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Written Question
Army: Mental Health
Thursday 14th December 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many and what proportion of recruits at the Army Foundation College were discharged for a mental health reason in each of the last five years.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2023, fewer than five UK Regular untrained personnel at Army Foundation College (Harrogate) were medically discharged with a mental or behavioural disorder cited as the principal or contributory cause. Below is a table with the breakdown per year and proportion.

Table 1: Army Foundation College (Harrogate) Regular untrained personnel1 medically discharged with a principal or contributory cause of a mental or behavioral disorder, by financial year, numbers and percentages2

1 April 2018 to 31 March 2023

Year

Number of personnel

Percentage2

2018-19

0

0

2019-20

~

2020-21

~

2021-22

0

0

2022-23

0

0

~ In line with JSP 200, the suppression methodology has been applied to ensure individuals are not inadvertently identified dependent on the risk of disclosure. Numbers fewer than five have been suppressed and presented as ‘~’.

1 Regular untrained personnel, including MPGS and Gurkhas.

2 Number of medically discharged personnel as a percentage of all untrained Regular Army Foundation College (Harrogate) personnel on strength within that year.

This response excludes any untrained personnel who are discharged under administrative categories, albeit on medical grounds.

Information on medical discharges has been sourced from electronic medical records (DMICP) and manually entered paper documents (FMed 23s). The primary purpose of these medical documents is to ensure the appropriate administration of each individual patient’s discharge. Statistical analysis and reporting are secondary functions.


Written Question
Army: Mental Health
Thursday 14th December 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment the Army has made of the risk of adolescent recruits enlisting with a history of depression or anxiety later being discharged for reasons of mental health.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Armed Forces have entry Medical Employment Standards against which potential adolescent recruits are assessed. These permit entry of individuals with a history of depression or anxiety if they meet specific, medically approved criteria. These individuals are not medically downgraded; they are considered medically fit for enlistment.

The Army delivers training and education to instructors on how to prepare recruits for coping with stressful situations and to understand not only the technical and physical needs of recruits, but also their psychological and social needs. There are enhanced welfare support facilities in all Basic Training locations, with both Army and external agencies able to offer advice and support outside the Chain of Command. Risks are proactively sought out and actively managed in accordance with Army policies and civilian best practices.


Written Question
Army: Mental Health
Thursday 14th December 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the most common categories of mental health problem that recruits at the Army Foundation College have presented to the on-site counselling psychotherapist, and whether a periodic report of the data is produced.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Army Foundation College (Harrogate) (AFC(H)) does not employ an on-site counselling psychotherapist. There is a Wellbeing Support Officer nested within the College welfare team, who is a trained counsellor. Additionally, the Women’s Royal Volunteer Service operate a walk-in service to allow Junior Soldiers to talk to someone outside the military, and a Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services nurse is embedded within the Medical Centre Primary Care Team.

There is no periodic report that consolidates the activity of the various support networks listed above, but any Junior Soldier who has presented as a cause for concern will be discussed at the Commanding Officer’s Monthly Case Review to ensure the right level of support is offered. Any urgent concerns are heard at case conferences to progress an appropriate Care Action Plan.


Written Question
HMS Prince of Wales: Repairs and Maintenance
Monday 3rd April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of repairing HMS Prince of Wales; how long it is expected to remain in dry dock; and how much of the cost will be borne by each of the members of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance.

Answered by Baroness Goldie

We remain committed to ensuring HMS Prince of Wales (PWLS) commences her operational programme, as planned, in autumn 2023. This will include operational flying training and trials.

During this period the focus has been on achieving repairs whilst maximising opportunities for capability upgrades to ensure PWLS is prepared to become the UK Very High Readiness Strike Carrier in 2024. These upgrades have been conducted in parallel to ensure efficiency and value for money.

The estimated cost of repairs are expected to be approximately £25 million, however responsibility for payment has not yet been established therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further.


Written Question
Armed Forces: Elections
Tuesday 14th March 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that voting is accessible to servicepeople in each branch of the military; and what education and support on voting they provide, particularly for younger personnel.

Answered by Baroness Goldie

The Ministry of Defence does not hold any voter participation information as it would not be appropriate to track when or where Service personnel have voted. However, voter registration campaigns are run annually to notify personnel of upcoming elections and to make them aware of their voting options.


Written Question
Armed Forces: Voting Behaviour
Tuesday 14th March 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, what was the voting turnout among members of the Royal Air Force, Army, and Navy stationed overseas at each of the last three general elections.

Answered by Baroness Goldie

The Ministry of Defence does not hold any voter participation information as it would not be appropriate to track when or where Service personnel have voted. However, voter registration campaigns are run annually to notify personnel of upcoming elections and to make them aware of their voting options.


Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Military Bases
Monday 13th March 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that contractors’ staff on British overseas bases have appropriate employment conditions, including a living wage, sick and holiday pay, and employment protections such as those against pregnancy discrimination.

Answered by Baroness Goldie

In British overseas bases, the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) operates under UK law, which includes respective employment law and legislation.

UK MOD ensures its terms and conditions under these laws and legislations are extended to any respective subcontracts and subcontractors who hold the employment responsibility.


Written Question
Egypt: World War I
Wednesday 25th January 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards (1) identifying and marking the graves of Egyptians who died serving the UK during the First World War, including in the Egyptian Labour Corps, and (2) recovering the records of all Egyptians who served with UK forces.

Answered by Baroness Goldie

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's (CWGC) historical research in archives across Africa and Europe continues to make positive progress in revealing the names of those previously un-commemorated, and in mapping potential burial sites. To date, almost 7,000 names have been recovered and the CWGC is actively working to commemorate these individuals in a manner befitting their service and loss. In relation to identifying and marking the graves of the Egyptian Labour Corps and Camel Transport Corps, CWGC's research has found that more than 327,000 Egyptians served alongside Commonwealth forces across the Middle East, Turkey, and Western Europe. Of those, the CWGC now know that more than 16,500 died in service. However, fewer than 400 are currently commemorated by name, with the remainder commemorated collectively by the CWGC's Giza Memorial.

The CWGC have established that during the war the Egyptian Ministry of Interior sent thousands of notifications of death to next of kin. The CWGC believes these records are likely to be held by Egyptian state archives or perhaps still in the possession of one or more government departments. Although this is yet to be confirmed, the CWGC has approached the Egyptian authorities and is working through several agencies to access the required archives.


Written Question
Arctic: Demilitarized and Neutral Zones
Wednesday 14th December 2022

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the demilitarisation of the Arctic region.

Answered by Baroness Goldie

As set out in the MOD's High North Strategy, The UK's Defence Contribution in the High North, published in March 2022, the UK is committed to maintaining low tension and high cooperation in the Arctic. The UK will continue to work with Allies and partners to ensure that increasing access to the region and its resources is managed safely, sustainably and responsibly, and that the rules-based international system, particularly UNCLOS, is reinforced in the region.

The UK supports international cooperation in the High North through engaging in multilateral forums such as the Arctic Council and the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable.


Written Question
Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy: Autonomous Weapons
Monday 21st November 2022

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to carry out a public consultation to inform (1) the implementation of the Defence Artificial Intelligence Strategy, and (2) any update to the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.

Answered by Baroness Goldie

We do not intend to undertake public consultation on the whole implementation of the AI Strategy, though we will continue testing aspects of the approach with a range of stakeholders. A Downing Street process is currently underway to update the Integrated Review led by Professor John Bew, the Prime Minister's special adviser for foreign affairs and defence. The update is expected to be published by the end of this year.