Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 17774 on Ministry of Defence: Capita, whether his Department plans to conduct performance reviews of Capita’s contract in 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Army continues to monitor Capita’s performance through the various contract management measures as set out in the Recruitment Partnering Programme contract.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the E-7 Wedgetail is in operational service with the RAF.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Wedgetail aircraft has yet to enter operational service.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many radar units for the E-7 Wedgetail have been delivered to (a) Boeing and (b) the RAF by Northrop Grumman.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Three Multi-Role-Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radars have been delivered to the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the UK production facility.
The remaining two MESA radars are in production with Northrop Grumman and will be delivered to the RAF in Summer 2025.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the estimated whole-life cost is of the E-7 Wedgetail programme.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The estimated whole life cost of the E-7 Wedgetail remains subject to approval of the Full Business Case.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the planned out of service date for the Royal Navy's Crowsnest AEW helicopter system is.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The CROWSNEST programme delivers the Royal Navy's Merlin Mark2 helicopter Airborne Surveillance and Control capability, which includes Airborne Early Warning. There has been no change to the current out of service date, and the planned retirement date remains 31 December 2029, as the capability was not extended in the 2021 Integrated Review.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21267 on Defence: Procurement, what plans he has to review the effectiveness of the NATO test once implemented; and with what metrics.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Implementation work is ongoing and will conclude as soon as possible. The detail on metrics or evaluation remains under active consideration, but the work overall is being conducted under close oversight by the Permanent Secretary and Ministers, including through regular updates to the Defence Board. This will continue throughout, and after implementation, to ensure the process meets our objectives and remains effective.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21267 on Defence: Procurement, when he plans full implementation of the NATO test across all his Department's procurement decisions.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Implementation work is ongoing and will conclude as soon as possible. The detail on metrics or evaluation remains under active consideration, but the work overall is being conducted under close oversight by the Permanent Secretary and Ministers, including through regular updates to the Defence Board. This will continue throughout, and after implementation, to ensure the process meets our objectives and remains effective.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the annual armed forces equipment and formations statistics was not published on 31 October 2024.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Armed Forces Equipment and Formations 2024 publication has been delayed due to a data quality review and has a provisional release date of February 2025. This is stated in the Statistics release calendar: UK armed forces equipment and formations 2024 - Accredited official statistics announcement - GOV.UK
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for publishing his Department's annual statistics on armed forces equipment and formations.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Armed Forces Equipment and Formations 2024 publication has been delayed due to a data quality review and has a provisional release date of February 2025. This is stated in the Statistics release calendar: UK armed forces equipment and formations 2024 - Accredited official statistics announcement - GOV.UK
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of alleged reports that Russia has used chemical weapons in Ukraine .
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence continues to assess and monitor the evolving threat picture in Ukraine, including illegal Russian use of chemicals as a method of warfare. Russia has publicly admitted to the use of Riot Control Agents (RCAs) on the battlefield against Ukraine, and there are multiple reports of the use of the toxic choking agent chloropicrin. In December last year, a Technical Report confirming the use of Riot Control Agents in Ukraine was published by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
The UK has been at the forefront of international support and assistance to Ukraine and has previously provided respirators and decontamination kits to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as other protective measures to enhance Ukraine’s protective capabilities against chemical weapons. In December 2024, following a direct request for UK Assistance by Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence announced a further assistance package including funding for the procurement of respirators and other equipment to protect Ukraine's forces. This is being procured jointly with international partners through the G7 led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Our commitment to Ukraine is unwavering and we continue to work closely with our international partners, both bilaterally and in multilateral forums, to coordinate counter-CBRN support and assistance to Ukraine.