Asked by: Lord Richards of Herstmonceux (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many servicemen and servicewomen are currently unable to deploy on combat operations because they cannot meet the required medical standard.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
There are three Medical Deployability Standard (MDS) categories for the Armed Forces.
Medically Fully Deployable (MFD) personnel are those medically fit for duty with no employment limitations.
Medically Limited Deployable (MLD) personnel are medically fit for duty with minor employment limitations. MLD personnel may have a medical condition or functional limitation that prevents the meeting of all MFD requirements.
Medically Not Deployable (MND) personnel are medically fit for duty with major employment limitations. MND personnel are not currently deployable on Operations but may be deployable on UK based exercises and should be able to work effectively for at least 32.5 hours per week. MND status, as with other MDS categories, is often only temporary due to injury or illness, and may change following medical review.
As at 1 October 2017, there were 137,280 full-time trained UK Armed Forces personnel, of whom 110,036 (80.2%) were MFD.
13,989* (10.2%) were MLD, of whom 4,370 (31.2%) were MLD Temporary.
13,223* (9.6%) were MND, of whom 10,329 (78.1%) were MND Temporary.
*subject to regrading following medical review
Asked by: Lord Richards of Herstmonceux (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK has strategic equivalents to the United States National Security Strategy and the United States National Defence Strategy; and, if so, what they are.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Government's National Security Strategy (NSS) is the strategic equivalent to the United States National Security Strategy. The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) is the strategic equivalent to the United States National Defense Strategy, though it is not limited in scope to Defence matters as is the case in the USA.
Asked by: Lord Richards of Herstmonceux (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to terminate the contract with CarillionAmey for service family accommodation, and if so, what plans they have for the service to be provided in-house.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
In response to the 'Get Well Plan' agreed with the Secretary of State for Defence in February, CarillionAmey's performance has improved. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is now seeking assurances that the performance improvements made are sustainable over the life of the contracts for which CarillionAmey is responsible. The MOD will continue to prepare contingency plans, for potential termination, in the event that sustained improvements are not made.
Asked by: Lord Richards of Herstmonceux (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by Sir John Chilcot on the Iraq War, whether they have any plans to reform the decision-making process within the Ministry of Defence and place the Armed Forces under the command of the Chief of Defence Staff.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
We are studying the report of the Iraq Inquiry in detail to identify how further to improve our structures, policies, procurement and training. Since 2010, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has implemented wide-ranging reforms to how it is structured and managed. This has clarified responsibilities, strengthened accountability and empowered the single Services. The Defence Secretary confirmed to the Defence Select Committee on 19 July that he has established a team to go through the report and make sure that the proper lessons are learned. This team will identify all of the areas where MOD needs to take action to improve its performance in the light of Sir John Chilcot's findings.