Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent ceasefire in the war in Gaza has changed the decision of the Royal College of Defence Studies to ban Israeli soldiers next year.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal College of Defence Studies is a constituent part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), responsible for the implementation of UK Government policy.
The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields and continues to do so around the world. UK training courses promote British values, including human rights, democracy, and compliance with international humanitarian law.
The MOD decided to pause future Israeli participation on UK training and education courses until the situation in Gaza and the West Bank had been satisfactorily addressed. Since the ceasefire we have continued to monitor the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, and we will keep this decision under review.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the Royal College of Defence Studies about its decision to ban Israeli soldiers next year.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
UK military educational courses have long been open to personnel from a wide range of countries, with all UK military courses emphasising compliance with international humanitarian law.
However, the Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong. There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanisation aid to the people of Gaza. We have therefore paused future Israeli participation in UK-run courses.
The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) is a constituent part of the Ministry of Defence, and as such implements Government policy and decisions. All relevant teams across the Department, including RCDS, were informed of the decision to pause the future allocation of places on UK training and education courses to Israel.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will release all documents relating to the Chinook helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994; and if not, why.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of those who died.
The early release of the closed records held at The National Archives would breach data protection rights as they contain personal information relating to third party individuals. However, as part of Ministry of Defence’s business as usual activity to renew the Retention Instrument associated with these closed records, an assessment of the potential merit of removing the 100-year closure status is due to take place in 2029.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many outstanding pre-Belfast Agreement 1998 Northern Ireland legacy civil claims against the Ministry of Defence are currently in progress; how much has been paid in settlements or damages in such cases in each of the previous five complete years; and how much has been incurred in legal expenses, both by the Ministry's own legal teams and as payments of claimants’ costs.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are currently 941 outstanding Northern Ireland legacy civil claims against the Ministry of Defence pertaining to incidents which occurred before the Belfast Agreement in 1998. The amounts paid in settlements or damages in such cases in each of the previous five financial years (FY) were:
FY 2019-20: £1,391,428.50
FY 2020-21: £665,514.00
FY 2021-22: £2,659,712.00
FY 2022-23: £3,890,281.00
FY 2023-24: £3,953,832.00
For the same five-year period, legal expenses incurred by the Ministry of Defence as payment of claimants’ costs were:
FY 2019-20: £575,193.77
FY 2020-21: £593,329.72
FY 2021-22: £784,568.20
FY 2022-23: £3,418,922.39
FY 2023-24: £2,560,995.61
For the same five-year period, legal expenses incurred by the Ministry of Defence’s own legal teams were:
FY 2019-20: £77,626.03
FY 2020-21: £78,811.07
FY 2021-22: £222,520.62
FY 2022-23: £157,161.76
FY 2023-24: £358,036.87
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to put the posts of the four Veterans Commissioners on a statutory footing; and on what timescale.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Veterans' Commissioners are currently appointed by Ministers. The Ministry of Defence, through the Office for Veterans' Affairs, continues to work closely with the Veterans’ Commissioner for Wales (VCfW), and the Scottish Veterans’ Commissioner (SVC), who is appointed by and reports to the Scottish Government (SG). The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is working through the next steps to appoint a new Northern Ireland Veterans’ Commissioner.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they last met the government of Ireland to discuss co-operation on defence of Irish air space.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
There have been no discussions between His Majesty's Government and the Government of Ireland on co-operation on the defence of Irish air space.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the cost to the RAF of supporting the Irish government in the protection of their Air Space.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
I am withholding any response to questions on sovereign airspace access and associated regulations, as these should be for the nation in question to answer; therefore any further questions on Irish airspace should be directed to the Government of Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the annual cost to the RAF of supporting the government of Ireland in the protection of their airspace.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
I am withholding any response to questions on sovereign airspace access and associated regulations, as these should be for the nation in question to answer; therefore any further questions on Irish airspace should be directed to the Government of Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times in the last year RAF squadrons have been scrambled to escort Russian aircraft out of Irish airspace.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
I am withholding any response to questions on sovereign airspace access and associated regulations, as these should be for the nation in question to answer; therefore any further questions on Irish airspace should be directed to the Government of Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what agreements they have made, if any, with the government of Ireland to allow the RAF to provide cover within the Republic of Ireland’s airspace.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
I am withholding any response to questions on sovereign airspace access and associated regulations, as these should be for the nation in question to answer; therefore any further questions on Irish airspace should be directed to the Government of Ireland.