deal with reports of sexual abuse. It will support teachers and other school staff to spot the signs of abuse and to respond quickly, sensitively, and appropriately to children and young people.
We will also be investing additional money to further test the impact of support and supervision models for designated safeguarding leads in up to 500 more schools.
Our latest guidance on remote education during COVID-19 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19
The department is continuing to assess the impact of school closures on children and young people’s education. We are working closely with educational providers, sector organisations, international institutions and across government to understand the risks to education attainment and wellbeing, and identify how best to support children and young people make up for time spent out of school.
We are committed to ensuring that all children can continue to learn remotely in a number of ways during these very difficult circumstances, and are supporting sector-led initiatives such as the Oak National Academy. This brand-new enterprise has been created by 40 teachers from schools across England and is providing 180 free video lessons each week, across a broad range of subjects for every year group from Reception through to year 10. By 24 May, over 2.3 million users had visited the Oak Academy site and over 8.6 million lessons had been accessed.
Additionally, the Government has committed over £100 million to boost remote education, including by providing devices and internet access for those who need it most, ensuring every school that wants it has access to free, expert technical support to get set up on Google for Education or Microsoft’s Office 365 Education, and offering peer support from schools and colleges leading the way with the use of education technology.
It is up to each school to determine how to deliver education to its pupils and we recognise that many schools have been working hard to share resources – both online and printed resources – for children who are at home.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
As my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have both made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by Covid-19.
Our latest guidance on supporting vulnerable children is set out below:
Attending school is a strong protective factor for many vulnerable children and young people and educational establishments remain open for them. We are closely monitoring the attendance of vulnerable children and are encouraging attendance where that would be in their best interests. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has written to leaders of all education settings and directors of children’s services in England to encourage attendance for these children.
69,000 vulnerable children were attending educational settings on Thursday 7 May, compared to 58,000 on Thursday 30 April.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has also stressed the need for schools, local authorities and social workers to maintain contact and support services for vulnerable children and young people throughout this period. Officials from the department, and re-deployed Ofsted inspection teams, are working with local authorities directly to ensure that the systems and processes for maintaining contact with vulnerable children are robust in every local authority in England. We have also issued detailed guidance for education settings on how they can support vulnerable children, including how to monitor and encourage attendance.
These are rapidly developing circumstances and we will continue to keep the situation under review and to keep Parliament updated accordingly.
The E3 (the UK, France and Germany) have provided a EUR 5 million package of financial and material assistance to Iran via the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN bodies to help with the response.
The UK champions rules-based multilateral trade, and strongly supports the Director-General of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) efforts to drive forward reform. WTO reform has been a central aspect of this year’s G7 Trade Track discussions, which are seeking to build momentum and common ground ahead of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference. We are actively participating in discussions through bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral channels, including the G20 and Ottawa Group.
Examples of specific proposals include our co-sponsorship of a proposal at the WTO Council for Trade in Goods to enhance WTO monitoring and transparency requirements, co-sponsorship of the Ottawa Group’s Trade and Health proposal, and submission of textual proposals to the E-Commerce Joint Initiative negotiations.
The UK produces high quality, premium produce that is globally sought after and this Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will create new export opportunities for British farmers and businesses.
The Scoping Assessment, carried out before negotiations began, found that Wales and Scotland and all English regions benefit in all modelled scenarios from a UK-Australia FTA. A full impact assessment will be published prior to implementation of the agreement.
Defra and the Department for International Trade are working in lockstep with partners like the National Farmers Union (NFU), the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and the Food and Drink Federation to deliver tailored support on the ground for these farmers and food producers through schemes such as our Open Doors programme, helping them to capitalise on the enormous global demand for British food and drink and benefit from new trade deals.
There have been no orders from foreign companies for the Arrowhead 140 (T31) yet. UK Defence and Security Exports is currently supporting Babcock in their campaigns to export UK built ships, as well as the sale of the design to overseas customers.
Open General Export Licences (OGELs) are not granted for specific exports to specific destinations, rather they are pre-published licences that permit the export of specified items to a range of specified countries, following an online registration. They remove the need for exporters to apply for individual licences, providing the exporters can meet the terms and conditions set out in the licence.
There are also EU General Export Authorisations (EUGEAs) under the dual-use regulations. These permit the export of certain specified dual-use items to specified destinations, subject to the terms and conditions of the licences. They are equivalent to OGELs and are available for use by any exporter within the EU, as well as the United Kingdom for now.
At the end of the transition period, the EUGEAs will be retained as part of the retained Dual-Use Regulation. They will be renamed as “Retained General Export Authorisations” and will be available for use by exporters based in the United Kingdom, to export from the United Kingdom.
