Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he he has made of the cost to the public purse of maintaining the Trident Nuclear Weapons programme for (a) 2019 and (b) the lifetime of that programme.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No estimate has been made of the cost of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise for calendar year 2019. Information on forecast costs for financial years 2018/19 and 2019/20 can be found in figure 12 of the National Audit Office's landscape review of the Enterprise published on 22 May 2018, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/The-Defence-Nuclear-Enterprise-a-landscape-review.pdf
The Ministry of Defence does not, and has no plans to, routinely publish whole life costs for projects, nuclear or otherwise, beyond what is already published in reports such as the Defence Equipment Plan, Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts, and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority's Annual Report on Major Projects.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) civilian staff in his Department based in the UK, (b) military personnel based in the UK, (c) civilian staff in his Department based in Saudi Arabia and (d) military personnel based in Saudi Arabia were employed by the (i) Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications Project and (ii) Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Project on 1 April 2019.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The number of civilian and military personnel based in the UK and Saudi Arabia who were employed by the Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications Project (SANGCOM) and the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Projects (MODSAP) on 1 April 2019 is shown below. The Saudi Arabian Government reimburses the UK Ministry of Defence for these staff costs and there is, therefore, no cost to the UK taxpayer.
Manpower number as at 1 April 2019 | SANGCOM | MODSAP |
UK-based Civilian Staff | 4 | 69 |
UK-based Military Staff | 0 | 35 |
Saudi-based Civilian Staff | 51 | 38 |
Saudi-based Military Staff | 20 | 66 |
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) expenditure was for the financial year 2018-19 and (b) budget is for 2019-20 for (i) the Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications Project and (ii) the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Project.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The expenditure of the Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications Project (SANGCOM) is recovered from the Saudi Arabian Government, but SANGCOM operates under a separate Memorandum of Understanding from Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Project (MODSAP), under which the details of such recoveries are confidential to the two Governments.
The expenditure by the MODSAP in financial year 2018-19 amounted to £66.43 million. The budget however for financial year 2019-20 is £69.08 million. The costs of MODSAP are met from a management fee received from the Saudi Arabian Government.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress she has made towards the target of 15 per cent female recruitment to the armed forces by 2020.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
In the 12 months to 30 September 2018, 1,320 female personnel joined the UK Regular Forces, which was 10.9 per cent of the total intake.
Data on female intake into the UK Regular Forces is published twice a year in the UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics publication. Figures up to 1 October 2018 were published on 13 December 2018 at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/763676/1_October_2018_Biannual_Diversity_Statistics.pdf
The Ministry of Defence is working to achieve a more diverse and inclusive workforce at all levels, including through increased female representation. This work includes better understanding and greater engagement with potential female recruits; targeting recruitment campaigns; supporting candidates through the recruitment process; opening all roles within the Armed Forces to women; and enabling Service personnel to request fixed periods of part-time working, or varying their deployability, if operational requirements allow it, to better fit their service career around family life.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion recruits to the armed forces in 2018 were female.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
In the 12 months to 30 September 2018, 1,320 female personnel joined the UK Regular Forces, which was 10.9 per cent of the total intake.
Data on female intake into the UK Regular Forces is published twice a year in the UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics publication. Figures up to 1 October 2018 were published on 13 December 2018 at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/763676/1_October_2018_Biannual_Diversity_Statistics.pdf
The Ministry of Defence is working to achieve a more diverse and inclusive workforce at all levels, including through increased female representation. This work includes better understanding and greater engagement with potential female recruits; targeting recruitment campaigns; supporting candidates through the recruitment process; opening all roles within the Armed Forces to women; and enabling Service personnel to request fixed periods of part-time working, or varying their deployability, if operational requirements allow it, to better fit their service career around family life.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 11 January 2019 to Question 59581 on Ascension Island: Aviation, whether best biosecurity industry standards have now been made a condition of the runway resurfacing project on Ascension Island.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Yes.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel have been suspended or reprimanded as a result of incidents and alleged incidents of domestic abuse in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Suspension in the Armed Forces is not a form of punishment. It tends to be related to a role or employment – for example, if an incident occurred as a result of a breach of codes of practice, then an individual may be suspended from that role while the incident is investigated.
Domestic abuse is a very important issue and we treat allegations of domestic abuse very seriously. In July 2018, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) launched its first strategy to tackle domestic abuse within the Armed Forces and defence civilian communities. The strategy builds on existing work by the Armed Forces in this area, such as providing specialist training to welfare staff, and included the launch of a campaign to raise awareness of the issue. The MOD is a member of the cross-Government Violence against Women and Girls working group.
The estimated numbers of Service personnel recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration system (JPA) with a reporting category titled ‘Domestic Abuse’ and awarded a sanction as a result of Major Administrative Action (MAA) are shown in the table below:
Date of Sanction | MAA with Sanction Awarded |
2015 | 15 |
2016 | 25 |
2017 | 30 |
2018 | 30 |
2019 (to date) | ~ |
Source: JPA Discipline (single Service estimates)
Note: figures are rounded to the nearest 5. “~” indicates a figure less than 5.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to (a) protect (i) military personnel and (ii) their spouses and children in relation to domestic abuse and (b) ensure the protection of people reporting that abuse.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Our policy and processes for dealing with Domestic Abuse are kept under regular review, and have featured in the current review into the Service Justice System.
We already have an exceptionally robust Domestic Abuse policy. However, we are not complacent and will be considering recommendations about who should deal with cases, how they should be recorded, provision of training and adoption of best practice. The recommendations from the Gateshead Community Safety Board Domestic Homicide Review into the death of Miss Alice Ruggles have a bearing on this, and will, of course, be considered very carefully.
On the specific questions relating to the current monitoring, reporting and recording of domestic abuse incidents across the three Services, we are still collecting that data, and I will write to the hon. Member with a full response in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what monitoring his Department undertakes on reports of domestic abuse in (a) his Department and (b) each of the armed services.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Our policy and processes for dealing with Domestic Abuse are kept under regular review, and have featured in the current review into the Service Justice System.
We already have an exceptionally robust Domestic Abuse policy. However, we are not complacent and will be considering recommendations about who should deal with cases, how they should be recorded, provision of training and adoption of best practice. The recommendations from the Gateshead Community Safety Board Domestic Homicide Review into the death of Miss Alice Ruggles have a bearing on this, and will, of course, be considered very carefully.
On the specific questions relating to the current monitoring, reporting and recording of domestic abuse incidents across the three Services, we are still collecting that data, and I will write to the hon. Member with a full response in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) charities and (b) other support services his Department engages with in order to provide support to military personnel and their families affected by domestic abuse.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Our policy and processes for dealing with Domestic Abuse are kept under regular review, and have featured in the current review into the Service Justice System.
We already have an exceptionally robust Domestic Abuse policy. However, we are not complacent and will be considering recommendations about who should deal with cases, how they should be recorded, provision of training and adoption of best practice. The recommendations from the Gateshead Community Safety Board Domestic Homicide Review into the death of Miss Alice Ruggles have a bearing on this, and will, of course, be considered very carefully.
On the specific questions relating to the current monitoring, reporting and recording of domestic abuse incidents across the three Services, we are still collecting that data, and I will write to the hon. Member with a full response in due course.