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Written Question
National Service
Wednesday 28th February 2024

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a system of national service for young people.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence purpose is to protect the people of the United Kingdom, prevent conflict, and be ready to fight our enemies. To support this, the Services offer their recruits high-quality training, both vocational and in softer skills such as teamwork and the ability to function under pressure. These recruits are volunteers, however, and the Government has no current plans to reintroduce National Service or any form of conscription.

Since 1963, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces which are staffed by volunteers. The demanding nature of defence today is such that we require highly trained, professional men and women in our Regular and Reserve Armed Forces, fully committed to giving their best in defending our country and its allies.


Written Question
Ukraine: Military Aid
Tuesday 24th October 2023

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to progress commitments made under The Tallinn Pledge.

Answered by James Heappey

Following the announcement of The Tallin Pledge, the UK delivered a major package of equipment to Ukraine which met our donations commitment in full. The training commitment will be met by the end of 2023. Along with allies and partners, we continue to provide Ukraine with equipment needed to protect critical national infrastructure and expel Russian forces from Ukraine's sovereign territory.


Written Question
Defence: Innovation
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps is Department is taking to support (a) industry and (b) academia to engage in the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by James Heappey

The UK is a strong supporter of the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). The European Regional Office is hosted at the Imperial College Innovation Hub at White City (twinned with a hub in Tallinn, Estonia). The pilot DIANA ‘Challenge Programmes’ were actively promoted to the UK industry and academic communities via UK Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) networks, and over 200 UK-based entities applied. The successful participants are expected to be announced later in October, and the Department will continue to support UK industry and academia to engage with the DIANA pilot programmes, when they begin in early 2024.


Written Question
Kosovo: Security
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the security situation in northern Kosovo in the context of the recent violence near the village of Banjska.

Answered by James Heappey

The UK strongly condemns the violent attack on Kosovo Police in northern Kosovo on 24 September. The attack involved a large group of organised and well-resourced gunmen. The situation is calm but fragile. The facts of the incident are being established by the Kosovan authorities. At NATO’s request the UK deployed our Strategic Reserve Force to increase KFOR’s ability to support a safe and secure environment. Our forces in country continue to monitor the situation carefully. Both Serbia and Kosovo must refrain from actions that add to current tensions. Dialogue is key for finding long term mutually acceptable solutions and protecting the gains of the last decade.


Written Question
Ukraine: Military Aid
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government plans to increase its provision of long-range precision strike weapons, (b) artillery, (c) air defence equipment, (d) armoured vehicles and (e) other forms of military support to Ukraine.

Answered by James Heappey

The UK is committed to working with our allies and partners to meet Ukraine's defensive requirements, now and in the future. Priority areas for support in the coming months include air defence to protect Ukraine's critical national infrastructure during the winter, further artillery ammunition, and support to help Ukraine sustain the capabilities already provided, including to recover and repair equipment used in its counter-offensive. Since 2015, over 50,000 Ukrainian personnel have been trained by the UK.


Written Question
Armed Forces: Cooperation
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 11 of the Defence Command Paper 2023, published in July 2023, what recent progress his Department has made on supporting integrated working practices between different branches of the UK Armed Forces.

Answered by James Heappey

Integration was a key theme of the Integrated Review 21 and the IR Refresh 23. In the Defence Command Paper 23 we confirmed the priority placed on Integration across Defence and the Armed Forces, and announced the establishment of the Integration Design Authority (IDA). The logic of integration is to make more of finite resources within a more competitive world in which speed of adaptation can provide decisive advantage. The pursuit of integration is led by Strategic Command and is being embedded as a whole Defence activity, working alongside the single Services. We constantly check our approach through analysing lessons learnt from conflicts, such as that in Ukraine.


Written Question
Poland: Armed Forces
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with his (a) Lithuanian and (b) Polish counterparts on the potential merits of increasing the number of UK troops on rotational deployment to the Suwalki gap.

Answered by James Heappey

The Defence Secretary has not had any discussion with his Lithuanian or Polish counterparts as there are no UK troops on rotational deployment to the Suwalki gap.


Written Question
Gibraltar: Territorial Waters
Thursday 19th October 2023

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times his Department has recorded the incursion of (a) Spanish and (b) civilian and other vessels in Gibraltarian waters in 2023 to date.

Answered by James Heappey

Between 1 January and 16 October 2023, there were 382 incursions by Spanish Government Agency vessels into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW), breaching the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Article 19. There were no incursions into BGTW by non-Spanish Government Agency vessels in this period. Entries into BGTW by civilian or commercial vessels are not subject to UNCLOS within BGTW, and are therefore not defined as incursions.


Written Question
Estonia: Armed Forces
Thursday 19th October 2023

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British armed forces personnel are currently located in Estonia; and how many will be based in that country in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 and (c) 2026.

Answered by James Heappey

There are currently 982 UK Service personnel deployed to Estonia as part of the UK's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP). A baseline deployment of around 1,000 troops is planned to be deployed in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The eFP is a rotational deployment, the precise number of personnel deployed will vary at any one time and will rise substantially during peak training periods.


Written Question
Estonia: Armed Forces
Thursday 19th October 2023

Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his Estonian counterpart on increasing the number of British troops in that country as part of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence.

Answered by James Heappey

The Secretary of State for Defence held a bilateral meeting with the Estonian Defence Minister during NATO Defence Ministers in October, during which they discussed and agreed the UK's enduring commitment to the eFP. During this meeting the ministers also signed a Defence Cooperation Arrangement, which reaffirms the UK's previous commitments to Estonia and outlines future defence cooperation opportunities that the UK and Estonia will explore. Estonia continues to support the UK's approach to the eFP and the current Defence footprint in country.