Asked by: Lord Bellingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the feasibility of establishing a permanent naval facility in one of the Caribbean Overseas Territories.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
As in previous years, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) pre-positioned a naval ship in the Caribbean at the beginning of the Hurricane season so as to be able to respond quickly to any extreme weather event. Following the support she provided during Hurricanes Irma and Maria, RFA Mounts Bay will remain in the region for the rest of the Hurricane season. The MOD will be contributing to cross Whitehall work being led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to consider proposals to increase the resilience of the UK's Overseas Territories in the aftermath of extreme weather.
Asked by: Lord Bellingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military personnel have been deployed to the Caribbean as a result of Hurricane Irma; and what estimate he has made of the cost of that deployment.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
At the peak of the military response there were over 2,000 military personnel deployed to the Caribbean. The costs of the Defence response, elements of which are ongoing, are being compiled. We will recover the majority of our additional costs from the cross-Government fund established for the activity.
Asked by: Lord Bellingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2016 to Question 56187, what the budget is for the Iraq Historic Allegations Team in (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) operates within an agreed lifetime budget of £57.2 million.
Asked by: Lord Bellingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2016 to Question 52667, if he will provide a breakdown of expenses claimed by the 127 investigators employed by Red Snapper.
Answered by Mike Penning
The breakdown of expenses, by Financial Year (FY) claimed by the 127 investigators employed by Red Snapper is as follows:
First contract period (February 2013 - January 2016):
FY 2013-14 - £754,226
FY 2014-15 - £1,308,678
FY 2015-16 - £857,238
Current contract period:
FY 2015-16 - £12,170
FY 2016-17 - £35,759
Asked by: Lord Bellingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's plans are for the number of Iraq Historic Allegations Team investigators when the number of cases of that team is reduced to the planned 60 active investigations in 2017.
Answered by Mike Penning
The number of investigators to be employed in the Iraq Historic Allegations Team will be decided by the management of the team in light of the investigative need within the budget agreed by Ministers.
Asked by: Lord Bellingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2016 to Questions 52667 and 52666, whether the £2.97 million paid to Red Snapper investigators for expenses is included in, or in addition to, the £20.8 million paid to Red Snapper since 2013.
Answered by Mike Penning
The £2.97 million paid to Red Snapper investigators through expenses is included in the £20.8 million paid to Red Snapper since 2013.
Asked by: Lord Bellingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions Ministers of his Department have had with the Head of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team on the use of covert surveillance on serving and former service personnel; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mike Penning
As the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) neither confirm nor deny the use of covert surveillance it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on this matter.
Asked by: Lord Bellingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide a breakdown of the £20.8 million paid to Red Snapper since 2013.
Answered by Mike Penning
The payments made to Red Snapper cover two contract periods and can be broken down, by financial year (FY), as follows:
First contract period (February 2013 - January 2016)
FY 2013-14 - £4.4 million
FY 2014-15 - £6.8 million
FY 2015-16 - £4.9 million
Current contract period (February 2016 - September 2016)
FY 2015-16 - £0.9 million
FY 2016-17 - £3.8 million