Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what critical infrastructure his Department is responsible for that is reliant on private wire networks for power supply.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Details of Critical National Infrastructure for which the Department is responsible cannot be released. To do so would constitute a risk to national security.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has (a) undertaken a risk assessment on behalf of those members of the Services travelling to Beijing as part of Team GB and (b) issued personal security advice and information to those serving personnel who are expected to travel.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ministry of Defence is proud of all Defence personnel involved with Team GB, and takes their security very seriously. Risk assessments regarding the 2022 Winter Olympics have been conducted by the Department in collaboration with Government partners. Tailored security threat awareness briefings have been, and will continue to be, delivered by security teams to Defence personnel travelling to Beijing to participate in the Games.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the SA80 assault rifle go out of service in 2025; and whether he is planning to extend its service life.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The SA80’s current Out of Service Date is 2030.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Government plans to announce the replacement for the SA80 assault rifle.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The requirements for a replacement to the SA80 family of weapons are currently being investigated. The Army, working with the other services, is leading on this process.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the replacement for the SA80 assault rifle will be manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
A decision has not been taken on where the replacement will be manufactured, as consideration of the replacement options has not yet completed.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which ambulance services are receiving military support; and how many military personnel are deployed in each region and nation of the UK to support ambulance services.
Answered by James Heappey
As at 17 January 2022, Defence is providing the following support to ambulance services through the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) system:
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date he plans to move of firing operations from Middlewick Ranges to Fingringhoe; what assessment he has made of benefits of the firing range moving; and whether any job losses will occur as a result of the move.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Initial groundworks for the enhanced range facilities at Fingringhoe began in November 2021. The project will provide modern electronically operated targets which reduces the risk of health and safety and training accidents, and provides better training for our Armed Forces. The investment in these modern facilities was continually assessed at each stage of the project since it was announced in 2016. No job losses will occur as a result of the co-location of range facilities at Fingringhoe.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans, of 13 December 2021, Official Report, column 814, on what date he plans to publish the Service Justice Statistics in his Department's Spring 2022 bulletin.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The official statistics for Sexual Offences in the Service Justice System will be published on 31 March 2022. This year, the statistics will include the offences of murder and manslaughter, and from 2023 will include information about domestic abuse and child sexual abuse.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in light of the cyber attack on the Ukrainian Government on 14 January 2022, whether he is taking steps to advise the Ukrainian Government on strengthening its cyber defences.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK Government has a longstanding relationship with Ukraine, providing support and advice in many areas, including security assistance and defence reform. Since 2015, the UK has helped to build the resilience and defensive capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces through Operation ORBITAL.
The UK regularly engages with the Ukrainian Government to support the implementation of their cyber strategy in addition to close political cooperation and programme support.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Human Rights Guidance, what assessment his Department has made of the human rights risks of reinstating the defence advisor post in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2019.
Answered by James Heappey
We regularly review and update our Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) guidance to ensure that UK assistance and defence engagement is in line with our values and is consistent with our domestic and international human rights obligations.
OSJAs are sensitive documents and disclosure could prejudice the UK's relations with foreign states. If OSJA assessments were to be put in the public domain we would lose the freedom to be completely candid in the assessment, undermining its purpose. OSJA assessments may also draw on material not publicly available that has been provided to the UK "in confidence" and disclosure could affect provision of such information in the future.