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: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 July (HL16673), whether they have assessed training provided to the Saudi Arabian military financed by the Integrated Activity Fund since the Court of Appeal ruling that the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia was unlawful.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All IAF-funded project work undergoes assessment and review. We are not able to disclose information related to particular IAF projects in greater detail as we have a duty to maintain the confidence and confidentiality of our partners.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the article published in The Guardian on 18 June 2019 entitled The Saudis couldn't do it without us: the UK's true role in Yemen's deadly war and the article published in The Observer on 23 June 2019 entitled British target training of Saudi air force did not stop Yemen atrocities, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the UK’s international reputation of its role in training the Royal Saudi Air Force.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK and Saudi Arabia have a longstanding bilateral relationship based on a number of pillars including defence, security, trade and investment, shared concerns about regional issues and energy security. The UK supports Saudi Arabia’s efforts to protect its national security against critical threats, such as the ballistic missiles and drones fired by the Houthis into civilian areas in Saudi Arabia.
The UK works with Saudi Arabia to ensure targeting procedures are compliant with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and we regularly raise the importance of IHL compliance with Saudi Arabia, including at senior levels. The UK is not a member of the Saudi-led Coalition and the UK’s role is limited to providing advice, information and assistance to help Saudi Arabia respond to airborne threats launched by the Houthis. The UK has no role in setting Coalition policy.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if she will publish the (a) dates of training, (b) organisations trained and (c) programmes of training events provided by UK military personnel to the Saudi Arabian (i) armed forces and (ii) National Guard since March 2015 to help with compliance with International Humanitarian Law.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
All training provided in the UK or in Saudi Arabia by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces, National Guard (SANG), and Saudi MOD - supports and encourages compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
Details of all training provided since March 2015 is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) nature and (b) purpose is of the Special Instructions Intelligence Networks workshops provided by his Department to the Saudi military.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Special Instructions (SPINS) are mandatory instructions that all those operating in the air domain are required to comply with to undertake safe operations in designated areas.
The SPINS workshop, which took place in January 2017, was designed to share ideas and experience between the UK and Saudi Arabia, and for the UK to gain an insight into RSAF procedures. It consisted of a series of briefings and interactive sessions.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the open skeleton argument of the Secretary of State for hearing 7,8,10 February 2017, claim number CO/1306/2016, (a) how many and (b) on what dates the Government has provided (i) International Targeting Courses and (ii) senior airmen's workshops on SPINS since March 2015.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Since March 2015, seven International Targeting Courses have been provided by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for Saudi Arabia, which took place on the following dates:
Since March 2015, one Senior Airmen's Workshop on Special Instructions (SPINS) has been provided by the MOD for Saudi Arabia, which took place in January 2017.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK (a) soldiers and (b) contracted staff work to support air radar systems in Saudi Arabia in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
No UK soldiers work to support air radar systems in Saudi Arabia. There are today around 50 UK-contracted personnel providing routine technical support for the avionics systems on UK-supplied aircraft, including the air radar systems.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant the Answer of 9 May 2019 to Question 250791 on Saudi Arabia: Military Aid, what the (a) roles and (b) functions are of the 60 RAF personnel not embedded with BAE stationed inside Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The RAF personnel stationed inside Saudi Arabia perform routine engineering, generic training support and liaison roles.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2019 to Question 228123 on Saudi Arabia: military aid, what the function is of the staff working in a liaison capacity inside the Saudi headquarters.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Staff working in any military liaison capacity ensure the timely flow of information between the Ministry of Defence in London, UK headquarters at home and abroad, and the overseas headquarters they are assigned to.
Military liaison officers in Saudi Arabia conduct Key Leader Engagement and relationship building, and develop understanding of operational matters within the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defence and appropriate Saudi headquarters. More specifically, as I said in my reply to Question 228123, our liaison officers working in the Saudi Air Operations Centre observe Saudi-led coalition air operations in Yemen to help the UK support Saudi compliance with International Humanitarian Law.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF personnel are deployed in Saudi Arabia that are not embedded within BAE Systems and are not working inside Saudi headquarters; and what the function is of those personnel.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
As of March 2019, around 80 RAF personnel are working in Saudi Arabia of which around 20 are on secondment to BAE Systems. Information regarding the number of former RAF personnel now working for BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia is not held.
The Ministry of Defence is not required to maintain a record of the employment status of former personnel.
RAF personnel roles include routine engineering support, generic training support and liaison roles.