Asked by: Rory Stewart (Independent - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK (a) military personnel and (b) civilians have been (i) killed and (ii) wounded in Afghanistan in the last 13 years.
Answered by Mark Francois - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Between 7 October 2001 and 17 December 2014, 453 UK military personnel have died on operations in Afghanistan.
Information regarding those killed and wounded in Afghanistan is published on the Government's website: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/op-herrick-casualty-and-fatality-tables-released-in-2014.
Nine UK civilians have been treated for injuries in Afghanistan or aeromedically evacuated by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). These are included within the published figures.
No MOD civilians have died on operations in Afghanistan.
Asked by: Rory Stewart (Independent - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many weeks of cultural and historical training the average graduate of the Defence Cultural Specialist Unit course receives in addition to their language training.
Answered by Mark Francois - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Defence Cultural Specialist Unit is not a training establishment and therefore does not offer any courses in the generally accepted use of the term. Its role is to prepare and provide Cultural Specialists and Human Terrain Analysts for units at readiness or deploying on operations. The Unit works with a variety of organisations, including the Defence Centre for Language and Culture at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, to ensure that its personnel are appropriately trained to meet the UK's commitments.
After the completion of appropriate language training, which also includes elements of cultural and historical learning, a Cultural Specialist will receive, on average, between 3-5 weeks of cultural and historical training specific to their future role.
Since the Defence Cultural Specialist Unit was formed in 2010, 59 personnel have spent more than six months undertaking related studies. These are provided at a range of locations, including the Defence Centre for Language and Culture at the Defence Academy. As at 30 October 2014 the Unit had seven personnel undertaking cultural and historical training.
Asked by: Rory Stewart (Independent - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the armed forces have spent more than six months studying with the Defence Cultural Specialist Unit; and how many are studying now.
Answered by Mark Francois - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Defence Cultural Specialist Unit is not a training establishment and therefore does not offer any courses in the generally accepted use of the term. Its role is to prepare and provide Cultural Specialists and Human Terrain Analysts for units at readiness or deploying on operations. The Unit works with a variety of organisations, including the Defence Centre for Language and Culture at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, to ensure that its personnel are appropriately trained to meet the UK's commitments.
After the completion of appropriate language training, which also includes elements of cultural and historical learning, a Cultural Specialist will receive, on average, between 3-5 weeks of cultural and historical training specific to their future role.
Since the Defence Cultural Specialist Unit was formed in 2010, 59 personnel have spent more than six months undertaking related studies. These are provided at a range of locations, including the Defence Centre for Language and Culture at the Defence Academy. As at 30 October 2014 the Unit had seven personnel undertaking cultural and historical training.
Asked by: Rory Stewart (Independent - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in the armed forces are in receipt of a Level (a) 3 and (b) 4 language allowance in Pashto.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The information requested is provided below:
Level 3 (Professional) Level | Level 4 (Expert) Level | |
Total Armed Forces Personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance | 30 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Arabic | 6 | Nil |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Pashto | 21 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance – Dari | 1 | Nil |
The information provided relates to the Defence Operational Allowance Language Award Scheme (DOLAS) and the Active Use Awards (AUA) under that scheme. Languages classified as Operational are Arabic, Pashto, Farsi, Dari and Somali. All other languages are not currently classified as Operational and therefore do not attract a language allowance payment within this scheme.
Asked by: Rory Stewart (Independent - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in the armed forces are in receipt of a Level (a) 3 and (b) 4 language allowance.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The information requested is provided below:
Level 3 (Professional) Level | Level 4 (Expert) Level | |
Total Armed Forces Personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance | 30 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Arabic | 6 | Nil |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Pashto | 21 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance – Dari | 1 | Nil |
The information provided relates to the Defence Operational Allowance Language Award Scheme (DOLAS) and the Active Use Awards (AUA) under that scheme. Languages classified as Operational are Arabic, Pashto, Farsi, Dari and Somali. All other languages are not currently classified as Operational and therefore do not attract a language allowance payment within this scheme.
Asked by: Rory Stewart (Independent - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in the armed forces are in receipt of a Level (a) 3 and (b) 4 language allowance in Dari.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The information requested is provided below:
Level 3 (Professional) Level | Level 4 (Expert) Level | |
Total Armed Forces Personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance | 30 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Arabic | 6 | Nil |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Pashto | 21 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance – Dari | 1 | Nil |
The information provided relates to the Defence Operational Allowance Language Award Scheme (DOLAS) and the Active Use Awards (AUA) under that scheme. Languages classified as Operational are Arabic, Pashto, Farsi, Dari and Somali. All other languages are not currently classified as Operational and therefore do not attract a language allowance payment within this scheme.
Asked by: Rory Stewart (Independent - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in the armed forces are in receipt of a Level (a) 3 and (b) 4 language allowance in Arabic.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The information requested is provided below:
Level 3 (Professional) Level | Level 4 (Expert) Level | |
Total Armed Forces Personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance | 30 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Arabic | 6 | Nil |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Pashto | 21 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance – Dari | 1 | Nil |
The information provided relates to the Defence Operational Allowance Language Award Scheme (DOLAS) and the Active Use Awards (AUA) under that scheme. Languages classified as Operational are Arabic, Pashto, Farsi, Dari and Somali. All other languages are not currently classified as Operational and therefore do not attract a language allowance payment within this scheme.
Asked by: Rory Stewart (Independent - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether regular service personnel who take out the standard Pax Policy life insurance are covered in the event of death in non-war fighting operations.
Answered by Michael Fallon
They are. Pax personal accident insurance covers bodily injury as a result of an accident that results in death, catastrophic injury, permanent disability, specified burns, specified fractures, flesh wounds or hospitalisation, while on, and off, duty worldwide, at any time. Pax policies also offer an Optional Life and Critical Illness insurance extension which, if purchased, covers death from natural causes and certain specific critical illnesses at any time. | |||||||