In total, there are 65 OGELs and six EUGEAs currently available. To provide actual registrations over the last five years can only be provided at disproportionate cost, as my Department would have to review each live and archived OGEL/EUGEA, which will include reviewing country additions/removal dates and analysing specific registrations over each period.
Open General Export Licences (OGELs) are not granted for specific exports to specific destinations, rather they are pre-published licences that permit the export of specified items to a range of specified countries, following an online registration. They remove the need for exporters to apply for individual licences, providing the exporters can meet the terms and conditions set out in the licence.
There are also EU General Export Authorisations (EUGEAs) under the dual-use regulations. These permit the export of certain specified dual-use items to specified destinations, subject to the terms and conditions of the licences. They are equivalent to OGELs and are available for use by any exporter within the EU, as well as the United Kingdom for now.
At the end of the transition period, the EUGEAs will be retained as part of the retained Dual-Use Regulation. They will be renamed as “Retained General Export Authorisations” and will be available for use by exporters based in the United Kingdom, to export from the United Kingdom.
In total, there are 65 OGELs and six EUGEAs currently available. To provide actual registrations over the last five years can only be provided at disproportionate cost, as my Department would have to review each live and archived OGEL/EUGEA, which will include reviewing country additions/removal dates and analysing specific registrations over each period.
Open General Export Licences (OGELs) are not granted for specific exports to specific destinations, rather they are pre-published licences that permit the export of specified items to a range of specified countries, following an online registration. They remove the need for exporters to apply for individual licences, providing the exporters can meet the terms and conditions set out in the licence.
There are also EU General Export Authorisations (EUGEAs) under the dual-use regulations. These permit the export of certain specified dual-use items to specified destinations, subject to the terms and conditions of the licences. They are equivalent to OGELs and are available for use by any exporter within the EU, as well as the United Kingdom for now.
At the end of the transition period, the EUGEAs will be retained as part of the retained Dual-Use Regulation. They will be renamed as “Retained General Export Authorisations” and will be available for use by exporters based in the United Kingdom, to export from the United Kingdom.
In total, there are 65 OGELs and six EUGEAs currently available. To provide actual registrations over the last five years can only be provided at disproportionate cost, as my Department would have to review each live and archived OGEL/EUGEA, which will include reviewing country additions/removal dates and analysing specific registrations over each period.
The Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) about export licences on GOV.UK. The number of licences granted for the export of military equipment to each of the countries in each of the last five years is attached.
The Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) about export licences on GOV.UK. The number of licences granted for the export of military equipment to each of the countries in each of the last five years is attached.
Preparations to publish the outcome of the investigation are underway.
The National Health Service has continued to provide urgent and emergency services throughout the outbreak and has run the ‘Open for Business’ media campaign to encourage people with potentially serious health issues to continue to seek medical advice, particularly those with symptoms of cancer, heart attack and stroke.
NHS trusts and Cancer Alliances are working to identify ring-fenced diagnostic and surgical capacity for cancer so that they can deliver cancer surgery and treatment at cancer hubs, which have been set up to treat patients in non-COVID-19 environments. Full use is also being made of independent sector hospital and diagnostic capacity.
Referrals for cancer treatment from general practitioners (GPs) to hospital continue to go ahead and the NHS is working hard to increase these to pre-COVID-19 levels.
To ensure patients with heart disease are given the care they need, hospitals are prioritising capacity for cardiac surgery, cardiology services and neuroradiology. Secondary care is prioritised for patients with heart failure, valve disease and arrhythmia services.
Further cardiac and stroke services continue to operate throughout the COVID-19 response and GPs continue to refer into these services.
On 21 April 2020, the Government announced a total of £42.5 million to support clinical trials for the vaccines being developed at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London. This funding is in addition to the £4.7 million previously granted to the University of Oxford, Imperial College London and Public Health England for vaccine research through the joint UK Research and Innovation – Medical Research Council and the Department, via the National Institute for Health Research ‘Covid-19 Rapid Response Research Call’. This follows the Government’s £250 million pledge to develop a vaccine, and announcement of a new Vaccines Taskforce, putting the United Kingdom at the forefront of international efforts to fight the virus.
Nuclear cooperation remains an important element of the enduring special relationship between the US and the UK. The Foreign and Defence Secretaries hold regular discussions with their US counterparts on a range of issues, including on security policy. These discussions are reflected and supported by daily cooperation at official level on arms control, nuclear deterrence policy, counter proliferation and strategic stability between the UK and the US, as well as by wider cooperation with NATO Allies. We will continue to work closely with the US on security policy, including nuclear deterrence policy.
We respect the independence of the ICC, and we expect it to exercise due prosecutorial and judicial discipline.
We welcome the prospect of a US return to the JCPoA. President-elect Biden has said that if Iran returns to compliance with the deal, the US would re-enter the agreement and seek to both strengthen it and extend it. This is an important opportunity to restart engagement between Iran and the US, and realise the objectives of the JCPoA which we support. A return to diplomacy represents the best means of bringing greater security to the region, upholding the nuclear non-proliferation regime and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. We look forward to engaging with the new administration on this issue.
