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Written Question
Royal Engineers: Development Aid and Peacekeeping Operations
Tuesday 10th September 2024

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Royal Engineers have helped to construct road bridges in (a) aid and (b) peacekeeping missions.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Corps of Royal Engineers primarily builds temporary bridges that enable military road traffic to cross dry and wet gaps during operational deployments. The Corps of Royal Engineers has not recently helped to construct road bridges in aid or peacekeeping missions. Although not deploying or constructing bridges, the Corps has remained heavily involved in overseas peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts over the last decade including in South Sudan, Sierra Leone and the Caribbean.


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Ministers' Private Offices
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2024 to Question 11388 on Ministry of Defence: Ministers' Private Offices, what the cost of the 2022 refurbishment works was; and what those refurbishment works entailed.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence

The cost of refurbishment works to Ministers’ Private Offices in 2022 totalled c£27,000.

The works comprised wallpapering and replacement carpets.


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Ministers' Private Offices
Monday 5th February 2024

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any refurbishments have been made to ministerial offices in his Department in each of the last two years.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence

Refurbishment works were carried out to Ministerial offices in 2022. No refurbishment works took place in 2023.


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Ministerial Boxes
Friday 2nd February 2024

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many ministerial red boxes belonging to his Department have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen in each of the last three years.

Answered by Andrew Murrison

There have been no reports of any lost or missing Ministerial Red Boxes within the Ministry of Defence during the last three years.

The Departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries.


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Sexual Offences
Friday 19th January 2024

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 9109 on Ministry of Defence: Sexual Offences, how much has been paid by the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force in (i) common law compensation claims that included an allegation of sexual abuse and (ii) out-of-court damages in each of the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Murrison

Pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 9109 common law compensation claims received since 2019 which have included an allegation of sexual assault or sexual abuse, have resulted in the damages payments below split by Service.

The payments include damages paid on an interim basis for continuing claims and damages paid on full and final settlement basis.

2019 (a) Army - £826,610.68; (b) Royal Navy - £406,250.00; (c) RAF - £1,211,900.00

2020 (a) Army - £1,132,960.25; (b) Royal Navy - £415,180.00; (c) RAF - £1,350,000.00

2021 (a) Army - £163,500.00; (b) Royal Navy - £1,015,900.00; (c) RAF - £508,250.00

2022 (a) Army - £425,335.00; (b) Royal Navy - £720,513.58; (c) RAF - £50,500.00

2023 (a) Army - £110,000.00; (b) Royal Navy - Nil; (c) RAF – Nil

Since all settlements were reached out of Court it is not possible to separate between the two categories (i) and (ii).


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Trespass
Monday 15th January 2024

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2023 to Question 6862 on Ministry of Defence: Trespass, if he will provide a list of all locations which were accessed without authorisation in that period.

Answered by Andrew Murrison

This information is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security. The Ministry of Defence takes the security of our sites extremely seriously and we have robust measures in place to assure the integrity of these arrangements.


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Theft
Wednesday 10th January 2024

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2023 to Question 6863 on Ministry of Defence: Theft, what each of the (a) items of service equipment and (b) other defence assets were.

Answered by Andrew Murrison

The numbers of instances provided previously in Question 6863, in the table below, will have included both live and closed cases and therefore we can now only list those items for closed cases so as not to compromise live ongoing investigations.

Subcategory

Number of Instances

Service equipment

153

Other Defence assets

34

These figures were drawn from the Defence Confidential Hotline Case Management System data. It should also be noted that whilst items are initially reported as stolen, in some instances it is subsequently established that the items were lost as opposed to stolen.

