Asked by: Stephen Pound (Labour - Ealing North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times army technical officers have been deployed to incidents in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 November 2015 to Question 17417 to the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell). The Report of the Independent Reviewer of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 which contains the requested information is published annually. The next report will be published in January 2016.
Asked by: Stephen Pound (Labour - Ealing North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what additional military training or assistance is being offered to the government of Afghanistan following the recent attack on the Afghan Parliament.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
We strongly condemn Monday's attack on Afghan democracy.
The Afghan security forces responded positively to the incident and secured the Parliamentary site. They have held lead responsibility for security across Afghanistan since July 2013.
Alongside partners , the UK continues to make an important contribution to advising Afghanistan on security development through NATO's mission. The UK's focus is on institutional capacity building, including supporting the training of the next generation of Afghan Army officers.
Asked by: Stephen Pound (Labour - Ealing North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) attendance by RAF Northolt personnel and (b) related marketing materials at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition on 20 to 22 May 2014; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The cost to the public purse for attendance and related marketing material was around £5,500.
Asked by: Stephen Pound (Labour - Ealing North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what grounds he has concluded that the use of RAF Northolt for commercial flights does not constitute state aid; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The fees charged at RAF Northolt are in excess of the amount required by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to cover its costs in the provision of commercial services and are calculated to be at market rate. The MOD is therefore obtaining market value for the commercial services that it provides and so it does not constitute state aid.