Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason there is no armed forces recruitment target for ethnic minorities.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Whilst Defence has not set hard targets for the recruitment of ethnic minority personnel for the Armed Forces, we have set internally published levels of ambition to increase the recruitment and representation of underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities. The purpose of these levels of ambition is to act as a catalyst for innovation and activity, and to provide challenge and stretch to existing processes and approaches.
Defence has committed to improving the recruitment of ethnic minority personnel into the Armed Forces and is engaged in a wide range of activities to promote better understanding and enhance engagement with ethnic minority communities, reviewing Armed Forces recruitment processes and delivering more targeted marketing and communications towards potential ethnic minority applicants.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on their target for women to account for 30% of personnel recruited by 2030.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 11 December 2023 to Question 4844.
In the 12 months to 30 September 2023, the proportion of female intake was 12.3% and we hope to continue to work towards the target year on year.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2024 to Question 19180 on Armed Forces: Housing, when the (a) Minister for the Armed Forces and (b) Minister for Defence People and Families last had discussions with representatives of (i) VIVO, (ii) Amey and (iii) Pinnacle on the maintenance of service accommodation properties.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There is no formal record of any meeting between the Minister for Armed Forces and representatives from VIVO, Amey and Pinnacle on the maintenance of Service accommodation.
There is a formal record of an invitation for a meeting in January 2023 between the Minister for Defence People and Families and VIVO, Amey and Pinnacle on the maintenance of Service accommodation.
I have engaged with VIVO, Amey and Pinnacle representatives in summer 2023 regarding overdue Landlord Gas Safety Inspections and Electrical Insulation Condition Reports.
In addition to this, Defence Infrastructure Organisation officials are in daily contact with VIVO, Amey and Pinnacle regarding delivery and performance.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2024 to Question 20104 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many routine pest control requests were responded to within fifteen days.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This information is not held in the format requested and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2024 to Question 20104 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many emergency pest control requests were responded to within three hours.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In relation to the incidents data in the table referred to, there were no emergency incidents relating to pest control activities requiring a response within three hours.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's planned timetable is for HMS Bulwark's (a) regeneration and (b) return to fleet.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, we do not disclose timetables of future readiness levels for Royal Navy (RN) vessels. However, I can confirm that, as has been the case since 2010, one Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ship will be held in extended readiness so that she will be capable of being regenerated if we have strategic notice that she will be needed. As such, HMS Albion will take HMS Bulwark's place in extended readiness and HMS Bulwark will be regenerated from extended readiness and maintained so that she can be ready to deliver defence outputs if required.
All discussions with Babcock International Group Plc on the LPD programme of work have related to the delivery of the original contract.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's planned timetable is for the potential regeneration of HMS Albion.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, we do not disclose timetables of future readiness levels for Royal Navy (RN) vessels. However, I can confirm that, as has been the case since 2010, one Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ship will be held in extended readiness so that she will be capable of being regenerated if we have strategic notice that she will be needed. As such, HMS Albion will take HMS Bulwark's place in extended readiness and HMS Bulwark will be regenerated from extended readiness and maintained so that she can be ready to deliver defence outputs if required.
All discussions with Babcock International Group Plc on the LPD programme of work have related to the delivery of the original contract.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Babcock on the tying up of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, we do not disclose timetables of future readiness levels for Royal Navy (RN) vessels. However, I can confirm that, as has been the case since 2010, one Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ship will be held in extended readiness so that she will be capable of being regenerated if we have strategic notice that she will be needed. As such, HMS Albion will take HMS Bulwark's place in extended readiness and HMS Bulwark will be regenerated from extended readiness and maintained so that she can be ready to deliver defence outputs if required.
All discussions with Babcock International Group Plc on the LPD programme of work have related to the delivery of the original contract.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of single living accommodation bed spaces that meet building regulation standards.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All Single Living Accommodation (SLA) bedspaces built since the 1960s - when the Building Regulations came into force - have been required to meet the standards imposed by the Regulations.
The Crown has immunity and exemption from the procedural requirements of the Building Regulations in the UK, but Departmental policy mandates that all building works must comply with the minimum standards imposed by the Building Regulations. This includes the routine safety assessments, maintenance and improvement programmes applied to all SLA buildings constructed prior to the Regulations.
The MOD's Building Regulations Compliance System (BRCS) is designed to broadly replicate the civilian Building Control process and builds on the safety culture within the MOD. BRCS also applies to building work overseas. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation's Building Control Compliance Authority ensures compliance with the procedures of the BRCS, the technical application of Building Regulations, and selects projects for audit.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 10351 on Armed Forces: Housing, if he will provide a regional breakdown of those figures.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The table below provides a breakdown per region of the number of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) which have been treated for damp and mould, loss of heating, loss of hot water, loss of water supply, electrical faults, and pest infestation since 1 April 2022.
As previously advised, the damp and mould figures are provided from February 2023 and issues relating to the loss of heating and hot water are not recorded separately as boiler faults often affect both.
The 1,674 SFA properties which had been treated for damp and mould was reported as at 10:00 hours on 18 January 2024 from the live reporting system. The end of day final figure recorded for 18 January 2024 was 1,679, as shown in the table below.
Issue | No. of SFA in South East | No. of SFA in South West | No. of SFA in Central | No. of SFA in North | Total no. of SFA properties | Supporting Notes |
Damp and mould (provided from February 2023) | 700 | 656 | 174 | 149 | 1,679 |
|
Loss of heating and hot water | 8,120 | 9,117 | 3,330 | 3,535 | 24,102 | This figure includes all repairs associated with heating such as condensate pipes freezing in extremely cold weather, a faulty single radiator valve, a lack of hot water to individual taps and are not limited to just a total loss of heating or water loss. |
Loss of water supply | 9 | 13 | 21 | 5 | 48 |
|
Electrical faults | 8,981 | 9,490 | 7,371 | 4,044 | 29,886 | The electrical fault figure includes faults such as light bulb changes, one hob of an electric oven not working and electric shower issues. It does not always relate to any safety issue or total loss of electricity. |
Pest infestation | 1,874 | 1,473 | 1,125 | 651 | 5,123 | Pest control requests are responded to within 3 hours if an emergency, and within 15 days if routine. |