The following table lists (a) items of service equipment and (b) other defence assets that were previously provided as headline figures in Question 6863:

Case Number

Fraud Subcategory

Item(s)

1

Other Defence assets

Dyson heaters

2

Other Defence assets

Multi Meter

3

Service Equipment

General Service Respirator, Canisters and Respirator Bag

4

Service Equipment

Body armour and helmet

5

Service Equipment

Helmet

6

Service Equipment

General Service Respirator, Mark 7 ballistic helmet and Virtus body armour carrier

7

Other Defence assets

Light bulb

8

Service Equipment

Virtus Helmet

9

Service Equipment

Virtus Helmet

10

Service Equipment

Virtus Helmet & Body Armour

11

Service Equipment

Virtus Helmet

12

Service Equipment

Virtus Body Armour Fillers

13

Other Defence assets

Watt Bike Trainer Monitor

14

Service Equipment

G0 Helmet

15

Service Equipment

VIRTUS helmet, helmet mandible and body armour

16

Service Equipment

Bergen, MOD (A) issued VIRTUS scalable vest, VIRTUS Helmet, Webbing and General Service Respirator

17

Service Equipment

Small Arms Protection Vest

18

Service Equipment

Army Recruitment Gazebo

19

Service Equipment

Virtus Helmet

20

Other Defence assets

Flat Screen TV

21

Other Defence assets

Silver pheasant ornaments

22

Service Equipment

VIRTUS scalable vest

23

Service Equipment

MOD (A) issued VIRTUS Helmet, Scalable vest and ancillaries, MOD laptop

24

Service Equipment

Pedal Cycle

25

Other Defence assets

MOD issued Tools

26

Service Equipment

Virtus Helmet

27

Service Equipment

Ammunition

28

Service Equipment

General Service Respirator

29

Other Defence assets

MOD ID Card

30

Service Equipment

Electronic ear defence

31

Service Equipment

Hawke Laser Range Finders.

32

Service Equipment

Daysacks Including MOD and Personal equipment.

33

Service Equipment

VIRTUS equipment

34

Service Equipment

VIRTUS helmet

35

Service Equipment

VIRTUS webbing and scalable vest

36

Service Equipment

VIRTUS scalable vest and General Service Respirator

37

Service Equipment

VIRTUS 17L Daysack.

38

Service Equipment

VIRTUS helmet

39

Service Equipment

VIRTUS helmet

40

Service Equipment

Webbing; vest; helmet; and bag.

41

Service Equipment

VIRTUS mandible, webbing and day sack and personal items

42

Service Equipment

VIRTUS scalable vest

43

Service Equipment

Alleged Loss of GSR

44

Service Equipment

LED 40" Smart TV

45

Service Equipment

Daysacks

46

Service Equipment

Respirator & Filter ACTO CAT 2

47

Service Equipment

Helmet

48

Service Equipment

Fuel

49

Service Equipment

CES Items

50

Service Equipment

Replica Scale Model Siege Gun.

51

Service Equipment

VIRTUS body armour system

52

Service Equipment

VIRTUS helmet

53

Service Equipment

MOD(A) Respirator

54

Service Equipment

VIRTUS body armour

55

Other Defence assets

X-Box Controllers

56

Service Equipment

Detector Gas, Helmet Ground Troops, Endoscope Camera.

57

Service Equipment

Land Rover Tyre Rims.

58

Service Equipment

Alleged theft of Virtus daysack/VIRTUS helmet

59

Service Equipment

Rifle, blank rounds and attachments

60

Service Equipment

ACTO Small Arms Protection vest

61

Service Equipment

Personal items/issued kit

62

Service Equipment

Assault ladders, tent equipment, vehicle parts and uniform

63

Other Defence assets

Outboard motor and propellers

64

Service Equipment

MOD(A) VIRTUS TAC vest, MOD(A) VIRTUS helmet and MOD(A) General Service Respirator

65

Service Equipment

Body armour

66

Service Equipment

Body armour, helmet, empty magazines, scopes and silencer for a rifle.

Service Equipment

Body armour, helmet, empty magazines, scopes and silencer for a rifle.