We welcome the prospect of a US return to the JCPoA. President-elect Biden has said that if Iran returns to compliance with the deal, the US would re-enter the agreement and seek to both strengthen it and extend it. This is an important opportunity to restart engagement between Iran and the US, and realise the objectives of the JCPoA which we support. A return to diplomacy represents the best means of bringing greater security to the region, upholding the nuclear non-proliferation regime and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. We look forward to engaging with the new administration on this issue.
We are working closely with Germany, and other international partners to demonstrate that there are consequences for using banned chemical weapons anywhere in the world.
The UK remains concerned about the impact Nord Stream 2 will have on European energy security and on the interests of Ukraine. We continue to be supportive of initiatives that strengthen and diversify the supply of gas and competition across the European market. We engage regularly with our close allies and partners, including Germany, to keep them abreast of our position on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and to discuss European energy security more broadly.
Following the Chancellor's announcement that the Comprehensive Spending Review is being delayed, the Integrated Review has been paused given the pressing need to focus on COVID-19. We will return to the Integrated Review when appropriate to do so, aligned with the CSR, ensuring that we engage with all relevant stakeholders.
The? UK, along with France and Germany (the E3), have expressed their full solidarity with all impacted by? COVID-19? in Iran. We are working with the international community to ensure that Iran receives the humanitarian support it needs: the E3 have provided a EUR 5 million package of financial and material assistance to Iran via the World Health Organisation and UN bodies to help with the response. We also continue to engage the US on a range of policy matters relating to Iran, including how the international community can best support the Iranian Government's response to the COVID-19 crisis in Iran. We welcome the new US Treasury factsheet issued on 16th April summarising the humanitarian exemptions to sanctions against Iran and offering additional guidance for individuals and governments.
The UK strongly supports effective nuclear disarmament verification as a vital step towards eventual nuclear disarmament. Nuclear disarmament verification has been regularly discussed with all five Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States as part of the so called 'P5 process', including at the first meeting in 2009 and at a dedicated meeting in 2012, both chaired by the UK. There have also been two bilateral meetings between UK and Chinese technical institutions involved in disarmament verification research, and both China and the UK participated in the UN Group of Governmental Experts to consider the role of verification in advancing nuclear disarmament.
More broadly, the UK holds a regular Non-Proliferation Dialogue with China which allows for discussions on issues including nuclear security architecture, arms control and nuclear disarmament. The most recent Dialogue took place in November 2019 where the UK encouraged China to re-join the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification.
The UK works with the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (or P5) to uphold the global security framework, and, in their character as Nuclear Weapon States recognised by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), on nuclear disarmament. In 2009, the UK initiated the so-called 'P5 Process' of dialogue between the five on issues related to the NPT. In February 2020 the UK hosted the ninth Conference of this process in London, where the five Nuclear Weapons States considered progress on the three pillars of the NPT - disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy - and preparations for the next NPT Review Conference. During its coordination of the P5 process in 2019/20, the UK has prioritised P5 collective work on increasing confidence and transparency, as well as building our mutual understanding of strategic risk reduction concepts and our respective nuclear doctrines. In addition, with the other Nuclear Weapon States, the UK fully participates in the Conference of Disarmament and other international meetings, including the US-led 'Creating an Environment for Nuclear Disarmament' initiative, to progress our collective commitment to eventual nuclear disarmament.
We recognise the contribution the New START Treaty has made to international security by increasing transparency and mutual confidence amongst the two largest Nuclear Weapons States. The Treaty has delivered a reduction of strategic nuclear arsenals, enhanced notably by its robust verification mechanism. We support its continued implementation and have encouraged the US to extend New START while negotiating any successor agreement.
However, we are also clear that New START has limitations. It does not include new Russian systems. Nor does it place any limits on China's growing nuclear arsenal. We therefore see real advantage in President Trump's call for a new strategic arms control agreement including China. We urge both Russia and China to engage seriously with the US on this initiative.
The UK regularly discusses these issues with the US and Russia. We recently had discussions on strategic arms control at a meeting of the five Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) nuclear weapon states, or "P5", which took place in London on 12-13 February. At that meeting, all five states, including the US and Russia, underlined the importance of reducing nuclear risk and promoting stability, and agreed that dialogue on strategic risk reduction should continue.
We made clear our deep concerns about reports that the new Israeli Government coalition has reached an agreement which may pave the way for annexation of parts of the West Bank at the UN Security Council remote meeting on the Middle East Peace Process on 23 April. The UK position is clear: any unilateral moves towards annexation of parts of the West Bank by Israel would be damaging to efforts to restart peace negotiations and contrary to international law. The Prime Minister reiterated our opposition to the unilateral annexation of territory during a call with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on 6 February.
