Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on the future of Operation Interflex.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
On 6 September 2024 at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group the Defence Secretary announced that the hugely successful UK led Op INTERFLEX, which has trained over 47,000 Ukrainian personnel, will continue until at least the end of 2025.
The announcement highlights that the UK remains ironclad in its commitment to meeting Ukraine's training requirements now and in future.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many recruits for the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been trained by (a) UK armed forces and (b) international partners based in the UK since 2014.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is proud of the role UK forces have played in training Ukrainian Armed Forces recruits.
Since Putin's invasion of Crimea in 2014, the UK has trained over 77,000 Ukrainian personnel. This includes.
· Op ORBITAL (2015-2022) - Over 22,000 Ukrainian personnel.
· Op INTERFLEX (2022-ongoing) - Over 47,000 Ukrainian personnel.
· Wider medical, specialist, air, and maritime training (2022-ongoing) - Over 8,000 Ukrainian personnel.
This training has been provided in collaboration with twelve partner nations. We do not hold data for the total number of Ukrainian personnel trained by international partners since 2014.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Strategic Defence Review will conclude in its entirety before the next Spending Review commences.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The reviewers will report regularly on progress to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Defence and will make their final report to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Defence Secretary - with recommendations - in the first half of 2025.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what date he expects UK defence spending to reach 2.5 per cent of GDP.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Suffolk on 22 July to Question 117.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his proposed timetable is for UK defence spending reaching 2.5% of GDP.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Suffolk on 22 July to Question 117.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps his Department has taken to support British shipbuilding.
Answered by Ben Wallace
On 10 March, the Prime Minister and I launched the UK’s new National Shipbuilding Strategy, setting out a comprehensive package of Government support for the key priority of furthering a shipbuilding renaissance for the whole of the UK. It reflects over £4 billion of investment in UK shipbuilding over the next three years. Implementation of this ambitious strategy is being led by the National Shipbuilding Office.
I am delighted with the progress already made since publication of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. In particular, the National Shipbuilding Office is now fully operational and brings with it a clear strategic focus on maximising the national benefits from Government shipbuilding activity. The Maritime Capability Campaign Office, the trade and investment arm of the National Shipbuilding Office, in the Department for International Trade is also fully established and is rapidly identifying new civil and defence export opportunities.
Other recent achievements include the announcement of the Chair and membership of the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce, who will develop a strategy to boost skills and jobs in the shipbuilding industry. The second round of the multi-year Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition has also been launched as part of Department for Transport’s £206 million investment in a UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions, which will match-fund private investment in the commercialisation of clean maritime technologies. The Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth, the main interface between Government and industry, has also met twice to drive implementation of the NSbS, and begun work to develop a model for the Shipyard of the Future and define UK Centres of Excellence.
Lastly, for all Ministry of Defence shipbuilding procurements, I have raised the percentage of the evaluation criteria that considers their contribution to social value to a minimum of 20%. This could include the extent to which procurements support skills development or supply chain resilience. We will also construct future contracts to ensure we maximise as much as possible either UK build, content or design, or all three.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to mark Armed Forces Day on 25 June 2022.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is supporting communities across the UK in celebration of Armed Forces Day. Almost 300 events are registered on the Armed Forces Day website, taking place across the UK, for the National Event on Saturday 25 June. The MOD is providing general grants, our people, our equipment, flypasts, and air displays all by way of support.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the Royal Navy is suitably resourced to fulfil the role assigned to it by the Integrated Review.
Answered by James Heappey
To maximise the value from Integrated Review investment in the Maritime domain, the Ministry of Defence attributes resources as efficiently as possible to deliver against operational outputs and the procurement programme.
The Royal Navy (RN) is experimenting with different crewing models to inform the requirements for future classes of ships, and this will in turn guide the overall RN workforce requirement at both sea and shore.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support cadet units in (a) state schools and (b) wider community settings.
Answered by James Heappey
The Cadet Forces are a key part of the Government's youth agenda and receive cross-party support. They help young people broaden their horizons, unlock their potential, and enable them to feel they can be part of something rewarding. The Ministry of Defence is continuing to invest in the Cadet Expansion Programme to sustain and grow cadet units in schools, particularly those in the state sector, as part of our commitment to Levelling Up. We are also committed to support cadet units in the wider community across the UK, to bring this fantastic opportunity to even more young people.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what initiatives he has introduced to support the recruitment and retention of women in the armed forces.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Ministry of Defence aims to significantly improve the recruitment and retention of women in the Armed Force; our ambition is to achieve 30% inflow of women by 2030. To realise this goal, the single Services have taken a range of steps to improve the experience of women in the Armed Forces, as we continue to do for all serving personnel. This includes all roles being open to women, targeted programmes to increase the recruitment of women, introducing flexible service, flexible and parental leave, the provision of sanitary boxes, and reviewing women specific combat requirements. We are committed to building on these improvements to give women greater confidence that a career in the Armed Forces is a fantastic opportunity and will not be limited by outdated or regressive policy.