Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress his Department has made on procuring (a) Type 31e frigates and (b) fleet support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; and if they will be built at UK shipyards.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
For the position on the Type 31e frigate programme, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Durham (Kevan Jones) on 5 September 2018 to Questions 167940, 167941, 167942 and 167945 and to the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens) to Question 167315.
For the position on the Fleet Solid Support ships, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Minister for Defence Procurement (Guto Bebb) on 9 July 2018 to Question 906314 from the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens).
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve mental health support for (a) veterans and (b) serving Military personnel in North East England.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 13 March 2018, to Question 130845.
https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/ 2018-03-05/130845/
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps his Department has taken to support naval shipbuilding in (a) the North East and (b) the UK.
Answered by Guto Bebb
The National Shipbuilding Strategy aims to re-energise the UK's shipbuilding industry by encouraging participation from across the UK shipbuilding enterprise, including opening up the procurement of all future naval ships to competition.
A key objective of the National Shipbuilding Strategy is to improve the international competitiveness of the UK shipbuilding industry. To that end, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is working with industry through the Maritime Enterprise Working Group (MEWG) to undertake a long-term programme of improvement. The MEWG's membership consists of high ranking industry members from different parts of the country, including representatives of companies based in the North East. The group's priorities include improving competitiveness and productivity in the shipyards and supply chain to help shipbuilding companies improve their capability when bidding for, both, commercial and naval contracts. This is on top of approximately £3 billion of MOD expenditure with the UK's shipbuilding and repair industry in FY2016-17, as set out in the MOD's most recent regional spending bulletin:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201617
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve mental health support for (a) veterans and (b) serving Military personnel in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside and (iii) the North East.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to ensuring that both Serving personnel and veterans are given the mental healthcare and treatment they need. We do this by working in close partnership with a variety of different organisations, including the NHS (which is responsible for the provision of healthcare, including mental healthcare, for veterans) and Service charities such as Combat Stress.
Recent initiatives include the new partnership, announced in October 2017, with the Royal Foundation, aimed at helping maintain and develop good mental fitness. On 25 February this year, the Secretary of State for Defence announced that we have built on our existing partnership with Combat Stress to provide a new MOD-funded 24/7 Military Mental Health Helpline for Serving personnel and their families, running in conjunction with the charity's existing helpline for the veterans' community. We will also be providing an additional £2 million of annual funding for military mental health services, on top of the £20 million a year we already spend, in order to deliver the Defence Mental Health Services Delivery Plan.
Mental health services are already provided for Serving personnel through a network of 20 permanent locations, comprising 11 Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs); six Mental Health Teams (MHTs); and three locations with a permanent Community Mental Health Nurse. The North-East region (including Jarrow and South Tyneside) is served primarily by DCMH Leeming in North Yorkshire, which also provides a weekly visiting clinic to RAF Boulmer and Albemarle Barracks in Northumberland, to improve access for patients living in and around those areas.
Personnel leaving the Armed Forces who have had mental health issues during their Service are able to access services at DCMH Leeming for up to six months after discharge, to help them during the transition period. A Veterans' Transition Protocol ensures any Service person discharged with a diagnosed mental health disorder is handed over appropriately to the NHS in England. Where a Service person is leaving the Armed Forces but has enduring need for mental healthcare, we work in partnership with NHS England through the Veterans' Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (VMH-TILS), to ensure continuity of care.
In the north of England, the VMH-TILS is a partnership between Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) and Northumberland Tyne and Wear, Hull and East Riding and Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trusts. The service provides a range of treatment and support for veterans, as well as Armed Forces personnel approaching discharge. The VMH-TILS will arrange for veterans to be referred if necessary to the NHS England Veterans' Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (VMH-CTS) which launches on 1 April 2018; the North of England Service Provider is the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Other services available to veterans in North East England include the Veterans and Reserves Mental Health Programme (VRMHP), for veterans that have served since 1982 and Reservists with operations service overseas since 2003 (also provided through DCMH Leeming), and the Veterans UK and Veterans Welfare Service.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if will visit shipyards in Jarrow constituency to demonstrate support for their potential future role in the new National Shipbuilding Strategy and the Type 31e General Purpose Frigate programme.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Following the launch of the Government's National Shipbuilding Strategy in September, the previous Defence Secretary my right hon. Friend, Sir Michael Fallon, visited A&P Tyne on 30 October 2017 as part of the programme to visit the UK shipyards around the country. We are pleased with the positive engagement that we have received from UK industry on the Type 31e programme.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on the development of the Type 31e General Purpose Frigate programme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 November 2017 to Question 114918 to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine).
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role shipyards in Jarrow will play in the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The National Shipbuilding Strategy introduces competition for all future naval shipbuilding programmes. We encourage all UK shipyards to take part in these competitions. Whether a shipyard wishes to bid for a competition is a commercial decision for them.