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 De Mauley, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord De Mauley has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord De Mauley has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The National Fund was created in 1928 with the purpose of paying off the entire national debt. At present the fund cannot be used unless it completely clears the national debt, due to the terms of the fund’s charitable trust.
On 22 May 2018 my predecessor made an application to the High Court to vary the terms of the charitable trust so that the National Fund can be used to help pay down the national debt.
It is now for the High Court to decide whether the terms of the charitable trust should be varied. If the application is successful the money in the fund will be paid over to the National Debt Commissioners towards the reduction of the national debt.
A hearing of the claim is due to take place in October.
Our new environmental land management schemes will support the delivery of our ambitious national targets and commitments for the environment, including the Government's commitment to protect 30% of the UK's land by 2030. We are exploring the potential contribution that the three schemes could make to the achievement of this commitment. This contribution could include: management of farmland in an environmentally sustainable way; supporting local nature recovery and delivering local environmental priorities; management of designated sites; and encouraging collaboration between farmers, including through landscape-scale habitat creation and restoration, or securing long-term management and protection for wildlife-rich habitats.
The Government’s new Ukraine Family Scheme and ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme will help thousands of Ukrainian families and individuals to enter the country. DWP is working closely with the Home Office to understand potential demand.
Under these schemes Ukrainian evacuees will have the right to work here from day one, as well as immediate access to the benefit system and our existing employment offer, including our £30 billion Plan for Jobs. Ukrainian evacuees who claim benefits like Universal Credit will have access to direct, personalised employment support from experienced Jobcentre Plus work coaches, who will help them to find and move into employment, with extra support available through DWP’s Flexible Support Fund. Translation services are available to help new arrivals with phone applications, with Work Coaches in DWP Jobcentres on hand to support people making claims online. DWP staff are also delivering additional face-to-face assistance to those who need it – including tailored support to find work and advice on benefit eligibility – and will continue to do so.
DWP’s National Employer Partnerships Team (NEPT) has received a number of approaches from employers relating to Ukrainian evacuees.
Timeframes are still being finalised and there is regular discussion with Other Government Departments. Refugee Employment Network are also linked into activity and will be involved in sharing opportunities.
All contacts of a positive case who are fully vaccinated, under 18 years and 6 months, participating in an approved vaccine trial, or unable to have the vaccine for medical reasons are exempt from the requirement to self-isolate. Instead of needing to self-isolate, these contacts are advised to take daily lateral flow device (LFD) tests for seven days to help identify asymptomatic cases quickly to break chains of transmission.
It is only unvaccinated contacts of a positive case that are now legally required to self-isolate if notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer, unless they are taking part in an approved Workplace Daily Contact Testing (DCT) scheme. If they are not taking part in a Workplace DCT scheme they do not need to take LFD tests. If they choose to take a LFD test and it is negative, they must continue to self-isolate, because they could still become infectious.
Anyone notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer that they have tested positive is legally required to self-isolate. People who have symptoms should self-isolate while they get a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. If the PCR test is negative, they no longer need to self-isolate
Contacts who are fully vaccinated or between the ages of 5 and 18.5 years old do not need to self-isolate. They are instead advised to take daily lateral flow device (LFD) tests for seven days. If they receive a positive result on the LFD test, they should self-isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test. If the PCR is positive, they need to self-isolate for 10 days from the test date. If the PCR is negative, they can leave self-isolation but should complete the remaining LFD testing routine.
Unvaccinated contacts of a positive case are legally required to self-isolate if notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer, unless they are taking part in an approved Workplace Daily Contact Testing (DCT) scheme. If they are not taking part in a Workplace DCT scheme and they choose to get a test, they must continue to self-isolate, even if the result is negative. This is because they could still become infectious.
I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
The below table shows the number of Voluntary Outflow applications submitted by fast-jet Pilots in the Regular Royal Navy and Regular Royal Air Force in the last ten financial years:
Financial Year (FY) | Royal Navy | Royal Air Force |
FY2013-14 | ~ | 20 |
FY2014-15 | - | 20 |
FY2015-16 | - | 20 |
FY2016-17 | - | 10 |
FY2017-18 | - | 20 |
FY2018-19 | - | 20 |
FY2019-20 | ~ | 20 |
FY2020-21 | ~ | 10 |
FY2021-22 | ~ | 10 |
FY2022-23 | - | 20 |
Notes:
The Armed Forces Pension Scheme (APFS) is, like the majority of public service pension schemes, an unfunded scheme. As with all unfunded pension schemes, they are paid for only by the taxpayer and have no cash or investments to fund pensions in payment or past liabilities. As such, increases in interest rates will not reduce the Ministry of Defence (MOD)'s historical pension liability for the AFPS, which is driven by the SCAPE (Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience) discount rate and other assumptions set by His Majesty's Treasury and MOD.
As of 1 October 2022, there were eleven Royal Marines Reserve Commissioned Officers in the 30-34 age group and none aged under 30.
