Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of UK-supplied BL-755 cluster munitions by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition on the civilian population in Yemen.
Answered by Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the Statement I made on 24 May 2016 (Official Report, column 401).
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30727, what knowledge UK military personnel based in the command and control centre for Saudi Arabian airstrikes in Yemen had on the alleged use of cluster munitions in that conflict.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The UK is aware that Saudi Arabia has used cluster munitions in the current conflict in Yemen, as the Saudis have themselves publicly confirmed.
Based on all the information available to us we assess that no UK-supplied cluster weapons have been used, nor have UK-supplied aircraft been involved in the use of cluster weapons, in the current conflict in Yemen.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 23632, whether UK military personnel providing training and education for military personnel in Saudi Arabia on the subjects of compliance with international humanitarian law and transparency address the use of cluster munitions.
Answered by Michael Fallon
We have provided education and training courses to Saudi Arabian military personnel under existing Government-to-Government arrangements. These courses expose Saudi military personnel to UK policy, compliance with International Humanitarian Law and the conventions relating to the Law of Armed Conflict. We take our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions seriously and continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the country of origin was of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa who were intercepted by (a) NATO (b) EU and (c) UK maritime operations in each of the last two years.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
NATO is not conducting any operations in the South Central Mediterranean and has therefore not rescued any people attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa.
The main countries of origin of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa and rescued by EU and UK maritime operations are the following:
Algeria
Cameroon
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Ghana
Gambia
Guinea
Ivory Coast
Mali
Morocco
Nigeria
Senegal
Somalia
Sudan
The only UK maritime operation over the last two years in the Central Mediterranean was conducted in May and June 2015, where HMS BULWARK rescued 4,747 persons from the following nationalities:
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Chad
Ethiopia
Eretria
The Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Ivory Coast
Kenya
Libya
Mali
Morocco
Nigeria
Pakistan
Senegal
Sudan
We do not centrally hold information on the nationalities of persons rescued by NATO or EU operations in the Central Mediterranean. The FRONTEX website does have information about numbers and nationalities of migrants attempting to cross the Central Mediterranean from North Africa.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) training and (b) materiel support is being provided by his Department to Yazidi militia forces.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK is working with the government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure they are better able to protect their own diverse population, including the Yazidi and other minority communities. We have not provided any support directly to Yazidi militia forces.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) training, (b) financial and (c) materiel support his Department is providing to the Somali National Army.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
UK support to the Somalia National Army (SNA) totalled £17million in 2015-16, funded through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). This is intended to increase to £20million in 2016-17. This includes Defence mentoring support to the development of the SNA in Mogadishu, delivered both bilaterally and through UK personnel embedded in the EU training mission, and Defence oversight of a non-lethal equipment programme (including tents, computers, generators, vehicles). It also includes the provision of stipends; infrastructure support; and a £3million HMG donation to the SNA Trust Fund operated by the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS). HMG is looking to deliver an enhanced programme in 2016-17.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training modules are provided to armed forces personnel in international humanitarian law.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK Government acts in accordance with domestic and international law at all times and Ministry of Defence policy is assessed to ensure compliance with it.
All Service personnel are provided with training on the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), including during initial basic training phases, staff and promotion courses. Personnel are required to undertake periodic LOAC training to agreed standards.
Single Service LOAC training is as follows:
Naval Service
Royal Navy Core Maritime Skill (CMS) 7 (annually). Personnel must also be familiar with Operational Detention and Use of Force in accordance with the latest published guidance.
Army
Army Military Annual Training Test (MATT) 7. This test provides training and assessment in LOAC, investigations and accountability, captured persons (CPERS), and the use of force. All Army personnel conduct MATT 7 training Module 1 (LOAC), Module 2 (Investigations and Accountability), and Module 3 (CPERS) on an annual basis and are required to pass tests. Those who are completing initial training, and personnel that are deployable, also conduct MATT 7 training Module 4 (Use of Force) and pass a test. Deployable Service personnel must complete Module 4 on an annual basis.
Royal Air Force (RAF)
RAF Individual Reinforcement Training (IRT). All RAF personnel are provided with periodic LOAC training on a modular basis as determined by readiness posture. This training is complemented by other Phase 3 and Individual Pre-Deployment LOAC training provision.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian casualties have resulted from direct UK military action in each theatre of operation in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Defence records show there have been no civilian casualities as a result of UK military action in any operational theatre in the last 12 months.
We take very seriously our responsibility to protect innocent civilian life when planning UK military operations. Our targeting procedures are rigorous, and we take every possible precaution to ensure that no civilian lives are lost when conducting strike missions.
If we had any reason to believe - either from our own analysis or from other reports - that there might have been civilian casualties, a full investigation would be conducted.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilians rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by the Royal Navy in the last two years requested medical evacuation; and to what locations such people were transported for treatment.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
No civilians rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by the Royal Navy in the last two years were medically evacuated. Where Royal Navy vessels rescued migrants, medical treatment was administered on board if required. All those rescued were disembarked at agreed ports of safety in Italy.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of new recruits to the reserve forces in each of the last 24 months were from BME communities.
Answered by Julian Brazier
Information on the intake of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) recruits to the Volunteer Reserves in the 24 months to 31 September 2015 is provided in the attached table.