Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of girls under the age of 18 in the armed forces were victims of crimes under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022; and how many of these cases were dealt with by the (i) police and (ii) Royal Military police.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
In the interests of protecting the anonymity of the victims of sexual offences, and to ensure that victims of sexual offences are not deterred from coming forward, I will not be providing the requested information. This is consistent with my answer to Question 182068 and Question 199692.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold information on cases dealt with by the civil police, as these organisations are not within the Department’s jurisdiction.
Information on the number of victims of sexual offences is provided by year, broken down by age, and separately by gender, within the official annually published Murder, Manslaughter, Sexual Offences and Domestic Abuse in the Service Justice System statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sexual-offences-in-the-service-justice-system. The published figures for victims of sexual offences are based on investigations opened, and the most serious offence initially reported, not convictions. Not all investigations result in an arrest or a charge.
Defence has made it clear there is zero tolerance to any form of sexual abuse.
Zero tolerance means that every allegation of sexual offending or instructor/trainee sexual relationships will be acted upon through prompt, thorough, efficient and independent investigation. When a person is convicted of a sexual offence or an instructor is found to have engaged in a sexual relationship with a trainee, their discharge is mandatory.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the annual cost to the public purse of running the Army Foundation College.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The annual cost of running the Army Foundation College (Harrogate) is £85.5 million.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the documents publish on 26 January 2022 by Declassified UK, what steps her Department takes to monitor the potential diversion of military units trained by the UK from the Far North region to the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.
Answered by James Heappey
UK Defence assistance in Cameroon is not linked to the ongoing Anglophone conflict. All training in the far North of Cameroon is geographically bound to the far North Region only. The training itself emphasises obligations to adhere to strict international human rights standards, and we have also supported the delivery of training on the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law (IHL), including theory and practical lessons on IHL compliance in operations. Records are kept on all BIR trainees to monitor for any potential diversion of military units. We keep our security cooperation under constant review.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how long the UK has been training Cameroon's Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide forces; and how much the training, capacity building and the building of the Salak training village has cost.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK has been providing training to the Battalion d'Intervention Rapide (BIR) since 2018. Since January 2021, we have been training the BIR in Salak in the far North of Cameroon. In the last financial year, all capacity building cost £1.365 million, including the cost of the training village in Salak (£250,000).
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if she will carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of training given to the Cameroon Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide by the UK.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK military team providing capacity building for the Battalion d'Intervention Rapide (BIR) regularly assess the effectiveness of the training provided. Their assessment is that the BIR is a credible and effective partner force, having a positive effect on containing the spread of violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin. A CSSF team visited Cameroon in November 2021 to evaluate the effectiveness of the military assistance provided to the BIR and they concluded that the training provided is effective.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the training and facilities provided by the Government to Cameroon's Battalion d'Intervention Rapide unit are resourced from her Department's budget or that of another Government department.
Answered by James Heappey
Funding for all Capacity Building to the Battalion d'Intervention Rapide in Cameroon is resourced from the cross-government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund for West Africa.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's policy is on sanctions for armed forces personnel who refuse to receive the covid-19 vaccination.
Answered by James Heappey
Within Defence, vaccinations are administered under the principles of informed consent. For some operational deployments and roles all personnel must be vaccinated either to manage medical risks, maintain critical capabilities, or if a host nation requires it as a condition of entry.
Those refusing or unable to take a COVID-19 vaccine may be ineligible to deploy or undertake certain roles, and we would seek to identify an alternate role for those affected.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
What recent discussions she has had with the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body on levels of pay for the armed forces.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence has provided the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body with all its evidence to support their recommendations for Pay Round 2019-20 and is awaiting submission of the Pay Review Body’s final report. The Government will then consider the recommendations before agreeing the final 2019 Armed Forces Pay Award, taking into account the need to recruit, retain, and motivate suitably able and qualified personnel, as well as the long term affordability of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2016 to Question 50804, what information his Department holds on the number of its apprentices who went on to secure permanent positions within the Civil Service in each year from 2011 to date.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Since 2011, the Ministry of Defence has created 771 Civil Service apprenticeships. Information on subsequent permanent employment in the Civil Service is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many apprenticeships have been created in his Department in each region in each of the last five years; and how many participants in those apprenticeships subsequently secured a job within the Civil Service.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
This information is not held in the format requested. The Cabinet Office is currently coordinating a detailed data collection from across Government including the apprenticeship type, region of work, as well as demographic data and socio-economic background. This will allow the Civil Service to report on its contribution towards the national target. Information on the number of apprenticeships created in the Ministry of Defence in each of the last five years is shown below.
Financial Year | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
Number of Apprenticeships | 55 | 68 | 121 | 181 | 346 |
In addition, the Armed Forces are the biggest provider of apprenticeships within the UK. Completion rates for Level 2 and Level 3 apprenticeships in the Armed Forces by Academic Year for 2011-12 and 2012-13 are shown below.
Level 2 Apprenticeships - 1 August 2011- 31 July 2012 | Level 2 Apprenticeships - 1 August 2012- 31 July 2013 | Level 3 Apprenticeships - 1 August 2011- 31 July 2012 | Level 3 Apprenticeships - 1 August 2012- 31 July 2013 | |
Army | 4,507 | 3,116 | 1,682 | 1,763 |
Royal Navy | 2,182 | 2,006 | 339 | 334 |
Royal Air Force | 764 | 693 | 665 | 618 |
Total | 7,864* | 5,891* | 3,134* | 2,893* |
*total numbers include apprenticeships completed by Service personnel.