Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) arms and (b) munitions shipments will be offered to Ukraine this winter.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK is committed to providing the capabilities Ukraine requires over the winter.
On 7 July 2024, the Defence Secretary announced a new package of support for Ukraine including more ammunition and missiles. This follows the announcement in April that the UK will send our largest-ever package of military equipment which will include more than 1,600 strike and air defence missiles and nearly four million rounds of small arms ammunition to protect Ukraine's citizens, front line, and critical national infrastructure.
The total package of equipment is not released publicly due to operational security.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department (a) is providing and (b) plans to provide to veterans that experienced hearing loss during their service.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
There is no individual compensation scheme for hearing loss. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) compensates for any injury (including Noise-Induced Sensorineural Hearing Loss), illness or death which was caused by or worsened by service on or after 6 April 2005. The older War Pension Scheme (WPS) compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by or aggravated by service before 6 April 2005.
Medical evidence is carefully considered, and hearing loss is assessed initially for attributability to service, based on the burden of proof associated with the scheme rules set by Parliament.
In making a determination on a claim, decision makers take into consideration a wide variety of evidence. In a hearing loss claim this is likely to include but is not limited to the service medical records, audiograms, hospital case notes and GP records (if they have left service). The evidence is carefully considered in accordance with the scheme rules.
If injury is found to be attributable to service, under the AFCS, hearing loss is assessed against Tariff Table 7 (senses), which details the type and level of hearing loss required to meet the criteria for the specific descriptors. Under the WPS, a percentage assessment is derived based on audiometric values.
A 2023 review of the AFCS in the form of the quinquennial review (QQR) was last updated on 21 March 2024. The purpose of which is to ensure AFCS remains fit for purpose, providing appropriate recognition and financial support to those members of the Armed Forces who are injured, become ill or die as a result of service.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts on increasing defence spending.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
At the NATO Summit earlier in July 2024, the Prime Minister, Foreign and Defence Secretaries discussed a range of issues with our NATO allies at the NATO Summit. This included making the case for all NATO allies to increase defence spending, in light of the grave threats to our security.
The UK continues to work internationally with our allies to encourage all NATO allies to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defence, with 23 allies now meeting this target. We see this as a minimum not a ceiling for defence spending in these more difficult times.
This Government is committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the proportion of defence spending that is allocated to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Northern Ireland and its defence sector companies play an important role in the collective defence of the United Kingdom and the promotion of our global interests. The Strategic Defence Review, launched by the Prime Minister on 16 July 2024, will ensure defence is central to both the security and the economic growth and prosperity of the whole United Kingdom.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what will be the (a) role and (b) remit of the proposed new Armed Forces Commissioner.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Commissioner will be a strong independent champion of our Armed Forces and their families, to improve service life. The new Commissioner will be a direct point of contact for service personnel and their families to raise issues impacting service life. They will have the power to proactively launch independent reviews into issues affecting Service personnel and their families more widely, and to lay those reports before Parliament. The Commissioner will also incorporate the functions currently undertaken by the Service Complaints Ombudsman
The Armed Forces Commissioner will strengthen Parliamentary oversight of issues facing our Armed Forces personnel and their families. The Commissioner will be subject to pre-appointment scrutiny by the Defence Select Committee and will report directly to Parliament, not Ministers, via an annual report.
There will be opportunities to fully debate the role and remit of the Armed Forces Commissioner when the Government brings forward the relevant Legislation referenced in the King’s Speech.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many watchkeeper drones the UK has.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 March 2024 to Question 18362 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey).
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has been made of trends in the level of army recruitment over the past five years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Army continues to implement a number of measures to improve recruitment and regularly assesses the recruiting environment to ensure that demand can be met. January 2024 saw the highest number of monthly applications for Regular soldiers in over six years.
Key points and trends can be found at the below link within the published Quarterly service personnel statistics:
Quarterly service personnel statistics 1 January 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to engage with schools to help ensure young people are aware of opportunities available to them in the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Armed Forces enjoy good relationships with schools, primarily in terms of engagement to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) curriculum areas but this also extends to careers engagement. The Armed Forces only visit when they have been invited by a school to support activities. The visits cover a range of activities such as career events, citizenship talks, science and maths challenges and other indoor or outdoor exercises.
The Cadet Expansion Programme has focussed on growth in the state sector. Since introduction in 2012, the number of cadet units in state schools has grown by 417% (268 schools). Some new units have also been opened in Independent Schools and here there has been a 12% increase (total 201).
It is important to note that the Armed Forces do not target recruitment activity at under-16s, and no visits to schools by the Armed Forces are directly linked to recruitment, other than specific Careers/Jobs Fairs which generally involve a range of employers. While presentations may be given highlighting the careers available in the Armed Forces, no pupil is ever signed up or able to make a commitment to become a recruit in the Armed Forces during the course of a visit.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of communications between Royal Air Force Quick Reaction Alert Stations in England and Royal Air Force bases in Northern Ireland.
Answered by James Heappey
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon aircraft based at RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth are kept at a state of constant readiness and can launch within minutes against a threat to any part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what military assistance he is offering to Ukraine to help deter attacks on civilians.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK has provided Ukraine with thousands of short and long-range air defence systems and missiles, including six Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak missile launchers and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) to protect their citizens, front line, and critical national infrastructure.
In December we announced a further package of around 200 air defence missiles to re-supply UK-developed air defence systems.
The UK also continues to galvanise international support, with £900 million having been pledged to the UK-established International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), to assist Ukraine in critical areas, including air defence.