Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the unit cost is of each of the new CH-47ER helicopters recently ordered by his Department from Boeing.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr John Healey) on 2 April 2024 to Question 19779.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on the Maritime Electronic Warfare programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Information on performance of defence programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) is published each year alongside the Infrastructure and Projects Authority annual report. Programme performance information as at 31 March 2024 is expected to be released in July 2024.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on the MARSHALL project.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Information on performance of defence programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) is published each year alongside the Infrastructure and Projects Authority annual report. Programme performance information as at 31 March 2024 is expected to be released in July 2024.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on the Mechanised Infantry programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Information on performance of defence programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) is published each year alongside the Infrastructure and Projects Authority annual report. Programme performance information as at 31 March 2024 is expected to be released in July 2024.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on the Martlet programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Information on performance of defence programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) is published each year alongside the Infrastructure and Projects Authority annual report. Programme performance information as at 31 March 2024 is expected to be released in July 2024.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of his Department's spending was with SMEs in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The methodology used to calculate Government Departments’ spend with SMEs changed with effect from financial year (FY) 2013-14 to include sub-contracted spend. Since then the Cabinet Office has published all Departments’ direct and indirect spend with SMEs annually on the gov.uk website at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/central-government-spend-with-smes
Data from 2010-2013, which only covers direct spend that the MOD had with SMEs, is set out in the table below:
FY | Total Spend with SMEs | Proportion of MOD spending |
2010-11 | £0.69 billion | 3% |
2011-12 | £1 billion | 5% |
2012-13 | £1 billion | 5% |
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Defence Equipment and Support's article entitled £122m contract sees UK’s fleet of Airbus H145s expanded with six procured for overseas duties, published on 18 April 2024, whether that contract includes through-life support costs.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The £122 million contract with Airbus Helicopters UK for six Airbus H145 helicopters to provide aviation support to Defence outputs in Brunei and Cyprus encompasses the procurement of the aircraft, an initial three-year support plan, and includes the expenses required to establish the capability in each overseas location.
Support beyond the first three years is subject to a separate project which will include determining the nature of the procurement strategy for the future support solution.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Defence Equipment & Support's article entitled £122m contract sees UK’s fleet of Airbus H145s expanded with six procured for overseas duties, published on 18 April 2024, whether the purchase of those Airbus H145s affects the number of helicopters to be purchased under the New Medium Helicopter programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Whilst a decision was taken to treat the Brunei and Cyprus Rotary Wing Support requirement as separate to the other requirements to be met with the New Medium Helicopter (NMH), there has been no other change to the NMH scope as advertised in the Contract Notice.
The NMH competition needs to conclude before NMH aircraft numbers and delivery dates can be confirmed.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any countries other than Japan have expressed an interest in joining the AUKUS partnership.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We remain in close communication with our allies and partners across the full breadth of our defence and security relationships, including discussion of AUKUS Pillar Two. AUKUS partners will begin consultations this year with prospective collaborators, including Japan, to explore areas where they potentially could contribute to, and benefit from, individual Pillar Two projects. Pillar One, to deliver conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) to Australia, is not open to other countries.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any other countries are being considered as potential partners for Pillar II of the AUKUS agreement.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
AUKUS partners have announced we are ready to begin consultations in 2024 with prospective collaborators regarding areas where they can contribute to, and benefit from, Pillar Two work.