Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for when the army will stop training at the Middlewick Firing Ranges, Colchester.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
No training has taken place at Middlewick Ranges since 25 January 2021. The Ranges were formally closed in September 2023.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a list of the Army bands which existed as of 31 December 2023.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There were 30 Bands in the British Army on 31 December 1999; 23 Bands on 31 December 2009; and 15 Bands on 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023.
The below table shows a list of Army Bands as at 31 December 2023.
The Royal Corps of Army Music |
The Band of the Household Cavalry |
Band of the Grenadier Guards |
Band of the Coldstream Guards |
Band of the Scots Guards |
Band of the Irish Guards |
Band of the Welsh Guards |
The Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra |
The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland |
The Band and Bugles of The Rifles |
The Band of The Prince of Wales |
The Band of The Brigade of Gurkhas |
British Army Band Catterick |
British Army Band Colchester |
British Army Band Sandhurst |
British Army Band Tidworth |
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army bands there were on 31 December (a) 1999, (b) 2009, (c) 2019 and (d) 2023.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There were 30 Bands in the British Army on 31 December 1999; 23 Bands on 31 December 2009; and 15 Bands on 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023.
The below table shows a list of Army Bands as at 31 December 2023.
The Royal Corps of Army Music |
The Band of the Household Cavalry |
Band of the Grenadier Guards |
Band of the Coldstream Guards |
Band of the Scots Guards |
Band of the Irish Guards |
Band of the Welsh Guards |
The Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra |
The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland |
The Band and Bugles of The Rifles |
The Band of The Prince of Wales |
The Band of The Brigade of Gurkhas |
British Army Band Catterick |
British Army Band Colchester |
British Army Band Sandhurst |
British Army Band Tidworth |
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were members of the British Army Band Colchester on 31 December 2023; and if he will make an estimate of the number of members it will have on 31 December 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There were 44 band members in British Army Band Colchester on 31 December 2023.
It is estimated that there will be 23 members on 31 December 2024. The wider workforce will be rationalised across the Royal Corps of Army Music to maximise resources for State Ceremonial outputs and operational priorities. British Army Band Colchester will focus primarily on delivering Defence Engagement activity and providing smaller, more agile ensembles.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason £300,579,931 was paid to General Dynamics UK for its work on Ajax between March and November 2023.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Payments made during the period March 2023 through to November 2023 by the Ministry of Defence to General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited were as a result of the successful completion of contracted milestones.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the most recent (a) payment schedule and (b) milestones for the Ajax armoured cavalry programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Whilst I can confirm that a revised payment schedule and milestone plan is in place for the Armoured Cavalry Programme, I am unable to publish the details of this plan as this may prejudice the Ministry of Defence's commercial interests.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to respond to Question 4952 on Defence: Buildings tabled by the Rt hon. Member for North Durham.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I will respond to the right hon. Member shortly.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has sought legal advice on the legality of trail hunting on the Defence estate; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential risk of illegal hunting activity taking place on the Defence estate.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To date Ministry of Defence (MOD) has issued 23 licences for the 2023- 24 trail hunting season.
Name of Hunt | Fixtures taken place |
Licence 1 | 8 |
Licence 2 | 2 |
Licence 3 | 1 |
Licence 4 | 1 |
Licence 5 | 2 |
Licence 6 | 1 |
Licence 7 | 9 |
Licence 8 | 10 |
Licence 9 | 3 |
Licence 10 | 2 |
Licence 11 | 2 |
Licence 12 | 3 |
Licence 13 | 3 |
Licence 14 | 2 |
Licence 15 | 2 |
Licence 16 | 3 |
Licence 17 | 1 |
Licences 18-23 | 0 – Have not held any fixtures |
No legal advice has been sought on the legality or potential risk of illegal activity due to the issue of trail hunting licenses. The MOD only issues licenses for drag and trail hunting, which are exempt activities under the Hunting Act 2004.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many licenses his Department has issued to allow trail hunts on the Defence estate in the 2023-24 hunting season; and how many hunts these licenses relate to.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To date Ministry of Defence (MOD) has issued 23 licences for the 2023- 24 trail hunting season.
Name of Hunt | Fixtures taken place |
Licence 1 | 8 |
Licence 2 | 2 |
Licence 3 | 1 |
Licence 4 | 1 |
Licence 5 | 2 |
Licence 6 | 1 |
Licence 7 | 9 |
Licence 8 | 10 |
Licence 9 | 3 |
Licence 10 | 2 |
Licence 11 | 2 |
Licence 12 | 3 |
Licence 13 | 3 |
Licence 14 | 2 |
Licence 15 | 2 |
Licence 16 | 3 |
Licence 17 | 1 |
Licences 18-23 | 0 – Have not held any fixtures |
No legal advice has been sought on the legality or potential risk of illegal activity due to the issue of trail hunting licenses. The MOD only issues licenses for drag and trail hunting, which are exempt activities under the Hunting Act 2004.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2023 to Question 4358 on Land Enterprise Working Group: Membership, how many times the Land Enterprise Working Group has met as of 7 December 2023; and when was the most recent meeting.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As at 7 December 2023 the Land Enterprise Working Group has met three times. The most recent meeting was held on 15 November 2023.