Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent work they have done to remove landmines from North Africa following World War 2; and when they estimate any such work will be completed.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK currently has no programmes specifically targeting World War II ordnance in North Africa although sometimes World War II mines are encountered by HMG-funded mine action projects in that region, and the UK has provided assistance to the Egyptian authorities. We have made no estimates on the number of landmines laid in North Africa during World War II that remain a danger to people in that region.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of the air cadets to the UK.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence commissioned a study by Northampton University that identified that RAF Air Cadets make a significant contribution to the UK by enabling young people to improve their social skills, mental and physical wellbeing and increase social mobility. The RAF Air Cadets encourages educational and career attainment for both cadets and adult volunteers and promotes the development of transferable skills which helps to foster good citizens of the future who are able to contribute to society and the local community.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many units of accommodation for British Armed Forces personnel in the UK do not have en suite facilities.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
There are approximately 134,000 Single Living Accommodation (SLA) bedspaces for the Armed Forces in the UK. From the data collated by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation approximately 51,000 bedspaces have en-suite facilities.
The figures provided are based on current data held. However, the dataset is known to be incomplete and we are addressing this by developing a bespoke Information Management System for SLA.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the quality of kit issued to British Armed Forces personnel.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence has a responsibility to procure and support the delivery of quality equipment for our Armed Forces. As an organisation we regularly assess kit, implementing improvements where necessary. We are confident that our personnel have the right equipment to do the tasks we ask them to undertake.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what upgrades to accommodation provided in the UK to service personnel and their families have been completed since 2015.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The following table shows the number of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties which have had upgrade work carried out in the financial years stated, against each category.
The figures in the table do not include upgrades to Single Living Accommodation.
Figures for financial year 2015-16 are only held as total works completed and are not broken down into categories, as shown for later years.