Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance the Atomic Weapons Establishment is receiving from the US authorities on Project Pegasus.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) regularly discuss a range of nuclear matters with their US counterparts under the auspices of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement. These matters include aspects of the capital investment programme at AWE, of which Pegasus forms a part.
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when construction work on Box A of Project Pegasus at the Atomic Weapons Establishment started.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Pegasus is the replacement Highly Enriched Uranium component manufacturing and storage facility, and forms part of the Government's programme of investment in the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites.
Preparatory work on Box A started in May 2013 and construction work began in August 2013.
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the decision to review the scope and delivery schedule for Project Pegasus at the Atomic Weapons Establishment was taken; and when he expects a revised scope and delivery schedule to be approved.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Consistent with industry best practice for all projects, Pegasus is under regular review. If a project requires a revised approval then this may be sought once a robust evidence base has been established.
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected operational dates are for Project Pegasus and Project Mensa at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Project Pegasus received Main Gate approval in August 2011 with an approved cost of £634 million. Project Mensa received Main Gate approval in May 2011 with an approved cost of £734 million.Both projects' approved in-service dates are between 2016 and 2020.
Consistent with industry best practice, major projects are regularly reviewed and may seek revised approvals if a robust evidence base is established.
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected out-turn expenditure is on (a) Project Pegasus and (b) Project Mensa at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Project Pegasus received Main Gate approval in August 2011 with an approved cost of £634 million. Project Mensa received Main Gate approval in May 2011 with an approved cost of £734 million.Both projects' approved in-service dates are between 2016 and 2020.
Consistent with industry best practice, major projects are regularly reviewed and may seek revised approvals if a robust evidence base is established.
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department has spent on the Type 45 programme in each of the last four financial years; and what the projected spend is on that programme in each of the next four financial years.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The total spent on the Type 45 programme in each of the last four financial years is shown in the table below. This includes costs of the Type 45 build programme and the in-service support of the six ships. I am withholding information on the projected spend over the next four financial years as we are negotiating a contract for future support, and its release would therefore prejudice the commercial interests of the Department.
Financial Year (FY) 2010-11 £ million
| FY 2011-12 | FY 2012-13
| FY 2013-14
| Total |
281 | 237 | 167 | 104 | 789 |
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department has spent on the aircraft carrier programme in each of the last four financial years; and what the projected spend is on that programme in each of the next four financial years.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The total spent on the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier programme in each of the last four financial years, as published in the National Audit Office’s Major Project Report covering each of the relevant years, is as follows:
2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 |
£630 million | £670 million | £712 million | £773 million |
I am withholding the breakdown of the projected spend on the programme for each of the next four financial years as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests. The overall cost of the ship programme, as announced by the then Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 6 November 2013, (Official Report, column 251-254), is £6.212 billion.
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what research his Department has (a) commissioned, (b) funded and (c) undertaken on the mental health needs of service personnel and veterans since 2010; and what his most recent estimate is of the number of service personnel and veterans with such needs.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) commissions and funds a wide range of research into the mental health of Armed Forces personnel. This work continues to produce high quality evidence upon which we can make considered decisions about the way we manage and treat our personnel.
In particular, we continue to fund the large-scale, ongoing independent study (initially commissioned by the MOD in 2003) from the King's Centre for Mental Health Research (KCMHR), which has become an important source of data on the impact of deployment on the overall health and wellbeing of military personnel who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Specific work commissioned under this contract since 2010 includes research into mental health disorders in Reservists; evaluation of a Post-Operational Stress Management programme tailored to Reservists; mental health stigma in the Armed Forces; and a US-funded study into a possible screening tool for mental health issues. Another significant piece of work commissioned and funded by the MOD has been a study of alcohol use disorders, conducted by Cranfield University.
It is not possible to provide the number of serving personnel or veterans with mental health needs at any single point in time. However, statistics show that in financial year 2013-14, 5,040 UK Armed Forces personnel had a new episode of care for a mental disorder at one of the MOD's Departments of Community Mental Health, the majority of whom will have already been successfully treated and returned to work. The medical treatment of ex-service personnel is the responsibility of the UK Departments of Health, and the MOD continues to work closely with them to improve the mental healthcare available.
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to female service personnel with mental health problems; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anna Soubry
We take the health of our military personnel very seriously, and provide mental health treatment and support to all members of the UK Armed Forces, regardless of gender. We have both male and female mental healthcare staff, and are thus able to accommodate cases where an assessment or therapy referral makes a specific recommendation about the gender of the mental healthcare professional providing treatment.
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what cross-departmental work his Department is undertaking on veterans' welfare.
Answered by Anna Soubry
A very feature of the Armed Forces Covenant is the Covenant Reference Group (CRG), which is chaired by the Cabinet Office Minister for Government Policy and includes representatives from all of the main Government Departments. The CRG meets regularly to guide and direct work on the Armed Forces Covenant, including support for the veteran community. Other members of the CRG include the three Service Family Federations, COBSEO (the Confederation of Service Charities) and other charities.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is represented at cross-Departmental groups, such as the DCLG Working Group for Homeless Veterans. In addition, the MOD co-chairs with the Department of Health the MOD/UK Departments of Health Partnership Board, which is responsible for ensuring that the MOD and UK Health Departments work together to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces Covenant (an obligation which the NHS in England is mandated to deliver), and to improve the health and healthcare of the Armed Forces, their families and veterans.