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 - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
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 - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
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 - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
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.
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 all Armed Forces personal protective equipment can be provided to Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
We are committed to donating further quantities of personal protective equipment to Ukraine. This equipment is drawn from stockpiles and all options are being considered which do not adversely impact on the UK's own reserves.
To date, the UK has provided some 3,000 sets of body armour to Ukraine. We have also provided 2,000 helmets, 4,000 cold weather boots and 75,000 ear defenders.
We continue to work with Allies and partners to prioritise and coordinate the provision and delivery of defensive aid in response to Ukrainian requests for assistance. We will continue to do all we can to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to help ensure that food and medical supplies are available in neighbouring countries to that of Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
Her Majesty's Government's humanitarian response to the war is being led by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, who are working alongside aid agencies and non-governmental organisations. The Ministry of Defence is not providing food and medical supplies to neighbouring countries but has1,000 Service personnel on standby to deploy as required in response to a humanitarian crisis in Eastern Europe. The Department has also provided medical supplies to the Ukraine 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, if he will halt his Department's plans for (a) rebasing and (b) closure of bases in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence remains committed to its estate optimisation plans to invest in key defence sites, and to the disposal of surplus sites where there is no further military requirement for their use. These are long-term plans that will be delivered over 25 years.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will review the availability of his Department's housing leased from Annington Homes in response to the potential increase in refugees resulting from the conflict in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The provision of safe, good quality and well-maintained accommodation for Service personnel is essential to operational output, and providing such accommodation is one of the Ministry of Defence's top priorities. The Government has already announced the first phase of a bespoke humanitarian route for the people of Ukraine, for which the Home Office is the lead Government Department.
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 plans to launch a new recruitment programme for the armed forces in response to the situation in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Armed Forces continue to meet all their current commitments, keeping the country and its interests safe, and the Government remains committed to ensuring that this country has the world class Armed Forces that it needs and deserves.
Military workforce levels are set in line with capability requirements, as set out in the Integrated Review/Defence Plan, and are reviewed on this basis. The Integrated Review and subsequent Defence Plan consider a wide range of factors including global geopolitics, intelligence, and future technologies. These levels take into account the time required to recruit and train personnel, as well as the skills that will be required and the technology that will be available. Recruitment targets are subsequently set to ensure Defence recruits the right number of people to fulfil the roles required to deliver Defence outputs as set out in the Defence Plan.