Five weeks have been allocated to train prospective Ukrainian commanders of Challenger 2 tanks. In addition to tank commanders, we are also delivering training packages in similar timeframes for other roles, including drivers, gunners and maintainers.
The requested information is provided in the following table:
UK Armed Forces Reservist deaths as a result of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, numbers, 1 January 2000 to 20 November 2022
Conflict | ||
Iraq1 | Afghanistan2 | |
ALL | 8 | 24 |
Royal Navy | 0 | 0 |
Royal Marines | 0 | 1 |
Army | 7 | 22 |
RAF | 1 | 1 |
Source: Defence Statistics Health
Information on deaths as a result of operations is regularly published in the Official Statistic on UK Armed Forces operational deaths post World War Two: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-operational-deaths-post-world-war-2-2022. The latest update was published on 31 March 2022 (as of 28 February 2022).
Work is underway across Defence to transform the systems, policies and processes by which we draw on and leverage the critical contributions made by our Reserve Forces, informed by the vision set out in the Reserves Forces 2030 Review. The Government will provide an update on this work, and a response to the Reserves Forces 2030 Review, in due course.
The requested breakdowns by strength, intake and outflow are provided in the attached spreadsheets.
The Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics (QSPS) 1 April 2022 contain the breakdown for the Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) in Tables 6a (trained strength) and 6b (untrained strength) by Officers and Other Ranks. Combining the totals and sub-totals of these tables provides the total FR20 strength by service, broken down by Officers and Other Ranks. While the figures for FR20 intake and outflow split by Officers and Other Ranks have not been included in current or previous editions of the QSPS publication, FR20 intake and outflow by service (as a whole) are available in tables 7b and 7c.
The requested breakdowns by strength, intake and outflow are provided in the attached spreadsheets.
The Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics (QSPS) 1 April 2022 contain the breakdown for the Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) in Tables 6a (trained strength) and 6b (untrained strength) by Officers and Other Ranks. Combining the totals and sub-totals of these tables provides the total FR20 strength by service, broken down by Officers and Other Ranks. While the figures for FR20 intake and outflow split by Officers and Other Ranks have not been included in current or previous editions of the QSPS publication, FR20 intake and outflow by service (as a whole) are available in tables 7b and 7c.
I can confirm that of the posts listed, only the Director Reserves, Army Headquarters and Deputy Commander Field Army posts are held by officers with previous reserve experience, and within the Army Chain of Command. Major Generals Brooks-Ward, Ashmore and Herbert are all officers with previous reserve experience; however, their current posts are not within the Army Chain of Command.
As at 1 July 2021, there are five trained FR20 Reserves of Paid Rank Major General. These are:
Major General Brooks-Ward - Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets). This is a Joint Competition appointment and could also be filled by the RN or RAF if selected by the Senior Appointments Committee.
Major General Graham - Director Reserves, Army Headquarters.
Major General Harvey - Deputy Commander Field Army.
Major General Ashmore – Army Reserve Reinforcement Group
Major General Herbert - Army Reserve Reinforcement Group
Notes/ Caveats:
1. The Trained FR20 population in the table consists of Group A Army Reserves, some Sponsored Reserves and those personnel serving on FTRS contracts who were previously Army Reservists.
2. The figure above includes Major Generals that contribute towards the previously defined FR20 population and excludes those personnel who do not. E.g., those Reservists on service complaint panels and the Governor of Edinburgh Castle.
3. Figures are as at 1 July 2021 in line with the protocols for release of personnel statistics.
Detailed plans for the future structure of the Army are still being refined. There will be announcements made on our intent for both the regular and reserve force in due course.
The 2019 Review of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (RFCAs) recognised the value that the RFCAs bring to Defence and that a key strength is their extensive volunteer membership and community links. In implementing the Review’s recommendations, the Ministry of Defence will look to both preserve and enhance the volunteer ethos, establishing a diverse and inclusive organisation. This includes interim changes to the Schemes of Association to ensure alignment with Equality and Discrimination legislation and to better enable the RFCAs to attract wider talent that is representative of the communities in which they work.
With around 3,500 individual cadet units across the UK, many in less affluent areas, they reflect the communities in which they are located. The increase in the number of cadet units in schools under the Government’s joint Ministry of Defence and Department for Education Cadet Expansion Programme, targeted in less affluent areas, has resulted in more children from disadvantaged backgrounds having access to the benefits of the cadet experience.
All cadets, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, will benefit from the greater opportunities that returning to face-to-face activity offers. Research shows that taking part in the cadet forces develops key attributes in young people. The return to face-to-face activity will also include re-establishing education packages through the Cadet Vocational Qualification Organisation, vocational qualifications which we know benefit many from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Over the Christmas period, 800 service personnel deployed to Kent to provide COVID-19 testing for hauliers crossing the English Channel, including support to food and welfare distribution. To date, over 40,000 tests have been conducted, allowing thousands of freight vehicles to travel to France.
Defence is extremely grateful for the work of all its personnel involved in COVID-19 activity across the UK.
We are very grateful to the External Scrutiny Team for their work, and the Ministry of Defence will publish their 2020 report early in the New Year.