Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department's ministers have been exempted from quarantine in a hotel after returning to the UK from a covid-19 red list country to which they have travelled for the purposes of conducting official business.
Answered by James Heappey
Two Ministry of Defence Ministers have been exempted from quarantine in a hotel after returning to the UK from a covid-19 red list country to which they have travelled for the purposes of conducting official business.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a fund to reimburse and compensate people affected by damage caused by the recent detonation of a bomb in Exeter.
Answered by James Heappey
The provision of Government financial assistance to compensate people affected by damage associated with domestic Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) activity is a matter for the Home Office to consider and address.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans publish the full incident report into the recent bomb detonation in Exeter.
Answered by James Heappey
In his response to your letter of 5 March, the Secretary of State described how due to the procedurally sensitive and classified nature of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) incident reports, they are not routinely shared beyond operational partners. Publishing our render safe tactics, techniques and procedures is information that should not be made publicly available and accessible to those who might use it to mitigate our capability.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what alternative methods were considered for the disposal of the bomb recently unearthed in Exeter.
Answered by James Heappey
In his response to your letter of the 5 March, the Secretary of State described that whilst we do not comment on the specifics of render safe procedures (RSP) or methodology, we can confirm that the full range of RSP options were considered by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team operators and their respective chain of command.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of where liability lies for the damage caused by the recent detonation of a bomb in Exeter.
Answered by James Heappey
In the first instance the responsibility for costs associated with damage stemming from the bomb disposal operation in Exeter fall to private insurers. Exeter City Council have, in addition, provided support to local residents covering costs below excess levels, and to address any inconvenience associated with relocation.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 5 March 2021 from the hon. Member for Exeter on the bomb detonation in Exeter.
Answered by Ben Wallace
I responded to the right hon. Member today.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what roles are being carried out by the British troops seconded to the Brunei armed forces.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The UK Armed Forces do not second personnel to the Brunei Armed Forces but do maintain 34 posts in the UK's Royal Brunei Armed Forces Loan Service Team, 29 of which are currently filled. All Loan Service personnel wear Royal Brunei Armed Forces uniform. The role of the Loan Service Team includes support for training and instruction, administration, dental services and concept development.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British troops seconded to the Brunei armed forces are serving in a Bruneian uniform.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The UK Armed Forces do not second personnel to the Brunei Armed Forces but do maintain 34 posts in the UK's Royal Brunei Armed Forces Loan Service Team, 29 of which are currently filled. All Loan Service personnel wear Royal Brunei Armed Forces uniform. The role of the Loan Service Team includes support for training and instruction, administration, dental services and concept development.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the practicalities of future defence co-operation between the UK and the EU, in the event that the UK no longer participates in the Common Security and Defence policy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The UK will pursue a distinctive, independent, and sovereign foreign and defence policy that meets British interests and promotes our values. The Political Declaration negotiated with the EU recognises the shared threats and values of the UK and Europe and provides a framework for an ambitious, broad and flexible future relationship.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department, of each grade, have remained at that grade since 2010 but received a pay rise; and how much of a rise each such person at each such grade has received.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The following number of officials have remained at the same grade from 1 January 2011 until 31 July 2014.
| Grade Band | Headcount |
| SCS PB2 | 20 |
| SCS PB1 | 80 |
| BAND B1 | 325 |
| BAND B2 | 645 |
| BAND C1 | 3,635 |
| BAND C2 | 4,850 |
| BAND D | 4,975 |
| BAND E1 | 6,645 |
| BAND E2 | 3,435 |
| SKILL ZONE 4 | 220 |
| SKILL ZONE 3 | 1,880 |
| SKILL ZONE 2 | 2,240 |
| SKILL ZONE 1 | 1,100 |
| TOTAL | 30,050 |
In line with Defence Statistics rounding policy all figures have been rounded to the nearest 5, numbers exclude Royal fleet auxiliary, Ministry of Defence (MOD) police, fire fighters, teachers, NHS grades, apprentices, Non Standard Operational Groups and museum workers.
The above figures relate to personnel who have been in employment throughout the period 1 January 2011 – to current date.
For 2011 and 2012 only those staff whose Annual salary was less than £21,000 were entitled to receive a pay award. For these two awards, 19,450 personnel received pay increases of at least £250 per annum.
The pay award for August 2013 saw a 1% increase in salary for all personnel covered by the MOD Main Pay Award and this is reflected in the figures which show that overall 30,050 personnel received a pay increase of at least 1% for the period 1 January 2011 - 1 August 2013. This figure includes the 19,450 personnel that received the pay increase of at least £250 for August 2011 and August 2012.