Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on the extension of the Veterans Recognition Scheme.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces (James Heappey) on 3 September 2020 to Question 81645 to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne).
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the number of extant service complaints as of 28 August 2020 in (a) the Army, (b) Royal Air Force, (c) Royal Navy which have been ongoing for (i) 0-6 months, (ii) 6-12 months, (iii) one-two years, (iv) two-three years, (v) three-four years, (vi) four-five years, (vii) six-seven years, (viii) seven-eight years, (ix) eight-nine years, (x) nine-10 years (xi) over 10 years.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The requested information is provided in the following table and was current as at 31 August 2020:
Time Period | 0-6 months | 6-12 months | 1-2 years | 2-3 years | 3-4 years | 4-5 years | 6-7 years | 7-8 years | 8-9 years | 9-10 years | Over 10 years |
Army | 180 | 120 | 95 | 35 | 10 | ~ | - | ~ | ~ | - | - |
Royal Air Force | 75 | 20 | 25 | ~ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Royal Navy | 55 | 40 | 20 | 5 | 5 | ~ | - | - | - | - | - |
Notes:
Figures are single Service estimates and have not been verified by Defence Statistics.
Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 to prevent the inadvertent release of personal data and figures fewer than 5 are represented by ‘~’. Zero is ‘-‘.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reported incidents of (a) sexual harassment, (b) sexual assault and (c) rape there were by (i) gender and (ii) service in each year from 2015 to 2018; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence is absolutely clear there is no place for sexual offending in the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces are committed to addressing the issues of sexual harassment and sexual assault through a range of actions, including awareness campaigns and training presentations around sexual consent.
We recognise the great courage it takes to come forward and report a sexual offence. Personnel who come forward can have full confidence that all allegations are thoroughly investigated; Commanding Officers must always refer any allegation of rape and sexual assault, or any other offence which may have a sexual element, to the Service Police. Anyone found to fall short of the Services’ high standards or to have committed an offence is dealt with appropriately, up to and including imprisonment and dismissal from service.
Detailed statistics about sexual offending in the Service Justice System are published annually as part of our commitment to openness and transparency: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sexual-offences-in-the-service-justice-system
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide details of the (a) training and (b) other steps taken to increase reporting of (i) sexual harassment, (ii) sexual assault and (iii) rape by (A) gender and (B) service in the armed forces each year from 2015 to 2018; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence is absolutely clear there is no place for sexual offending in the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces are committed to addressing the issues of sexual harassment and sexual assault through a range of actions, including awareness campaigns and training presentations around sexual consent.
We recognise the great courage it takes to come forward and report a sexual offence. Personnel who come forward can have full confidence that all allegations are thoroughly investigated; Commanding Officers must always refer any allegation of rape and sexual assault, or any other offence which may have a sexual element, to the Service Police. Anyone found to fall short of the Services’ high standards or to have committed an offence is dealt with appropriately, up to and including imprisonment and dismissal from service.
Detailed statistics about sexual offending in the Service Justice System are published annually as part of our commitment to openness and transparency: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sexual-offences-in-the-service-justice-system
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training his Department provided to (a) junior NCO’s and (b) junior officers to increase awareness of (a) sexual harassment, (b) sexual assault and c) rape by (A) gender and (B) service in each year since 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence is absolutely clear there is no place for sexual offending in the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces are committed to addressing the issues of sexual harassment and sexual assault through a range of actions, including awareness campaigns and training presentations around sexual consent.
We recognise the great courage it takes to come forward and report a sexual offence. Personnel who come forward can have full confidence that all allegations are thoroughly investigated; Commanding Officers must always refer any allegation of rape and sexual assault, or any other offence which may have a sexual element, to the Service Police. Anyone found to fall short of the Services’ high standards or to have committed an offence is dealt with appropriately, up to and including imprisonment and dismissal from service.
Detailed statistics about sexual offending in the Service Justice System are published annually as part of our commitment to openness and transparency: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sexual-offences-in-the-service-justice-system
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) perfluorooctane sulfate and (b) perfluooctane acid firefighting foams there are on military bases in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
There are no firefighting foams in use on the Defence estate that use either perfluorooctane sulfate and perfluooctane acid as constituents. Foams with these constituents were withdrawn from use in 2015.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure military access to GPS satellites resilient to jamming of signals for (a) communications, (b) direct energy weapons, (c) route planning and (d) local confirmation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
UK Armed Forces rely upon accurate Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) information for a variety of critical applications. GPS, owned and run by the US Armed Forces, is our main system; as a tier 1 nation, we have privileged access to the most secure GPS signals. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a dedicated Research & Development programme looking at diminishing traditional PNT vulnerabilities. This includes key work with industry on research into anti-jam techniques (jamming is the most common form of PNT interference) and the £70 million Robust Global Navigation System contract to deliver Multi Constellation Open Signal receivers, further decreasing our vulnerabilities. The MOD is committed to a systems-of-systems approach to managing PNT vulnerabilities, including with cross-Government partners.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian posts in his Department have been vacant in each month of each year from January 2018 to December 2019; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arrangements his Department has put in place for auditing the cyber security capability of defence contractors; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Defence takes the cyber security of its suppliers extremely seriously, which is why we work with a wide range of Defence contractors in the Defence Cyber Protection Partnership (DCPP). The DCPP is a collaboration between government and industry and it has developed a cyber security framework which is applied in all Defence procurements. The model requires the supplier to have in place cyber security controls which are proportionate to the cyber risk to the information they handle. These controls address security governance, culture, personnel and asset security as well as technical requirements and incident management, and our suppliers are accountable for flowing the requirements down through their supply chains. In addition, for activities where the routine handling of material classified as secret or above takes place, the granting and maintenance of List X status confirms that contractors conform to a defined set of controls provides assurance of their security.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) guidance and (b) equipment has been issued to (i) military commanders, (ii) civilian staff and (iii) defence equipment contractors on (A) UK military bases and (B) overseas deployment for responding to a covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has put in place plans to ensure the delivery of its key operations in the UK and overseas. Guidance to all Defence personnel refers to advice issued by the NHS, Public Health England and the FCO. This is being widely distributed and displayed across the Department, both in the UK and overseas. Where additional information is required to support operational deployment, that is also being provided.
All Defence Medical staff have access to the recommended medical Personal Protective Equipment appropriate to their role and are fully trained in its safe use. The provision of Personal Protective Equipment to other MOD personnel would be conducted in accordance with Public Health England advice and as appropriate to their role.