Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 14 October (HL2815), how many (1) regular, and (2) reserve, members of the Armed Forces who hold the rank equivalent to a full corporal or below hold a group C HGV licence; and how many hold a group C + E licence.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Under Military Aid to Civilian Authority, Defence has made available approximately 250 military fuel tanker drivers and a similar number of support staff, to assist the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy with ensuring the continuity of fuel supplies around Great Britain. As part of ensuring that Defence has a suitably qualified workforce, we train personnel in a variety of different categories of driving licences. This is primarily to enable the safe operation of military vehicles and equipment in worldwide operations and qualified personnel are regularly deployed overseas. It would therefore be misleading to specify numbers of qualified personnel against specific driving license requirements currently held within Defence or specifically in the UK.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many HGV licences are currently suspended pending a decision by the relevant Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency medical board.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 14 October, 2,052 vocational drivers were awaiting a decision after having reapplied for driving entitlement that had previously been revoked or an application had been refused on medical grounds. It is not possible to determine how many of these are specifically for HGV driving entitlement.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) regular, and (2) reserve, members of the Armed Forces hold (a) a group C HGV licence, and (b) a group C + E licence.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The table below shows a count of Service Personnel by HGV Licence type. One person can hold more than one licence. The grand totals are distinct counts of Service Personnel.
Licence | Regular | Reserve | SP Count |
Cat C + E | 1,590 | 290 | 1,880 |
Cat C | 3,320 | 490 | 3,810 |
Grand Total | 3,880 | 650 | 4,520 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias. Totals have been rounded independently and may not equal the sum of their rounded parts.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 22 September (HL2684), how many HGV drivers with a group C+E licence but without a Driver CPC are aged between (1) 18 and 40, (2) 41 and 50, (3) 51 and 55, (4) 56 to 60, (5) 61 to 65, (6) 66 to 70, and (7) 71 to 90.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The table below shows the number of drivers in each age group holding category C or C+E driving entitlement and who do not have a certificate of professional competence as of 18 September.
Age Groups | Category C | Category C+E |
18 to 40 | 76,692 | 78,058 |
41 to 50 | 51,095 | 40,081 |
51 to 55 | 12,206 | 14,605 |
56 to 60 | 6,688 | 14,225 |
61 to 65 | 2,532 | 9,059 |
66 to 70 | 326 | 1,476 |
71 to 90 | 124 | 1,467 |
| 149,663 | 158,971 |
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 22 September (HL2684), how many HGV drivers with a group C licence but without a Driver CPC are aged between (1) 18 and 40, (2) 41 and 50, (3) 51 and 55, (4) 56 to 60, (5) 61 to 65, (6) 66 to 70, and (7) 71 to 90.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The table below shows the number of drivers in each age group holding category C or C+E driving entitlement and who do not have a certificate of professional competence as of 18 September.
Age Groups | Category C | Category C+E |
18 to 40 | 76,692 | 78,058 |
41 to 50 | 51,095 | 40,081 |
51 to 55 | 12,206 | 14,605 |
56 to 60 | 6,688 | 14,225 |
61 to 65 | 2,532 | 9,059 |
66 to 70 | 326 | 1,476 |
71 to 90 | 124 | 1,467 |
| 149,663 | 158,971 |
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the cost of (1) the Challenger Tank’s 120mm high-explosive squash head (HESH) round complete with charge, and (2) a 120mm fin-stabilised discarding sabot round complete with charge, compare with the cost of one round of the 40mm cannon fitted to the Ajax reconnaissance vehicle in percentage terms.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank and Ajax vehicle are designed for different purposes and their armament and ammunition reflect this. We do not comment on the cost of the 40mm ammunition as this is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many HGV drivers who hold either (1) a group C entitlement, or (2) a group C+E entitlement, do not have a driver's certificate of professional competence.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 4 September 2021, the number of drivers holding category C or C+E driving entitlement who do not have a certificate of professional competence is shown below:
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bethell on 10 December (HL10847 and HL10848), why the information sought is not held in the format requested; whether, and if so, (1) how, and (2) where, that information is held; whether they collect any data on the operational false positive rate for polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 tests; if so, which data; what plans they have to publish those data; and what quality assurance checks they undertake on their answers to parliamentary questions.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Information regarding the assessment of false negatives is not held in the format requested due to the challenges in estimating clinical sensitivity. We do not collect data on the operational false positive rate.
All Written Questions receive several stages of quality assurance to ensure that responses are accurate. All answers are drafted by subject matter experts and assured by a senior civil servant with the appropriate knowledge to certify the accuracy.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 4 March (HL13345), on which occasions in the last 20 years the British Army has deployed a largely fully formed and supported brigade for manoeuvre and deployment training; and when they expect that a similar scale of exercise will be conducted in order (1) to test the UK's ability and identify any weaknesses, (2) to reassure allies, and (3) to deter potential opponents.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The British Army has regularly conducted collective training at Brigade level over the years and has plans to do so in the future. Over the course of Operations HERRICK (2002 - 2014) and TELIC (2003 - 2011) the British Army continuously trained and prepared a series of Brigade level deployments, including full Mission Rehearsal Exercises on an enduring 6 monthly rotational basis. Other significant Brigade level training in the past includes Exercises SAIF SAREEA 2 in 2002 and SAIF SAREEA 3 in 2018.
The Army's Collective Training Group delivers a comprehensive programme of Mission Ready and Combat Ready Training to the Field Army. All training delivered at Battle Group level and above is delivered in a Brigade context as a minimum. Whilst this training methodology may not involve deploying the entire Brigade into the field at the same time, it does ensure that the skill sets involved in deploying a Brigade are practised regularly. Furthermore, use of simulation ensures that this type of training can be conducted efficiently whilst maximising the impact and utility of the training.
In addition to this continuous series of events delivered in a Brigade and Divisional context, there are also a series of planned exercises that focus on Brigade level and above training. Examples of these include the 16 Air Assault Brigade deploying of Ex SWIFT RESPONSE 22 in 2022 and the deployment of elements on Ex CERBERUS 22. Furthermore, the British Army regularly participates in the DEFENDER series, a US led multinational exercise in Europe, at the Brigade level.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 10 December (HL10847), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, whether the operational false positive rate for polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 tests is regularly determined by inserting samples into the system that cannot be positive; and what is the false positive rate for such samples.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Information regarding the assessment of false positives was not held in the format requested due to the challenges in estimating clinical sensitivity. This is part due to a lack of a generally accepted reference standard to compare reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction results.
Currently samples are not placed into the system to test operational sensitivity. The Department has undertaken substantial work with Porton Down and the Milton Keynes Lighthouse Laboratory to conduct temperature and long-term stability experiments on sample collection kits to ensure swabs meet an appropriate standard for testing.