Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 21502, airstrikes in Syria, whether the robust process referred to includes an assessment of the number of civilian workers likely to be deployed in such installations and the potential number of casualties and other collateral damage from such airstrikes.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Yes. This is the most important part of the process. |
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 21502, on Syria: military intervention, what the evidential basis is for the statement that there have been no reports of civilian casualties as a result of RAF airstrikes in Iraq or Syria.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
All UK airstrikes in Iraq and Syria are assessed post-strike using the best available imagery, intelligence and other sources of information to assess the impact of the strike on the target and affected area. This assessment, coupled with pre-strike checks provides the evidence base to support the statement that in the hundreds of airstrikes conducted by the RAF to date in Iraq and, more recently Syria, we have found no evidence of civilian casualties arising from UK airstrikes.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many oil refinery workers have been killed as a result of UK airstrikes in Syria; and whether such workers are classed as civilian.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Oil workers operating oil production facilities in Daesh-controlled areas are treated as civilians, unless they directly participate in hostilities or otherwise can be shown to be members of Daesh. The UK takes appropriate measures to reduce the risk of collateral damage and we have a robust process in place to positively identify targets before we conduct airstrikes. To date there have been no reports of civilian casualties as a result of RAF airstrikes in Iraq or Syria.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17622, if he will identify separately the marginal costs associated with maintaining the Vanguard submarines in service for five years longer then envisaged.
Answered by Philip Dunne
As announced in Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2010 we can extend the life of the existing Vanguard class submarines into the early 2030s. Cost estimates for supporting the ballistic missile submarines during the transition from Vanguard to Successor are not materially affected by minor changes to scheduled dates.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1535, what country is responsible for the co-ordination of ground troops; and which coalition countries have agreed to the methodology referred to.
Answered by Michael Fallon
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 1 December 2015 to Question 17826 to the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion (Caroline Lucas).
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.34 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review 2015 and to his Department's press release dated 23 November 2015, what equipment and support (a) was to be procured with the £166 billion programme and (b) will be procured under the £178 billion programme.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Defence Equipment Plan 2015, placed in the Library of the House on 22 October 2015, set out our plans, before the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015, for spending £166 billion on defence equipment and support over the next 10 years.
In the SDSR we set out our plans for additional investment in Armed Forces defence equipment and support. This includes improving Special Forces' capabilities, procuring three new Fleet Solid Support ships and investing in a fleet of nine Boeing P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
Following the SDSR, we now plan to spend £178 billion on defence equipment and support over the next 10 years.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of retaining the Vanguard submarines in service for approximately five years longer than envisaged in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Answered by Philip Dunne
As set out in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we have assessed that we can safely manage and maintain the Vanguard boats until the Successor submarines are introduced into service in the early 2030s. The marginal costs associated with maintaining the submarines can be contained within the existing running cost of the deterrent, which is around 6% of the defence budget per year.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the additional costs of maintenance and other in-service costs that will be incurred by retaining the Vanguard submarines in service for approximately five years longer than envisaged in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Answered by Philip Dunne
As set out in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we have assessed that we can safely manage and maintain the Vanguard boats until the Successor submarines are introduced into service in the early 2030s. The marginal costs associated with maintaining the submarines can be contained within the existing running cost of the deterrent, which is around 6% of the defence budget per year.