Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the length of time that the armed forces will be deployed in Mali.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK's commitment to the UN's peacekeeping mission in Mali is constantly reviewed to ensure that our Armed Forces are used in the most effective way.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the required lethality for the proposed Mark 7 nuclear warhead.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Mk7 aeroshell is planned to be common to both the UK replacement warhead and the US W93. The Government is confident that the UK's replacement warhead will continue to deliver an effective, independent, minimum, credible deterrent. We are withholding information about the effectiveness of the UK replacement warhead for the purposes of safeguarding national security.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces are deployed in (a) Cyprus and (b) the eastern Mediterranean.
Answered by James Heappey
Operational demands will cause numbers to change at short notice and/or to pass through on route to other operations in the Middle East and beyond.
There are around 2,150 members of the UK Armed Forces permanently assigned to Cyprus on our Sovereign Base Area. In addition, around 250 personnel are deployed in Cyprus as part of Operation TOSCA - the British contribution to the UN peacekeeping force.
There are currently no UK Armed Forces personnel deployed in the eastern Mediterranean outside Cyprus.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Greek counterpart on the recent deployment of two French frigates to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Answered by James Heappey
The Secretary of State for Defence has not discussed the recent deployment of French frigates to the Eastern Mediterranean with the Greek Defence Minister.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase staff levels at the Submarine Delivery Agency.
Answered by James Heappey
Throughout 2018-19 we have made steady recruitment progress to bolster our people capabilities in the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) resulting in a net increase to our core workforce by around 11% by April 2019. We will continue to identify skills gaps and prioritise effectively by both sourcing existing skilled staff from within the Ministry of Defence and by using the SDA's authority and freedoms to recruit and retain the best people to enhance the organisation's competencies and capability.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on the use of Brecon Beacons national park for military training.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is Ministry of Defence (MOD) policy to prioritise training on property that is owned, leased or licensed by the MOD.
Training on Private Land (TOPL) is the alternative solution when the MOD is unable to allocate suitable training facilities on the MOD training estate and the proposed activities are compatible with private land uses.
TOPL at the Brecon Beacons is used by several units including the Infantry Battle School. The majority of training is for navigation and endurance covering large distances whilst assessing individuals map reading ability.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has received a request from his French counterpart to provide support to French military forces deployed in Burkina Faso.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Her Majesty's Government is concerned by the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel and more broadly in surrounding areas such as Burkina Faso. We remain in dialogue with French military counterparts and continue to provide non-combat assistance to the French-led counter terror mission Operation BARKHANE with our deployment of three CH47 chinook helicopters.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government is providing support to the Burkina Faso Government’s anti-terrorist operations.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Her Majesty's Government is concerned about the security situation in Sahel and the spread of insecurity across the region, including to countries such as Burkina Faso. The Ministry of Defence provides direct support to the region in the form of three CH47 chinook helicopters, who provide non-combat assistance in the French-led counter terror mission Operation BARKHANE, and we deliver training to G5 Sahel militaries through the EU Training Mission Mali. The UK Government also supports the G5 Sahel Joint Force, which combats terrorist activities in Burkina Faso and the wider region.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has received a request for the UK to join a peacekeeping force in Libya.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and other participants of the Berlin Conference issued a declaration calling upon the United Nations to facilitate ceasefire negotiations between the parties in the conflict, including through the immediate establishment of technical committees to monitor and verify the implementation of the ceasefire. The UK has received no formal request to join a peacekeeping force in Libya.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department's funding for research and development he allocated to firms in Wales in 2018.
Answered by James Heappey
Research and Development (R&D) is critical to the delivery of battle-winning capability for our Armed Forces.
In 2017-18, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) net expenditure on R&D activity (identified as meeting the Frascati international definition for new, novel and innovative R&D) totalled £1.6 billion, much of it with UK industry and supply chain SMEs, sustaining many UK jobs.
In 2017-18 the MOD's expenditure with UK Industry in Wales was £960 million. Defence expenditure with UK industry supported approximately 6,300 Welsh jobs in 2017-18.[1]
Actual figures relating to R&D spend in the regions are not held by the Department and as such could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Further related information is available online at the following locations.
MOD regional expenditure with UK industry and supported employment: 2017-18
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201718UK gross domestic expenditure on research and development Statistical bulletins:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/researchanddevelopmentexpenditure/bulletins/ukgrossdomesticexpenditureonresearchanddevelopment/previousReleasesUK government expenditure on science, engineering and technology Statistical bulletins:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/researchanddevelopmentexpenditure/bulletins/ukgovernmentexpenditureonscienceengineeringandtechnology/previousReleases
[1] Source: MOD regional expenditure with UK industry and supported employment: 2017/18