67

Service Equipment

Apple iPad Pro21 and cash

68

Service Equipment

Radio equipment

69

Service Equipment

Virtus Kit

70

Other Defence assets

Office supplies and personal phone

71

Service Equipment

MOD Issue Laptop

72

Service Equipment

Field Pack Bergens and SILVA Compass

73

Other Defence assets

Ninja Foodi Max Air Fryer

74

Service Equipment

VIRTUS helmet

75

Service Equipment

Gym equipment

76

Service Equipment

Ground Helmet

77

Service Equipment

VIRTUS scalable vest

78

Service Equipment

VIRTUS helmet and scalable vest, and General Service Respirator

79

Service Equipment

VIRTUS Scalable Vest, Nape Protections and General Service respirator filters

80

Service Equipment

MOD (A) issued Fridge

81

Service Equipment

Issued Medals

82

Service Equipment

Bowman Cable Assembly

83

Service Equipment

Drills

84

Service Equipment

Not stated

85

Service Equipment

Virtus Helmet

86

Service Equipment

VIRTUS scalable vest, helmet, General Service Respirator and cash

87

Service Equipment

VIRTUS Helmet and emergency release strap

88

Service Equipment

CES Kit

89

Service Equipment

Canbus Terminator

90

Service Equipment

Peltor Ear Defence

91

Other Defence assets

White goods

92

Service Equipment

Drill Rounds

93

Service Equipment

Military Equipment

94

Service Equipment

WRENCH TOQUE/RATCHET HANDLE & SLIDING T BAR

95

Service Equipment

General Mechanic Tool Kit

96

Service Equipment

MOD (A) Watt Bike

97

Service Equipment

VIRTUS Helmet & Scalable Vests

98

Service Equipment

Pedal Cycle

99

Service Equipment

Toolbox

100

Service Equipment

Baker Rifle

101

Service Equipment

VIRTUS Bergan

102

Other Defence assets

Pedal Cycle

103

Other Defence assets

Generator airlines from an MOD(A) issued mounted generator trailer

104

Other Defence assets

Decommissioned Heavy Machine Gun

105

Other Defence assets

VIRTUS daysack and laptop charger

106

Service Equipment

Tools

107

Service Equipment

MOD(A) binoculars

108

Service Equipment

Exercise equipment

109

Service Equipment

Altberg boots & Respirator

110

Other Defence assets

MOD issued UBAC and MOD issued MTP Trousers

111

Service Equipment

Night Vision Scopes.

112

Service Equipment

Tumble dryer

113

Service Equipment

MK7 helmet & VIRTUS shoulder pads

Service Equipment

MK7 helmet & VIRTUS shoulder pads

114

Service Equipment

50" TV

115

Other Defence assets

Jackery Power bank

116

Service Equipment

VIRTUS Body Armour and other military equipment

117

Other Defence assets

Diamond brooch

118

Service Equipment

CES items

119

Service Equipment

Medical bergens and collapsible stretchers

120

Service Equipment

HMNVG's


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Power Failures
Tuesday 19th December 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there have been any power cuts on their Department's property in each of the last three years.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence

Information on power cuts on Ministry of Defence property in each of the last three years can only be provided at disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Theft
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many thefts of his Department's property were reported in the last year; and thefts of what.

Answered by Andrew Murrison

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) works hard to detect and deter theft and there are robust processes in place to raise awareness of the need for vigilance in all aspects of security. Just as theft occurs in wider society, the MOD is not immune, and we actively encourage individuals to report any evidence of loss or suspicion of theft. It is important to note that in some cases of reported theft the property is later recovered. In the case of key assets however, MOD sites have a wide range of additional security measures to ensure their safety.

For the period 14 December 2022 to 14 December 2023, we have a reported 213 cases of theft broken down as follows:

Subcategory

Number of Instances

Service equipment

153

Other Defence assets

34

IT/Telecoms

10

Cash

8

Fuel

6

Metal

2

Total

213


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Trespass
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many instances of trespassing on his Department's property have been reported in the last year.

Answered by Andrew Murrison

The Ministry of Defence takes the security of our sites extremely seriously and we have robust measures in place to assure the integrity of these arrangements. For the period 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023, we had 107 reported cases of unauthorised access.

To put this into context the Ministry of Defence has over 1000 sites in the UK. This figure includes incidents at sites which are publicly accessible, disused, or not deemed as sensitive sites.