Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spends each year on utility bills for the Defence estate.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The total cost of gas and electricity for approximately 80% of sites on the UK Defence Estate in Financial Year 2021-22 was £272.373 million. Gas and electricity information for the remaining 20% of UK Defence Estate sites is not held centrally.
Information on the cost of water is not held. Water is provided by an Aquatrine contract which does not allow for cost separation from other elements.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel have served in roles relating to Ukraine since February 2022.
Answered by James Heappey
Since February 2022, a total of 2,243 UK Service personnel have served in roles providing dedicated support to Defence's activities in relation to Ukraine. This includes both personnel deployed overseas as well as UK based personnel involved in the identification of Ukraine's defence requirements and training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as announced in the Defence Written Ministerial Statement on Continued Support to Ukraine on the 5 July 2022.
The figure provided does not include personnel across Defence who have contributed within their existing roles.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he is having with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) international counterparts on the potential expansion of NATO and how the UK can contribute to this.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK Government regularly engages with allies and international partners on NATO’s open door policy. This policy supports the right of any European state that shares the values of our alliance and are willing and able to assume the responsibilities and obligations of membership to join NATO. Finland and Sweden have now started this process and we hope to see them join the alliance at the soonest opportunity.
NATO’s expansion has been pivotal in spreading democracy, free speech and the rule of law across Europe. Each nation has the right to choose it’s own security arrangements. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally changed European security and it is understandable that faced with this threat, countries may review their security arrangements, including considering applying to join the alliance and to benefit from it’s collective security guarantees. The alliance continues to work with aspirant countries to prepare them for eventual membership.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
What recent estimate he has made of the number of armed forces personnel.
Answered by James Heappey
There are 196,240 service personnel currently serving in the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, the total cost of the support his Department has provided to Ukraine as of 13 June 2022.
Answered by James Heappey
The Government has committed £2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine. £1.3 billion of this is provided by the HMT reserve – funds that the Government sets aside for the most pressing emergencies. The additional £1 billion of support announced by the Prime Minister will be funded from across Government Departments underspend.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason (a) MOD Guard Service personnel and (b) other officials in his Department undertaking senior operational roles are not eligible for a Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian personnel are not eligible for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal (QPJM), in keeping with long standing precedent within Defence for Jubilee medals that they are only awarded to members of the Armed Forces and Adult Cadet Volunteers meeting the requisite criteria. As the MOD Guard Service and 'other officials' are civilians, they do not meet the requisite criteria. However, as emergency service personnel are an eligible group for the QPJM, there are some limited exceptions in cases where MOD civilian personnel meet the definition of being part of an emergency service. For this reason, the Northern Ireland Security Guard Service are eligible.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that the armed forces can contribute to helping ending food scarcity in developing countries.
Answered by James Heappey
In December 2021, Joint Service Publication (JSP) 985 on Human Security in Defence was published. JSP 985 recognised the need to consider the multiple and intersecting ways in which people face insecurity and provided guidance on how the UK Armed Forces can take account of this across all Defence activity. One of these forms of insecurity is food insecurity, which includes both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs.
The implementation of JSP 985 will ensure that the UK Armed Forces are better placed to protect people at home and overseas through a more detailed understanding of the root causes of crisis and conflict.
It is important that this is part of a coherent, cross-Government response to food security. Ministry of Defence officials regularly engage with colleagues from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, Office for Conflict Stabilisation and Mediation and the Department for International Trade on this issue to ensure this is the case.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on repurposing the Ministry of Defence estate for the resettlement of 12,000 Afghan refugees who remain in bridging hotels.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and with the Home Office to support cross-Government efforts in identifying housing and settling requirements for eligible Afghans as they start their new lives in the UK.
The MOD has assessed that up to 550 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties can be leased for between 12 months and five years, dependent on location, without impacting on Defence operations or Service families, and these properties have been offered up to Local Authorities to house ARAP families.
The Government aim is to provide long term, settled accommodation in local communities for Afghan families as they build new lives in the UK, and as of 22 April, 4,523 ARAP individuals had moved into such settled accommodation.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of an agreement with Annington homes to enable leased empty accommodation to be repurposed for Afghan refugees.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and with the Home Office to support cross-Government efforts in identifying housing and settling requirements for eligible Afghans as they start their new lives in the UK. This includes the provision of Defence accommodation where appropriate.
Utilising Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties to temporarily house eligible Afghan families provides much needed interim capacity and assistance to Local Authorities at a time when it remains challenging to source suitable accommodation, particularly for some of the larger families eligible under the Aghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme.
MOD has assessed that up to 550 such properties can be leased for between 12 months and five years, dependent on location, without impacting on Defence operations or Service families, and these properties have been offered up to Local Authorities to house ARAP families.
The Government aim is to provide long term, settled accommodation in local communities for Aghan families as they build new lives in the UK, and as of 16 March, 3,878 ARAP individuals had moved into such settled accommodation.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that people in Ukraine have access to personal protective equipment in the event that chemical and biological weapons are used in that country.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ukrainian authorities have expressed concern that Russia could resort to the use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. The UK government is discussing with Ukraine and our partners how best to respond to Ukraine's request for assistance to protect their citizens against such abhorrent and illegal attacks.
The Ministry of Defence has been at the forefront of providing support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and will continue to work closely with international partners to consider specific support to respond to Ukraine's request for counter-CBRN military assistance.