Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of effect on recruitment to the Royal Navy of the opening of the United Kingdom Naval Support Facility in Mina Salman, Bahrain.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Royal Navy (RN) recruits from the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries. No assessment has been made of the effect on recruitment to the RN of the opening of the Naval Support Facility in Mina Salman, Bahrain.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of security co operation between the UK and Israel.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Defence cooperation between the UK and Israel is strong and supports the UK's role in coalition success against Daesh and promotes regional stability.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what additional in-country assistance the Government has disbursed to Iraq since the Warsaw NATO Summit in July 2016.
Answered by Mike Penning
The UK continues to assist Iraq in defeating Daesh. We have over 550 personnel in Iraq, assisting with training as part of the Global Coalition's Building Partner Capacity Programme. UK forces have helped to train over 30,000 Iraqi security forces personnel, including over 7,000 Kurdish Peshmerga. The RAF also continues to support the Coalition through participation in airstrikes. At the Warsaw Summit in July 2016, the UK pledged £1 million to help NATO shape its in-country training and capacity building initiative; this money will enable NATO training to start in January 2017.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other countries on the protection of maritime wrecks which are classified as war graves.
Answered by Mike Penning
Where we have evidence of desecration of the wrecks of Royal Navy vessels, we will take appropriate action, including working with regional Governments and partners to prevent inappropriate activity at such sites. It should be appreciated however that, given the vast locations of Royal Navy wrecks around the world, there are limitations on what protection we can provide.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of historic Royal Navy maritime wrecks classified as war graves which have been plundered or broken up by illegal scrap metal operators.
Answered by Mike Penning
Where we have evidence of desecration of the wrecks of Royal Navy vessels, we will take appropriate action, including working with regional Governments and partners to prevent inappropriate activity at such sites. It should be appreciated however that, given the vast locations of Royal Navy wrecks around the world, there are limitations on what protection we can provide.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of UK and NATO support for the EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia in the Mediterranean.
Answered by Mike Penning
UK support to EU NAVFORMED Operation SOPHIA is making an important contribution to addressing migrant flows across the Mediterranean. Smugglers can no longer operate with impunity on the High Seas: SOPHIA has destroyed over 330 smuggling boats, apprehended nearly 100 suspected smugglers, and saved almost 30,000 lives - more than 9,000 of which were done so by HMS ENTERPRISE. And as part of a long-term solution, the UK is contributing to the training of the Libyan Coastguard to tackle migration from its shores.
At the Warsaw Summit in July, NATO Allies agreed to support SOPHIA's efforts to tackle irregular migration in the Mediterranean. This support will be delivered through NATO's newly launched maritime security framework, Operation SEA GUARDIAN, building on the swift and effective cooperation seen in joint efforts to cut lines of human trafficking in the Aegean Sea.
We are clear that SOPHIA is only one part of a comprehensive approach that addresses both the causes of migration and their consequences.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the trends in the level of cyber attacks originating from outside the UK from (a) government and (b) private sources.
Answered by Mike Penning
We take the growing threat of cyber attacks on our networks and systems extremely seriously, whatever the source, and are taking action to defend against increasingly sophisticated attacks. Our systems are regularly targeted by criminals, foreign intelligence services and other malicious actors seeking to exploit Ministry of Defence (MOD) personnel, disrupt MOD business and operations, corrupt our systems and steal information. This is not unique to the MOD; other Government Departments, industry and business are also affected. However, we do not reveal specific details of trends in order to safeguard national security.