Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the role of the armed forces in the covid-19 booster vaccination roll-out.
Answered by James Heappey
The role of the Armed Forces has been critical in supporting the NHS to deliver the national booster vaccination programme. Service personnel have been deployed as vaccinators and planners at extremely short notice in support of the roll-out and have worked at pace over the Christmas period. By 30 December 2021, Defence had delivered c. 521,700 of booster vaccines in England, Scotland, and Wales.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help ensure that armed forces veterans have access to housing at the end of active service.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) works closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that veterans have access to housing when they leave their Service. However, the MOD does not have primary responsibility for housing veterans.
MOD recognises that many Service personnel seek stability for their families and a key part of this is helping personnel buy their own home. Since its introduction, the MOD’s Forces Help to Buy scheme has helped around 21,000 Service personnel purchase their own property. We have also amended our policies to help Services leavers transition to civilian life by allowing them to remain in Service Family Accommodation for up to a year after departure.
MOD assists Service personnel and their dependants wishing to move to civilian accommodation at any time in their career, including during resettlement, through its Joint Service Housing Advice Office which acts as a tri-service focal point for civilian housing information.
New statutory guidance to improve access to social housing for members of the Armed Forces, veterans and their families was published in June 2020. This guides local authorities in ensuring that housing applications from this group are identified, considered and prioritised appropriately, and that they are not disadvantaged as a result of the circumstances of their Service.
As part of the Homelessness Reduction Act’s Duty to Refer, which came into force in October 2018, the Secretary of State for Defence and other public named authorities are required to refer consenting members of the Regular Armed Forces in England, to a local housing authority within 56 days, if they believe they may be homeless or threatened with homelessness.
Service personnel can also be provided with a certificate of cessation six months before they leave the Armed Forces demonstrating when their entitlement to Service accommodation ends. This can be considered by local authorities as evidence of impending homelessness and will allow them to conduct an assessment of individual housing needs.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance on the use of personal protective equipment has been issued to the armed forces when conducting covid-19 testing at mobile units; and what steps he is taking to ensure that guidance is followed.
Answered by James Heappey
Guidance on the wearing of covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) by personnel has been issued, including for armed forces personnel conducting covid-19 testing at mobile units. This guidance is coherent with Public Health England direction.
Staff from the Standing Joint Command Defence Medical Services are responsible for assuring measures to protect Defence workforce in collaboration with the requesting agency (DHSC), who provide the PPE and introductory training. Commanders on the ground maintain standards and ensure that guidance is followed.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of troops that can be deployed to support key services during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence is dedicated to supporting the Government's COVID-19 response, primarily through support to other Government Departments, principally the Departtment for Health and Social Care and the NHS. Currently 19,069 personnel are available for COVID tasking. Of these, 2,848 members of the Armed Forces are currently deployed to assist Civil Authorities with the response, currently working on 73 Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) activities, with a further 30 MACA tasks completed (as of 21 April).