Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department last met (i) the Nautilus and (ii) RMT Unions.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I can confirm that there have been no confirmed Ministerial meetings with these organisations.
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, how many service family accommodation properties there are in Scotland.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are 3,140 Service Family Accommodation properties in Scotland.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sabotage incidents have taken place at UK defence industrial sites in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It has been the long-standing policy of the current and previous Governments that we do not comment on security incidents.
The Ministry of Defence takes the security of our sites and UK defence industrial sites extremely seriously. We have robust measures in place to assure the integrity of these arrangements. When any type of security incident is raised, it is reviewed by security personnel and subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the Future Combat Air System programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
When I last provided an update to the House in December 2023, the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) Treaty had been signed in Tokyo with our international partners Japan and Italy. This laid the ground for the legal entity of the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO). The Treaty has since been laid before UK Parliament, as part of its formal ratification process.
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, how many (a) urgent and (b) routine maintenance and repair appointments for service accommodation properties in Scotland have been missed since 1 April 2022.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Since 1 April 2022, 1,302 maintenance and repair appointments for Service Family Accommodation properties have been missed in Scotland. This figure includes reactive repairs, planned maintenance and all other appointed tasks such as damp and mould remediation. Typically, circa 1,116 work orders are raised each month across Scotland and on average, 95% of appointments are met.
A further breakdown of this figure by priority category (urgent and routine) can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been paid to (a) Harland and Wolff and (b) Navantia UK under the Fleet Solid Support programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey) on 23 April 2024 to Question 22462.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants are supporting the AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A variety of officials at varying grades will from time to time be engaged in supporting the AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether reports of RFA Fort Victoria being in "poor" condition in the Cammell Laird Shipyard mean that she is not immediately available to support an unplanned carrier group deployment assuming sufficient personnel can be found to man her.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
RFA FORT VICTORIA is in a scheduled refit package to prepare her for future service. Her upkeep will enable her to fulfil future operations.
All Royal Navy (RN) ships rotate through planned operating cycles and this results in individual ships being at various levels of readiness at any one time in accordance with long-term operating schedules and operational needs; they remain in service during these periods but may not be deployable.
It is our policy not to disclosure the fine details of forward availability forecasts of individual ships as this would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. The RN does publish annual figures for readiness days, the first of which was released in November 2023.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by The Earl of Minto on 3 April (HL3550), whether RFA Fort Victoria is the UK’s sole solid support ship until 2031 when the first of the new Fleet Solid Support ships is accepted into service.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The first Fleet Solid Support ship (FSS) is expected to enter service by 2031, after first of class trials and equipment fits.
In order to preserve the Operational Security of the Fleet, individual out of service dates are no longer released but the Royal Navy expects to manage the operational status of RFA Fort Victoria as necessary to maintain solid support ship availability during the capability transition period.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of speeding up delivery times for the Fleet Solid Support ships.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The approved In-Service Date for the first Fleet Solid Support ship is 2031. The Royal Navy expects to manage RFA Fort Victoria's operational status as necessary to maintain solid support ship availability during the capability transition period. Should opportunities arise that will expedite these timelines, then the Department will consider those in a value for money context.