Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role UK forces played in annual war-games on the Korean peninsula in 2016.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
As a sending state to the United Nations Command in the Republic of Korea (ROK) and in common with other nations, the UK sends personnel to participate in two exercises conducted each year in the ROK. In 2016, the UK sent 56 personnel to Exercise Key Resolve (22 filling staff posts in a Headquarters and 34 in a UK Brigade HQ) and 22 personnel to Exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian (all filling staff posts in a Headquarters).
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent data they have compiled on the incidence of mesothelioma among former members of the armed forces; and what percentage of the total annual number of deaths from this disease occur amongst former servicemen.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Between 1 April 2003 (the earliest date for which the Department holds electronic information) and 30 September 2016, 761 ex-Service personnel registered a claim for mesothelioma through the War Pensions Scheme (WPS) which was subsequently awarded.
Of the 761 awarded claimants 721 had since deceased. For those 721 claimants who are deceased, information on their cause of death is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
No calculations have been made by the Ministry of Defence on the percentage of the total number of deaths from this disease amongst former Service personnel. However, the Health and Safety Executive's most recent publication on Mesothelioma Mortality in Great Britain from 1968 to 2014 (including by broad types of occupation) is enclosed and can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/STATISTICS/causdis/mesothelioma/mesothelioma.pdf
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they made of the risks to national security and to service personnel before publishing the names of soldiers and potential recruits online.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Armed Forces have a long history of publishing a nominal roll of serving officers, in the form of the 'The Navy List', 'The Army List' and the 'The Air Force List', generically known as the Armed Forces Lists.
The Armed Forces Lists' information was first published online in 2014, following requests under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and as part of our overall commitment to transparency. This information was judged to be releasable, having previously been published annually for over 200 years.
In September 2015, the policy on the publication of the Armed Forces Lists was reviewed and a decision was made to significantly reduce the information published, limiting this to information on officers at one star rank (Brigadier and equivalents) and above, except in respect of the Royal Navy. Details of those officers commanding a warship would continue to be published through release of a suitable version of the 'Fleet Bridge Card', which provides information on the number of RN Senior officers in command of the Fleet, the Flotillas and the warships. This decision was informed by advice on security risks. The previous Service Lists published on the Gov.uk website have now been removed.
Names of soldiers at Warrant Officer rank and below and potential recruits have never been published online in the Armed Forces Lists.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Ministry of Defence will follow the lead of the US military by training relevant officers serving in at-risk countries in how to identify early warning signals of mass atrocities or genocide, and how to act upon those signals in order effectively to bring such issues to the notice of relevant officers and UK officials.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
All members of the UK Armed Forces and those civilians involved in the conduct of armed conflict receive training in the Law of Armed Conflict.
For military personnel this training takes place during initial training, and it is continually refreshed throughout their career and prior to deployments. Training includes the responsibilities that being in a command role places on individuals. Commanding Officers receive further training on their additional legal responsibilities, and have access to advice from a Service Legal Advisor when deployed.
As part of pre-deployment training all personnel receive cultural briefings relevant to where they are deploying, including the known risks specific to the potential for mass atrocities or genocide. Furthermore, any indications of possible atrocities or genocide that are picked up through the work of the Ministry of Defence and other Departments are passed to the relevant personnel.
All personnel are fully aware of this responsibility to report any warnings of mass atrocities or genocide up through their chain of command.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any vessels of the Royal Navy fleet have been built or serviced at the Nauta shipyard in Poland; and whether the Government is aware of the use of North Korean labour at that shipyard.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
I can confirm that no Royal Navy vessels have been built or serviced at the Nauta shipyard in Poland. We are aware of reports, however, that North Korean labour has been used at the shipyard.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent military attacks by ISIS on the Nineveh Plain Forces (NPF) at Telliskuf; what political and military assistance they are giving to the NPF; and what assessment they have made of the NPF’s objectives.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Following Daesh's attack north of Mosul on 3 May, they were pushed back by Kurdish forces. The Kurds regained the lost territory with substantial Coalition air support, which included the use of RAF aircraft. UK assistance in Iraq is channelled, as appropriate, through the Government of Iraq or the Kurdish Regional Government rather than to any individual militia forces, and the UK has made no specific assessment of the objectives of the Nineveh Plain Forces.