Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training is provided to officials of his Department working on his Department's Saudi Armed Forces Programme and the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project on responding to whistleblowers from the private sector.
Answered by Michael Fallon
| I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Philip Dunne) to the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Cat Smith) on 5 November 2015 to Question 13794. | ||||||
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has received representations from Amnesty International on photographs alleged to show UK-produced cluster munitions dropped in Yemen.
Answered by Michael Fallon
Amnesty International wrote to the Prime Minister on the 23 May, and to the Department on 3 June, on the alleged use of UK-produced BL-755 cluster munitions by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Europe on 8 June 2016, Official Report, column 137WH, when the UK last maintained cluster munitions held by Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The UK has never maintained cluster munitions held by Saudi Arabia.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the profits made by the Disposal Services Authority were in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Disposal Services Authority (DSA) accounts are prepared in accordance with the Ministry of Defence Financial Accounting Processes and Procedures; the DSA reports financial receipts rather than profit.
DSA equipment disposal receipts for the last three full financial years are provided in the table below:
Financial Year | Net Receipts (£ million) |
2012-2013 | 39.8 |
2013-2014 | 44.9 |
2014-2015 | 29.2 |
Note: Net receipts change year-on-year, dependent on what equipment is declared surplus to requirement.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how his Department defines the commercial exploitation levy; and how much was received by his Department from that levy in financial years (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) defines the commercial exploitation levy as a form of royalty for any commercial sales of a design, use of special tooling or the granting of licences where the MOD has contributed to research and development costs. There are no restrictions on the categories of contracts to which the levy applies, but the vast majority relate to equipment, including software. This is because MOD research and development funding is largely in support of equipment development.
The general aim of levy arrangements should be to take a consistent, simple and quick approach to obtaining the maximum return possible without harming sales. It is negotiated on a contract by contract basis and represents either a percentage of sales or a profit sharing agreement.
The amount of levy received during the financial years requested is as follows:
Year | £ million (Ex-VAT) |
2012-13 | 8.7 |
2013-14 | 8.3 |
2014-15 | 12.5 |
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 23641, which of the five findings contained in the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator assessment of Exercise Senator 2011 has not been formally closed out.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The finding not yet formally closed out in the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) assessment of Exercise Senator 2011 called for a review of the hazard assessment for the transport operation. This is to ensure that protection measures remain proportionate to the risk and continue to be based on up-to-date scientific and regulatory advice. DNSR continues to have confidence in the adequacy of the arrangements currently in place, as has been demonstrated at emergency response exercises, but believes it is timely to conduct a review.
We currently expect the finding to be closed out within the next 12 months.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian police are involved in guarding HM Naval Base Clyde.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
I am withholding the number of Ministry of Defence Police officers deployed at HM Naval Base Clyde for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs which will be created at Barrow shipyards by the Successor submarine project; and what estimate it has made of the anticipated duration of employment of those jobs.
Answered by Philip Dunne
We expect the Successor submarine programme will sustain thousands of jobs at Barrow into the 2030s. These jobs will ensure that the UK retains and develops its world leading skills at Barrow and a wide range of companies across the nation, making a significant contribution to the UK economy.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the accuracy of reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that a UK-produced bomb was used in an airstrike against a civilian factory in Yemen.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
We are aware of the allegation that a ceramics factory in Sana'a Governorate was attacked on 23 September 2015 causing civilian casualties and are monitoring this alleged incident.
In doing so, the Ministry of Defence is considering a range of evidence from Government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations. Our consideration of this allegation is on going.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answers of 21 October 2015 to Questions 12114 and 12115, on what date Defence Equipment and Support made the decision that the High Security Vehicle should be withdrawn from service on 31 July 2015.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The decision to withdraw the High Security Vehicle from service on 31 July 2015 was made in February 2015.
Decisions and timings on the routes to be used for the transportation of Defence Nuclear Material are part of the operational planning process. I am withholding further information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.