Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to increase the sanctions for flying over (a) military establishments, (b) facilities providing (i) equipment, (ii) goods and (iii) services to the armed forces and (c) other restricted areas.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The National Security Act 2023 introduced new and specific sanctions in relation to unauthorised overflying of Defence sites by both conventional and unmanned aircraft. The sanctions range from those applicable to a summary offence for simple, unauthorised flights, up to 14 years imprisonment where the purpose of the flight is one that is prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK. There are no current plans to review these sanctions.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the reintroduction of national service on national security.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Government has no current plans to reintroduce National Service. Since 1963, when the last national servicemen were discharged, 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 staffed by volunteers. The demanding, increasingly technical, 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.
If potentially unwilling National Service recruits were to be obliged to serve alongside the professional men and women of our Armed Forces, it could damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources. If, on the other hand, National Service recruits were kept in separate units, it would be difficult to find a proper and meaningful role for them, potentially harming motivation and discipline. For all these reasons, there are no current plans for the restoration of any form of National Service.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of climate change on the counter-sonar capabilities of the continuous at sea deterrent.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Royal Navy continuously monitors the potential impacts of climate related risks to ensure its equipment remains suitable for future operating parameters.
Whilst for security reasons I cannot go into detail regarding operational capabilities, I can confirm that Defence is committed to making preparations for the more extreme conditions that climate change may bring, in order to maintain operational advantage.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of climate change on anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Royal Navy continuously monitors the potential impacts of climate related risks to ensure its equipment remains suitable for future operating parameters.
Whilst for security reasons I cannot go into detail regarding operational capabilities, I can confirm that Defence is committed to making preparations for the more extreme conditions that climate change may bring, in order to maintain operational advantage.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK has adequate ground-based surface-to-air defence capabilities to defend itself from potential medium- and long-range missile attacks.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
To complement the Air Defence already provided by the RAF’s Typhoon Force, Defence has committed funds in year to significantly enhance its Counter-Uncrewed Air Systems capabilities. The British Army, through its Land Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) Programme, plans to spend more than £3 billion over the next ten years modernising its GBAD, with substantial investment in scaling, extending, and integrating its Air Defence capability. Similarly, the Secretary of State has recently announced a £405 million upgrade to the Royal Navy’s Sea Viper Air Defence System that will enable it to defeat ballistic missile threats. Further detail on Defence’s plan for protecting the United Kingdom against attack from the skies can be found in the Defence Command Paper Refresh which was published on 18 July 2023.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on stationing non-UK nuclear weapons at UK military sites.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
It remains longstanding UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any given location.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will visit (a) RAF Cosford and (b) the RBSL Challenger 3 manufacturing facilities in (i) the Borough of Telford and Wrekin and (ii) Shropshire in 2024.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
I visited RBSL in Telford, Shropshire on 13 February 2024 to see both Boxer and Challenger 3 manufacturing facilities.
I understand that the Defence Secretary has responded to the hon. Member separately on his written invitation to visit both of these sites.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to reduce the length of time between the (a) date that armed services personnel are informed by a medical board that they are unfit for service and (b) date of discharge.
Answered by James Heappey
The date that a Service person is due to be discharged is calculated on an individual basis, taking into consideration a number of factors, including entitlements to any remaining individual leave allowance, Resettlement Leave, Invaliding leave and Terminal Leave. If there are additional considerations, such as an extension to attend a recovery course, then a decision will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
There are no current plans to reduce the time between the date that a Service person is informed by a medical board that they are unfit for service, and the date of their discharge.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to increase the number of hours of training for armed forces personnel on the security risks of using private social media.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Ministry of Defence does not have any plans to update military law regarding the use of social media by Armed Forces personnel.
Policy and guidance on the use of social media is set out in the MOD’s Acceptable Use Policy (JSP 740), which is available to all armed forces personnel. The MOD recognises the importance of educating personnel on the security risks of social media and runs both security awareness campaigns and online learning programs. The MOD has recently introduced new cyber security training for all personnel that includes a module on social media and will continue to use different communication means to reinforce the message.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he will take steps to update military law to ensure the secure use of social media by armed forces personnel.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Ministry of Defence does not have any plans to update military law regarding the use of social media by Armed Forces personnel.
Policy and guidance on the use of social media is set out in the MOD’s Acceptable Use Policy (JSP 740), which is available to all armed forces personnel. The MOD recognises the importance of educating personnel on the security risks of social media and runs both security awareness campaigns and online learning programs. The MOD has recently introduced new cyber security training for all personnel that includes a module on social media and will continue to use different communication means to reinforce the message.