Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many BAME personnel hold senior leadership or managerial roles in (1) the Royal Air Force, (2) the army, and (3) the Royal Navy.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Defence has been working hard to achieve a more diverse workforce. However, progress in terms of the representative rates of our people – both military and civilian – has been too slow. It is clear there is still much further to go if we are to successfully attract and retain diverse talent both now and in the future. That is why we are renewing our levels of ambition at the highest levels in Defence as we work to fulfil the key objective in our 2018-2030 Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to eliminate discrimination and improve diversity throughout Defence.
Since 2015 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been working towards a target for 10% of recruits into the Armed Forces to be from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background by April 2020, rising to 20% thereafter. These are challenging targets demonstrating the importance Defence places on having Armed Forces reflecting the society they serve. I am pleased to confirm the latest statistics show we have now exceeded the initial intake target as 11.7% of recruits were Black, Asian or from an ethnic minority in the 12 months to 31 March 2020. While this is an improvement, there is further long-term progress to be made and sustained. Ongoing work to improve all aspects of diversity in MOD continues, includes better understanding and greater engagement with the communities the Armed Forces want to recruit from; reviewing recruitment processes; and better targeting marketing and communications.
As at 1 April 2020, the numbers of UK Regular full-time Service personnel who had declared their ethnicity as BAME and were serving at NATO Rank OF-6 or above (Brigadier and equivalent) were five or fewer in each Service. In addition, fewer than five Senior Civil Servants employed in each Command had declared their ethnicity as BAME. In line with standard statistical disclosure methodology, the percentages associated with these figures have been suppressed to ensure individuals are not inadvertently identified.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes biannual statistics on diversity declarations for Armed Forces personnel and MOD civilian staff. The latest editions can be found at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-index
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-diversity-dashboard-2020
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Wigston Review into inappropriate behaviours in the Armed Forces, published on 15 July 2019, what focal point has been established in the Ministry of Defence to own, track and inform defence culture and behaviours.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Chief of Defence People, Lieutenant General James Swift, has been appointed the Senior Responsible Owner for culture and behaviours in the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The MOD remains committed to implementing the recommendations of the Wigston Review. We have set up the Wigston Review Implementation Team to drive this forward in the short term. Decisions about the Defence Authority will be taken in due course following agreement on proposals to reform the Service Complaints system, some of which may require legislative change.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Wigston Review into inappropriate behaviours in the Armed Forces, published on 15 July 2019, what Defence Authority has been established to be responsible for cultures and inappropriate behaviours.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Chief of Defence People, Lieutenant General James Swift, has been appointed the Senior Responsible Owner for culture and behaviours in the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The MOD remains committed to implementing the recommendations of the Wigston Review. We have set up the Wigston Review Implementation Team to drive this forward in the short term. Decisions about the Defence Authority will be taken in due course following agreement on proposals to reform the Service Complaints system, some of which may require legislative change.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Wigston Review into inappropriate behaviours in the Armed Forces, published on 15 July 2019, what two-tier complaints system has been implemented for bullying, harassment and discrimination.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Department is currently in the process of refining proposals for the new Service Complaints system.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Wigston Review into inappropriate behaviours in the Armed Forces, published on 15 July 2019, how the Ministry of Defence implemented the necessary training interventions to tackle the issue of overrepresentation of minority groups in the complaints process.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The independent study into the overrepresentation of minority groups in the Service Complaints system has yet to conclude, therefore we are unable to commission targeted training at this current stage. However, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is conducting a comprehensive review of all relevant training to ensure Diversity and Inclusion principles are included and up to date, reflecting the Wigston Review findings.
The MOD ensures all Service personnel and civil servants receive regular and mandatory Diversity and Inclusion training, and each Service has their own initiatives aimed at their personnel. Collectively, the Department has recently designed a three strand approach to Active Bystander training: new entrants to Defence and those on career progression courses will receive Active Bystander principles in their training; Delivering Active Bystander training on establishments at regular intervals; and creating an accessible online training Active Bystander product.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when Armed Forces personnel will receive their annual pay rise. [T]
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Government is currently considering the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body’s (AFPRB) recommendations, taking into account the need to recruit, retain, and motivate personnel, as well as the long-term affordability of the Armed Forces. Once a decision has been reached, any pay rises will be backdated to 1 April 2020.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many drone strikes British Armed Forces have carried out against Isil this year in (1) January, (2) February, (3) March, (4) April, and (5) May.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
This year, United Kingdom Armed Forces have recorded the following numbers of weapon release events from Reaper remotely piloted aircraft against Daesh targets:
January - 0
February - 0
March - 0
April - 1
May - 6
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many officials from the Ministry of Defence were members of the Counter Proliferation and Arms Control Centre in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, and (3) 2020.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The following number of Ministry of Defence officials were members of the Counter Proliferation & Arms Control Centre in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
2018: 9
2019: 10
2020: 10