Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many 3M Combat Arms Earplugs V2 his Department purchased between 2003 and 2015.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
3M Combat Arms Ear Plugs V2 were purchased by the Ministry of Defence during this period, however records of the quantities purchased are no longer held.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) workforce and (b) other costs are to maintain the (i) 4th Light Brigade Combat Team, (ii) 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team, (iii) 102 Operational Sustainment Brigade and (iv) 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team at (A) routine levels of readiness and (B) full strength.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
We do not hold a central record of detailed workforce costings and activity at the granular unit level requested.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average annual workforce and activity cost is of the (a) Regular Army Infantry Battalion, (b) Army Reserve Infantry Battalion, (c) Royal Armoured Corps Regular Army Regiment and (d) Royal Armoured Corps Army Reserves Regiment.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
We do not hold a central record of detailed workforce costings and activity at the granular unit level requested.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many 3M Combat Arms Earplugs V2 his Department has purchased in the last five years.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence holds no records of any 3M Combat Arms Earplugs V2 being purchased in the past five years.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the Defence Medical Services cadre is operationally fit to deploy.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Whilst a statistical release of overall Armed Forces strength is published annually, strength and capability statistics for certain specialisations are not released.
Releasing the current strength and requirement of medical service personnel, or indeed other specialised professions, could be exploited by our adversaries to target, disrupt and degrade an important element of Armed Forces capability.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve the UK's space-based (a) positioning, (b) navigation and (c) timing capabilities, in the context of encrypted and alerting services.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not currently have any UK space-based position, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities, nor any plans for a future space based PNT system. The MOD works closely with the National PNT Office, in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, to develop proposals for the UK Government’s PNT capabilities as part of the cross-Government initiative, concerning future space-based and non-space-based PNT solutions.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure that the Strategic Defence Review contains adequate funding for UK Space Command to deliver (a) on procurement and (b) operationally.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Strategic Defence Review is considering all aspects of Defence, including the major features of the force structure needed to create the necessary multi-domain integrated Defence capability of the future, of which space is a key part. Space is recognised as a critical enabler for defence, which forms part of the reviewers' considerations around the opportunities for modernisation and transformation.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the next meeting is of the Space Council.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Along with colleagues from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and others across Government, the Ministry of Defence is developing plans for space activities to be coordinated and led across relevant Departments. These efforts will align with the Strategic Defence Review.
I am happy to meet with the hon. Member to discuss the issue.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on the future of the Tempest programme.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Tempest is the name used in the UK for the next generation combat aircraft being jointly developed with Japan and Italy under the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). GCAP is an important programme, as the Prime Minister has stated, which is why the Defence Secretary hosted his Japanese and Italian counterparts within weeks of taking office. Positive progress on GCAP continues, with over 3,500 people employed on future combat air. In October, the UK completed its ratification processes for the GCAP Convention, the International Treaty that sets up the GCAP International Government Organisation, earlier this month.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding his Department plans to provide for training in the (a) Royal Navy, (b) British Army and (c) Royal Air Force in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Department has interpreted funding for training to mean funding for direct training exercises only. This includes Phase 1 (basic training) and Phase 2 (initial training) costs. The final outturn for FY2023-24 is below and the equivalent for the current financial year will be released in due course.
(a) Royal Navy: £89 million
(b) British Army: £105 million
(c) Royal Air Force: £131 million