Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to carry out a national security risk assessment as part of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy; whether any such assessment will be published; and if so, where.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Integrated Review will cover all aspects of international and national security policy - defence, diplomacy, development and national resilience. Uniting development and diplomacy in one department brings together Britain's international effort to have even greater impact and influence on the world stage as we recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The Review will assess what will be needed to deliver our new strategy, in addition to seizing the opportunities offered by the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The full conclusions of the Integrated Review will be announced in March.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what, declaration forms under the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland the Ministry of Defence has to complete to move personnel and equipment to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Protocol is clear that it respects the essential state functions and territorial integrity of the UK. It therefore places no restrictions on military movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
There is no additional paperwork required to move personnel and equipment to Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Armed Forces personnel are currently isolating due to COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As at Thursday 24 September 2020, 6,142 UK Armed Forces personnel were reported as isolating due to COVID-19.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide additional (1) personal protection equipment, and (2) training, for Armed Forces personnel to carry out door-to-door COVID-19 testing.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Armed Forces personnel have been carrying out door-to-door testing as part of Defence's ongoing COVID-19 response.
The safety and welfare of our Armed Forces is paramount, and all personnel wear appropriate PPE, in line with Public Health England guidance and existing Force protection measures.
No additional training is required, but all personnel are suitably briefed to carry out testing.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Armed Forces personnel have died as a result of COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of 30 September 2020, three UK Armed Forces personnel have died where COVID-19 was either the primary cause of death or associated with the cause of death.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Jobcentre Plus districts (1) have, and (2) do not have, an Armed Forces lead.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department for Work and Pensions secured funding of around £5 million in the Chancellor’s September 2019 Spending Round to bolster the role of its Armed Forces Champions. This additional funding means the Department will be able to fund dedicated, full time champion posts for this important work. It will also help to provide a consistent service supporting veterans, serving personnel and their families across the country. Deployment into these posts has been delayed due to the ongoing response to the Coronavirus pandemic; however, we remain committed to the posts.
We currently have part-time Armed Forces Champions in place in 36 of the 37 Jobcentre Plus Districts. One district is currently without a champion but recruitment is under way to fill that post.
All the Department’s work coaches provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces Community, working in partnership with their district Armed Forces Champion where necessary. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example, garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Armed Forces support posts there are in each Jobcentre Plus district.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department for Work and Pensions secured funding of around £5 million in the Chancellor’s September 2019 Spending Round to bolster the role of its Armed Forces Champions. This additional funding means the Department will be able to fund dedicated, full time champion posts for this important work. It will also help to provide a consistent service supporting veterans, serving personnel and their families across the country. Deployment into these posts has been delayed due to the ongoing response to the Coronavirus pandemic; however, we remain committed to the posts.
We currently have part-time Armed Forces Champions in place in 36 of the 37 Jobcentre Plus Districts. One district is currently without a champion but recruitment is under way to fill that post.
All the Department’s work coaches provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces Community, working in partnership with their district Armed Forces Champion where necessary. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example, garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Ministry of Defence is a member of the National Suicide Prevention Alliance.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is a full member of the National Suicide Prevention Alliance; the Army act as the lead point of contact for MOD.
The MOD’s Suicide Prevention Working Group (now renamed as the Suicide Prevention Review Implementation Board (SPRIB)) was created in 2018 in response to an internal review on suicide within the Armed Forces. The first meeting took place on 13 November 2018, with the group meeting on three occasions in 2019 (March, May and September). The majority of recommendations were actioned within this time, yet further work was required on the key recommendation on the creation of a Defence Suicide Registry (DSR). To enable focus on this work, the SPRIB was paused until the DSR Project had completed its discovery phase, which concluded in March 2020, and the SPRIB will reconvene in the autumn.
Suicide rates in the UK Regular Armed Forces have shown a declining trend since the 1990’s, and for the last twenty years rates have been lower than the general population. The suicide rate among males aged 16-59 years in the UK between the general population in 2018 (latest data available) was 20 per 100,000 compared to a UK Armed Forces rate of 11 per 100,000 in 2018.
However, we are not complacent. One suicide is one too many and a tragedy for the individual, their family, friends and colleagues. The MOD and NHS(England) have jointly commissioned Manchester university to undertake a study into the factors which led to suicide for both serving and veteran personnel.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times the Ministry of Defence's Suicide Prevention Working Group met in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, and (3) 2020 to date.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is a full member of the National Suicide Prevention Alliance; the Army act as the lead point of contact for MOD.
The MOD’s Suicide Prevention Working Group (now renamed as the Suicide Prevention Review Implementation Board (SPRIB)) was created in 2018 in response to an internal review on suicide within the Armed Forces. The first meeting took place on 13 November 2018, with the group meeting on three occasions in 2019 (March, May and September). The majority of recommendations were actioned within this time, yet further work was required on the key recommendation on the creation of a Defence Suicide Registry (DSR). To enable focus on this work, the SPRIB was paused until the DSR Project had completed its discovery phase, which concluded in March 2020, and the SPRIB will reconvene in the autumn.
Suicide rates in the UK Regular Armed Forces have shown a declining trend since the 1990’s, and for the last twenty years rates have been lower than the general population. The suicide rate among males aged 16-59 years in the UK between the general population in 2018 (latest data available) was 20 per 100,000 compared to a UK Armed Forces rate of 11 per 100,000 in 2018.
However, we are not complacent. One suicide is one too many and a tragedy for the individual, their family, friends and colleagues. The MOD and NHS(England) have jointly commissioned Manchester university to undertake a study into the factors which led to suicide for both serving and veteran personnel.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Ministry of Defence has spent on training related to (1) the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and (2) preventing sexual violence initiatives, in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018, (d) 2019, and (e) 2020 to date.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) are unable to answer the noble Lord’s question due to the way funding is tracked and division of policy areas. Defence have approached the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in military operations through a combination of dedicated training courses and specific modules added to existing training.
In support of the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2018 – 2022, the MOD have issued a Joint Service Publication 1325; ‘Human Security in Military Operations’ supported by a two-week Human security Advisers Course. This provides an advanced understanding of Defence’s role in the prevention of sexual violence in conflict through; gendered approaches to planning and operations, appropriate response to survivors, and reporting mechanisms.
Tailored modules have also been embedded to routine training for; deploying peacekeepers, overseas capacity building for troop contributing countries, military planners, policy advisers, Defence Attachés and headquarters and units across the Royal Navy, the Army and the RAF at home and overseas.