We made clear our deep concerns about reports that the new Israeli Government coalition has reached an agreement which may pave the way for annexation of parts of the West Bank at the UN Security Council remote meeting on the Middle East Peace Process on 23 April. The UK position is clear: any unilateral moves towards annexation of parts of the West Bank by Israel would be damaging to efforts to restart peace negotiations and contrary to international law.
We have been clear to both our Israeli and US counterparts that the UK views the Golan Heights as territory occupied by Israel. The UK did not recognise Israel's annexation in 1981 and we have no plans to change our position. On 26 March 2019, following the US Presidential Proclamation recognising that the Golan Heights are part of the State of Israel, we reiterated our firm position on this matter at a meeting of the UN Security Council. Annexation of territory by force is prohibited under international law. Any declaration of a unilateral border change goes against the foundation of the rules-based international order and the UN Charter.
In May, US CPI inflation was 5% and the core measure of CPI inflation was 3.8%. The increase in US inflation is expected to be temporary since recent rises have been driven by large price rises in certain sectors as the economy reopens, and issues with temporary supply bottlenecks, though some uncertainty remains. In the UK, monetary policy is set by the operationally independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England to meet the Government’s inflation target; there have been minimal spillovers from the increase in US inflation to the UK so far although some factors, such as commodity prices, have affected inflation in both countries.
We take the safety and welfare of the people we accommodate very seriously.
The Home Office have contracted Mitie to provide security to all bridging hotels that we are using to temporarily accommodate guests evacuated from Afghanistan, ensuring guards are available on all entry and exit points 24 hours a day, 7 days a week . All security guards in our bridging hotels are in unbranded uniform. Security at the sites remain under constant review.
The Extradition Act 2003 entered into force on 1 January 2004. To date, since entry into force, there have been 177 extraditions from the UK to the US, and 67 from the US to the UK.
There is no current intention to renegotiate the UK-US Extradition Treaty.
The safety and security of our citizens is the government’s top priority, which is why we have said the agreement with the EU on law enforcement and judicial cooperation on criminal matters should provide for fast-track extradition arrangements based on the EU’s arrangements with Norway and Iceland, but with appropriate further safeguards for individuals beyond those in the European Arrest Warrant.
Both the UK and the EU are committed in the Political Declaration to reaching agreement by the end of 2020.
Unacceptable behaviour is not tolerated in the Armed Forces, and anyone failing to meet our values and standards will be dealt with robustly, including being subject to police investigations and dismissal where appropriate.
Defence is working to prevent and tackle all forms of unacceptable behaviour, including sexual harassment and bullying. In June 2021 we updated our policy on behaviour which sets out our expectations. We have issued an information booklet on sexual harassment, which includes guidance on how to recognise it and what to do if personnel experience, witness or wish to report it.
Mandatory training in the Armed Forces has been updated as recommended in the Wigston Review into inappropriate behaviour and we have introduced Active Bystander Training to equip people with the skills to intervene should they witness incidents. A training package is currently being developed to share the lived experience of all people within Defence more broadly. Defence is consistently communicating on matters related to culture and behaviour to drive change, using opportunities such as National Inclusion Week and Anti-Bullying Week to raise awareness.
Physical assault is likely to be a criminal offence – where any kind of physical assault is reported by individuals of any gender as a victim or witness, the Service Police will investigate it.
The forthcoming response to the HCDC Women in Defence report will deliver more detail on what work we are doing in Defence to improve the lived experience of women who serve.
The Army Regular Trade Trained Strength at Regimental Duty against Workforce Requirement for The Royal Regiment of Scotland by Battalion as at 1st October 2020 can be found in the attached table.
The workforce requirement of the Royal Navy (RN) is 30,700 and the actual strength is 29,030.
Such plans however are not static and the Department quite rightly assesses and revises workforce plans to make sure Defence has the right people, with the right skills, at the right time, in the right place to deliver for the UK.
The Prime Minister’s announcement on 19 November 2020 to increase Defence funding by £24.1 billion over the next four years marked the first outcome of the Integrated Review. The review is due to be published in early 2021 and further details of the new platforms, capabilities, programmes and personnel opportunities that stem from it will follow in due course.
The workforce requirement of the Royal Air Force is 31,869 and the actual strength is 29,853.
Such plans however are not static and the Department quite rightly assesses and revises workforce plans to make sure Defence has the right people, with the right skills, at the right time, in the right place to deliver for the UK.
The Prime Minister’s announcement on 19 November 2020 to increase Defence funding by £24.1 billion over the next four years marked the first outcome of the Integrated Review. The review is due to be published in early 2021 and further details of the new platforms, capabilities, programmes and personnel opportunities that stem from it will follow in due course.