Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
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 naming one of the future Type 31 frigates after Burslem, the mother town of the potteries.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The names of the Type 31 Frigates have already been proposed by the Navy Board and are awaiting final approval. Following approval, the names will be announced at appropriate opportunities in the future.
I have asked the Navy Board's Ships' Names and Badges Committee to note the proposal for the name 'Burslem' to be considered for a ship or submarine in the future.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many letters of delay the Veterans Agency is issuing to veterans awaiting an assessment appeal for their war pension on average.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) average and (b) longest time taken is for his Department to process war pensions in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The information requested is published within the annual National Statistics on awards under the War Pension Scheme. The latest information, as at 31 March 2019, can be found on the Gov.uk website at this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/war-pension-recipients-index
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of veterans with PTSD have been refused a war pension since 2010.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Information on the total number of veterans medically diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is not held.
However, between 1 January 2010 and 31 March 2019 an estimated 6,730 veterans have claimed compensation for PTSD under the War Pension Scheme, of which 1,320 (19.5%) were unsuccessful.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment she makes of the potential merits of retaining sovereign capabilities when undertaking procurement contracts with SME suppliers; and where retaining sovereign capabilities ranks on the MOD Procurement scorecard.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a responsibility to procure the right capability for our Armed Forces and to ensure value for money for the taxpayer in the goods and services that we buy, regardless of the company's size.
We are clear that international competition is at the heart of our approach. This allows our Armed Forces to secure the best equipment from an open, global marketplace to meet evolving threats. We also recognise, however, that defence procurement needs to protect UK freedom of action and operational advantage. These strategic considerations shape our procurement strategies. Our refreshed Industrial Policy sets out the basis on which we will develop specific sector approaches to protect national security.
There is no single MOD procurement scorecard. Once we have launched a commercial competition, the MOD considers a wide range of factors when awarding our contracts to obtain the best value for money outcome for defence and the taxpayer.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the policy priorities are for Defence Equipment and Support with respect to procuring with domestic SME's in emergent markets.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD), including Defence Equipment and Support, has a responsibility to get the right capability for our Armed Forces and to ensure value for money for the taxpayer in the goods and services that we buy.
The MOD is committed to making it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to do business with defence. In March 2019, we published our SME Action Plan which explains how we will increase our spend with SMEs, and addresses behavioural, policy and process change.
I also chair SME Forums around the UK to understand the issues facing SMEs, the most recent of which was held on 9 May 2019 in Broughton.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress she has made with the procurement process for new body armour; and which companies have been shortlisted.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
A project is under way to procure and support a range of ballistic and training plates to fit the VIRTUS body armour and load carriage system. It is currently in the assessment phase with tender returns due over the next three months. I am withholding the company names as their disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, whether he has made a risk assessment of the award of the AWACS contract to Boeing for the provision of the E-7 wedgetail.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The E-7 is based on the proven and widely used 737 NG aircraft generation of which nearly 7,000 have been produced since it was first introduced in 1996. The two recent tragic incidents involved the different 737 MAX aircraft generation. It would not be appropriate to speculate on these accidents until the competent regulatory bodies have issued their formal reports.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has received assurances from Capita that firefighters employed by them after the privatisation of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service will remain on comparable pay structures to those used by regional fire authorities.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment Regulations) 2014 will apply to members of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service under any future contractual arrangements, including existing pay structures.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what resources were made available by his Department to the in-house team bidding to continue operating the Defence Fire and Rescue Service during the recent outsourcing process.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
As part of the Defence Fire and Rescue Project the Ministry of Defence developed an 'in-house' value for money Benchmark. This was developed by an independent team made up of Civil Service personnel and fire officers who had access to independent consultancy support; this team was separate from the Defence Fire and Rescue Project Team. This work was conducted with the same project requirement as the outsourcing bids and with access to the same information.