Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training her Department provides on the operation of weapons systems.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence provides both individual and collective training on the operation of weapons systems.
There is a requirement to train all Recruits and Officer Cadets to operate a personal weapon system in Phase 1 (Basic) training. After that, the training requirement depends on the Training Needs Analysis. Those trainees who will be required to operate other weapons systems as part of their role will be trained during Phase 2 (Trade) training. This individual training meets the tasks that the weapons system operator will be required to perform, to the required standards and under the required conditions. Once the Serviceperson is trained, he or she will return to a Defence Training Establishment for further specialist operator training as required.
Some weapons systems require team, or collective training. This is provided either in the workplace, for example on exercise or during unit training time, or back in a Defence Training Establishment in a simulator, where a team can learn together. Once the team have learned how to operate the weapons system to the required standard, they will take part in wider collective training activity that requires the weapons system as part of the evolution.
Training for the operation of weapons systems, whether it be for an individual or for a team, is reviewed regularly to ensure it is relevant, effective, efficient, and safe.
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 she has made of the adequacy of the training available to those working in the arms industry.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The defence sector supports many thousands of highly skilled roles across the UK. Many of our leading defence suppliers have programmes in place to ensure they have the right skills to deliver our defence programmes. Through the Defence Suppliers Forum, the Ministry of Defence maintains a close dialogue with industry to ensure we understand industry's approach to skills, and we are exploring new ways to partner with industry to ensure high levels of skills, knowledge and experience exist across the defence sector.
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 she has made of the adequacy of the training available to Army personnel.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Army training meets the requirements of the Army through the provision of a skilled and capable force progressing from basic training to trade training, followed by collective and, where relevant, mission specific training. For the personnel it provides a challenging and rewarding experience.
Courses are regularly reviewed and refreshed, against current military doctrine and knowledge, to ensure currency and relevance. Where appropriate external validation, for example by Ofsted, takes place.
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 she has made of the adequacy of cyber security training in the armed forces.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Cyber security is vital to defence and training our personnel is of paramount importance to us. The Defence Cyber School, which celebrated its first year anniversary in March this year, is a centre of excellence for cyber training established to meet the needs of defence and its partners, addressing all aspects of cyber training and education.
Since it's opening, the Defence Cyber School has delivered over 4,000 days of training to personnel across its range of courses. Training has been wide ranging from practical networking taught to Junior and Senior Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs), cyber awareness to Senior NCOs, officers and strategic level cyber awareness to one-star masterclasses.
It is essential that we continue to operate effectively in the fast-moving and evolving digital world. The Defence Cyber School team, in an exciting step for the cyber community, are currently redesigning all their courses. The new courses being developed will form the Cyber Foundation Pathway, envisioned to give a baseline grounding for our Armed Forces in cyber roles in the Ministry of Defence and in time, for staff in cyber roles in wider Government.
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 potential merits of creating a defence diversification agency to ensure the sustainability of the defence sector.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The defence sector makes a significant contribution to the capability of our Armed Forces and supports hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs throughout the UK. Our refreshed Defence Industrial Policy, published in December 2017, sets out our commitment to encouraging a thriving and globally competitive UK defence sector as an integral part of the Government's overall Industrial Strategy. This includes encouraging the wider application of our investment in research. Ploughshare Innovations Ltd was established specifically to support the responsible transfer of defence research into the civilian market. On 14 March 2019 we provided an update to Parliament on the Defence Prosperity Programme (HCWS1411); this programme includes a specific strand of work aimed at sustaining an internationally competitive and productive Defence sector for the UK.
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 people work in the defence sector by constituency.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Statistics on Ministry of Defence regional expenditure with UK industry and supported employment in 2017-18 can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201718
Data for 2018-19 will be published in January 2020.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide a breakdown of the workforce employed by the defence sector by (a) profession and (b) qualifications.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Statistics on Ministry of Defence regional expenditure with UK industry and supported employment in 2017-18 can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201718
Data for 2018-19 will be published in January 2020.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the contribution of the defence sector to the (a) Welsh and (b) UK economy.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Statistics on Ministry of Defence regional expenditure with UK industry and supported employment in 2017-18 can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201718
Data for 2018-19 will be published in January 2020.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide a breakdown of defence spending by constituency.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Statistics on Ministry of Defence regional expenditure with UK industry and supported employment in 2017-18 can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201718
Data for 2018-19 will be published in January 2020.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the employment destinations of junior soldiers who leave the Army before completing their phase two training are.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The employment destination of those leaving the Army during training is not held by the Department.