Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the salary sacrifice scheme to members of the armed forces to enable them to pay for items such as cars and bikes directly through their payroll.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no plans to introduce salary sacrifice schemes for members of the Armed Forces. However, the MOD continually reviews the overall offer to Service personnel with the aim of making it as attractive as possible, supporting maximum levels of recruitment and retention within available resources.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Armed Forces Covenant in supporting veterans in (a) Dudley, (b) the Black Country and (c) the UK.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
This Government is committed to making the UK the best place to be a veteran and to do more to ensure that each veteran is valued, contributing and supported. This is why we published the Strategy for our Veterans in November 2018, and its Action Plan in January 2020, and have been working with a range of partners, including those in local Government, to make this vision a reality: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategy-for-our-veterans
Our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant has seen tangible progress in 2020, including through the launch of the Veterans Gateway app in May, which provides local information on services available to support veterans. Since signing the Armed Forces Covenant, we have worked closely with Dudley Council through our local liaison officers and the Council now guarantees job interviews to Service leavers and veterans who meet the minimum criteria. All past and serving personnel and their families also qualify for the half price Options Leisure Plus scheme at sports halls, swimming pools and most events at borough halls. In June, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government published new statutory guidance for local authorities to further improve access to social housing for members of the Armed Forces, veterans and their families.
Dudley Council now allows any veteran or Service leaver family applying for social housing to have their service years classed as years spent on its housing waiting list. All four Black Country Local Authorities are participating in the West Midlands working group supporting the Covenant legislation engagement process, ahead of the legislation being introduced to Parliament in the Armed Forces Bill next year.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
What steps his Department is taking to support defence exports to NATO partner countries.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence leads on strategic campaigns but engages fully with our NATO partners more widely on defence exports. The Department is keen to support our allies with excellent British capabilities and in doing so support British jobs. Many such roles and export opportunities are embedded across the Midlands.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure the armed forces are prepared to support the roll out of covid-19 vaccines as soon as they become available; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on using the armed forces to assist in the distribution of the vaccine.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has prepared a Winter Support Force of 13,500 personnel to respond to a range of challenges over the winter including COVID-19. 115 personnel are currently supporting vaccine delivery tasks (as at 30 November) and the MOD is working closely with other Departments on future plans. Relevant Ministers, including the Secretary of State for Defence, discuss this subject routinely.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UN in preventing sexual violence in conflict areas.
Answered by James Heappey
Over recent years, we have supported and driven the adoption of several landmark UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) which seek to prevent Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) by demonstrating that these acts will not go unpunished. These resolutions have secured language committing to a survivor-centric approach to CRSV; highlighted the need to support children born of sexual violence, and promoted specific language on sexual violence in sanction regimes.
UK leadership resulted in the unanimous adoption of UNSCR 2379 on Daesh Accountability, pushing for justice for the survivors of sexual violence in Iraq, and to ensure that Daesh can be held accountable for their crimes. Since 2011, prevention of CSRV has grown in international prominence, as evidenced by the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict's Team of Experts working closely with 14 countries to strengthen national capacities and expertise to investigate and prosecute acts of CRSV.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to prioritise British firms in the procurement of goods and services to increase employment and growth as the covid-19 lockdown eases.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Our intention is always to secure the best capability for the Armed Forces at best value for money for the taxpayer.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the vital contribution the UK defence industry makes to our prosperity. In 2018-19 the MOD spent £19.2 billion with UK industry and commerce, directly supporting 119,000 jobs across the country and indirectly supporting many thousands more. Our UK supply chain has a wide regional footprint and supports the prosperity of the UK across every region, stimulating high-value, high-skilled jobs. We have launched a number of activities to support the growth and competitiveness of the UK defence sector, including through the defence prosperity programme. More broadly, the MOD is leading a cross-Government review into the UK's defence and security sectors. This will identify how we can enhance our strategic approach to ensure we have competitive, innovative and world-class defence and security industries that drive investment and prosperity across the Union, now and in the future.