Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release of 11 December 2023 entitled British minehunting ships to bolster Ukrainian Navy as UK and Norway launch maritime support initiative, whether the two Sandown Class minehunters procured by Ukraine through UK Export Finance have arrived in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
It would not be appropriate to discuss specifics of the vessels transiting to Ukrainian waters.
The Ukrainian crew of the vessels are currently undergoing training around UK waters, which has included participation in a multinational Mine Counter Measures exercise. The Royal Navy will continue to support these efforts and remains ready to assist with the transit of the vessels to Ukrainian waters, when appropriate.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2024 to Question 19061 on Afghanistan, how many ARAP scheme applications have been reassessed as of 12 April 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The reassessment of applications from those with credible links to former Afghan specialist units is well under way and is being conducted by staff independent of those who previously worked on these applications.
The first reassessment occurred on March 26, and we aim to complete reassessing the majority of the approximately 2,000 cases in scope of the review within around 12 weeks. Some complex cases might extend beyond this as we ensure all evidence is considered.
I will update the House once the review is completed, but my immediate priority is processing the cases as swiftly and diligently as possible and ensuring that the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme criteria is consistently applied to all applications being reassessed.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's planned timetable is for the potential regeneration of HMS Albion.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, we do not disclose timetables of future readiness levels for Royal Navy (RN) vessels. However, I can confirm that, as has been the case since 2010, one Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ship will be held in extended readiness so that she will be capable of being regenerated if we have strategic notice that she will be needed. As such, HMS Albion will take HMS Bulwark's place in extended readiness and HMS Bulwark will be regenerated from extended readiness and maintained so that she can be ready to deliver defence outputs if required.
All discussions with Babcock International Group Plc on the LPD programme of work have related to the delivery of the original contract.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Babcock on the tying up of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, we do not disclose timetables of future readiness levels for Royal Navy (RN) vessels. However, I can confirm that, as has been the case since 2010, one Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ship will be held in extended readiness so that she will be capable of being regenerated if we have strategic notice that she will be needed. As such, HMS Albion will take HMS Bulwark's place in extended readiness and HMS Bulwark will be regenerated from extended readiness and maintained so that she can be ready to deliver defence outputs if required.
All discussions with Babcock International Group Plc on the LPD programme of work have related to the delivery of the original contract.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the Defence AI Skills Framework.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The development of a Defence AI Skills Framework is underway, and we expect work to accelerate following the recruitment of our Capability Lead for AI Talent and Skills. We are working closely with Digital Skills for Defence (DS4D) and other key stakeholders to ensure coherence with other complimentary skills frameworks within the department, but also across government and with allies.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on (a) fires, (b) infrastructure and (c) manoeuvre support in the Land Equipment directorate at Defence Equipment and Support in each financial year since 2019-20.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Fires, Infrastructure, and Manoeuvre Support (FIMS) delivery team total spend on equipment and support by financial year is as follows:
Financial Year | Contract Spend £million |
2019-20 | 24.82 |
2020-21 | 56.66 |
2021-22 | 64.11 |
2022-23 | 390.42 |
The FIMS delivery team total spend on operating costs by financial year is as follows:
Financial year | Total spend £million |
2019-20 | 8.10 |
2020-21 | 2.20 |
2021-22 | 8.26 |
2022-23 | 17.86 |
FIMS is a specific project team in DE&S and the figures above represent the total spend of that team. The figures do not represent the total spend on all fires, infrastructure and support across the Department which would not be held centrally and would not be answerable without a disproportionate cost. The substantial increase in costs in FY2022-23 is due to the Operational Infrastructure team being merged into the FIMS team in April 2022.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's planned timetable is for HMS Bulwark's (a) regeneration and (b) return to fleet.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, we do not disclose timetables of future readiness levels for Royal Navy (RN) vessels. However, I can confirm that, as has been the case since 2010, one Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ship will be held in extended readiness so that she will be capable of being regenerated if we have strategic notice that she will be needed. As such, HMS Albion will take HMS Bulwark's place in extended readiness and HMS Bulwark will be regenerated from extended readiness and maintained so that she can be ready to deliver defence outputs if required.
All discussions with Babcock International Group Plc on the LPD programme of work have related to the delivery of the original contract.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Artificial Intelligence Strategy, published on 15 June 2022, whether his Department has appointed a Head of AI Profession.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence AI Centre (DAIC) is currently onboarding a Capability Lead, AI Talent and Skills. They are expected to be in post in quarter 2 of this financial year.
This individual will work with colleagues across Government to advance the AI skills agenda while also exploring novel ways to attract talent into the department.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December to Question 5944 on Defence Equipment, when he plans to send the response letter to the Rt hon. Member for Garston and Halewood.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I responded to the right hon. Member on 16 April 2024. A copy of my letter has been placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of single living accommodation bed spaces that meet building regulation standards.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All Single Living Accommodation (SLA) bedspaces built since the 1960s - when the Building Regulations came into force - have been required to meet the standards imposed by the Regulations.
The Crown has immunity and exemption from the procedural requirements of the Building Regulations in the UK, but Departmental policy mandates that all building works must comply with the minimum standards imposed by the Building Regulations. This includes the routine safety assessments, maintenance and improvement programmes applied to all SLA buildings constructed prior to the Regulations.
The MOD's Building Regulations Compliance System (BRCS) is designed to broadly replicate the civilian Building Control process and builds on the safety culture within the MOD. BRCS also applies to building work overseas. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation's Building Control Compliance Authority ensures compliance with the procedures of the BRCS, the technical application of Building Regulations, and selects projects for audit.