Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the extent of the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete within Defence Estate buildings.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Surveys are currently being conducted to identify buildings which may have been constructed with RAAC on Ministry of Defence (MOD) land.
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation Infrastructure Management System has been used to determine what Ministry of Defence (MOD) buildings might potentially contain Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) material, based on the period in which they were constructed and their construction type. HMNB Clyde including Coulport has been included within the assessments to ascertain if they have been constructed with RAAC.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has surveyed the Defence Estate buildings to ascertain if they have been constructed (a) in part or (b) wholly by Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Surveys are currently being conducted to identify buildings which may have been constructed with RAAC on Ministry of Defence (MOD) land.
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation Infrastructure Management System has been used to determine what Ministry of Defence (MOD) buildings might potentially contain Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) material, based on the period in which they were constructed and their construction type. HMNB Clyde including Coulport has been included within the assessments to ascertain if they have been constructed with RAAC.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of civil servants that are (a) at the grade of senior civil servant 2 and (b) on full-time equivalent contracts in his Department are women.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I can confirm as of 30 September 2023, 34 percent of Senior Civil Servants on pay band two are women and 35 percent of full-time staff at any grade are women.
Two percent of the total MOD civil service workforce are on non-permanent contracts, of which one percent are women.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of civil servants on temporary contracts in his Department are women.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I can confirm as of 30 September 2023, 34 percent of Senior Civil Servants on pay band two are women and 35 percent of full-time staff at any grade are women.
Two percent of the total MOD civil service workforce are on non-permanent contracts, of which one percent are women.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the cost to the public purse of Phase 1 and 2 infantry training for an army recruit initially enrolled at (a) Army Foundation College, Harrogate and (b) Infantry Training Centre, Catterick.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Junior Entry Long Course at the Army Foundation College (Harrogate) costs £133,000 per successful trainee.
For Initial Trade Training at the Infantry Training Centre (Catterick), Junior Entry per successful trainee costs: £37,000 for Line Infantry; £46,000 for Guards; and £114,000 for Paras.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many formal complaints of violent behaviour by staff towards personnel under the age of 18 have been recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration system at the (a) Army Foundation College, (b) Army Training Centre and (c) Infantry Training Centre since 2014.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Due to the way in which data is held and recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration system, this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency plans his Department has in place to deal with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within Defence Estate buildings.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Surveys are currently being conducted to identify buildings which may have been constructed with RAAC on Ministry of Defence land.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department (a) is providing and (b) has plans to provide to the Russian Military Studies Centre.
Answered by James Heappey
The Russian Military Studies Centre remains a valuable and unique resource to Defence. The archive of books and journals is housed at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham, with support including direction and funding of cataloguing activity, ongoing provision of subscriptions to digital journals, and librarian services to support journal access and management. Defence has committed £63,000 in 2021 to the archive.
Looking forward, the Defence Academy have recently commissioned a detailed study of this capability, alongside their other library facilities, to find new ways of best utilising the archive to assist in understanding the Russian military within a broader, integrated reference capability. The first phase of this study is set to deliver in the early part of 2022.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the response to FOI2021/09403 on 21 September 2021, how many of the 41 complaints of rape and sexual assault made to the Service Police by women under the age of 18 in the armed forces since 2015 were from women at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Of the 41 complaints of rape and sexual assault made to the Service Police by women under the age of 18 in the armed forces since 2015 and referenced in the response to FOI2021/09403 on 21 September 2021, approximately five were from women at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate.
These figures are single Service estimates; not official statistics produced or checked by Defence Statistics and are subject to known data quality issues affecting accuracy. This figure has been rounded to five as a means of disclosure control and the preservation of anonymity, as well as conveying an appropriate level of precision.
This figure has been sourced from the Service Police crime record management system. As this is a live system not designed to produce statistics and reliant on individual interpretation, this figure may not match responses to other similar requests.
Official Defence Statistics relating to sexual offences investigations are held and published annually on the .gov.uk website.
You will also wish to be aware that the MOD has made it absolutely clear there is no place for unacceptable behaviour in the Armed Forces. We recognise the great courage it takes to come forward and report a sexual offence and Commanding Officers must always refer any allegation of rape and sexual assault, or any other offence which may have a sexual element, to the Service Police. All allegations are thoroughly investigated, and support provided to alleged victims.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has plans to (a) reduce any Officers' Training Corps branches in Scotland and (b) merge existing branches of Officers' Training Corps in Scotland.
Answered by James Heappey
Whilst no decisions have yet been made, as part of Future Soldier structures, University Officer Training Corps across the United Kingdom are being reviewed to ensure they continue to deliver value for the Army, whilst contributing to wider Defence objectives. These include supporting the Union and contributing to the future UK workforce.