Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on their ability to deliver successful policy outcomes.
Answered by Ben Wallace
NATO is the foundation of collective security in the Euro-Atlantic area, where our commitment to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty remains our most powerful deterrent. We recognise the important role played by the EU in the peace and prosperity of Europe and welcome its efforts where it can complement NATO for the overall benefit of Euro-Atlantic security.
The UK remains fully committed to Euro-Atlantic security. We are increasing our defence budget by over £24 billion over this four year spending period and ensuring we continue to be the highest European spender in NATO. We will continue to work with our European neighbours and allies bilaterally, through NATO, OSCE, small groups (such as the Joint Expeditionary Force) and with the EU to defend our common values, counter shared threats and build resilience in our neighbourhood.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) recruiting and (b) retention of the Army Reserve officer corps.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The new Army Reserve under 'Future Soldier' is being delivered through the Army Reserve Transformation programme. This will implement measures to improve recruitment and retention across the Whole Reserve Force, including resetting policy and culture, developing a fit-for-purpose Army Reserve estate, and delivering an Army Reserve which gives its people a sense of purpose and belonging.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support defence industry jobs.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I refer the hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS 1411) made by the Secretary of State for Defence on 14 March 2019 which provides an update on the Defence Prosperity Programme.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent in North Herefordshire constituency since 2015.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The value of direct contracts in financial year (FY) 2014-15, where the billing address is identified as in North Herefordshire is, £1,792,814. In FY 2015-16 the value is £857,964. The data for 2016-17 is not yet available.
No adjustment has been made for contracts, such as enabling contracts, which may cover the whole of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) estate. The figures and this methodology do not therefore give a full representation of the amount of work truly undertaken in North Herefordshire.
A summary of MOD regional expenditure with UK industry and supported employment 2015-16 can be found here:
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of gross domestic product spent on defence by each other NATO member state.
Answered by Mike Penning
The information requested is published regularly by NATO. The most recent figures (from July 2016) are in Table 3 of NATO's Press Release Communique
PR/CP(2016)116 of 4 July 2016, which can be found at http://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2016_07/20160704_160704-pr2016-116.pdf
The UK is committed to spend 2% of GDP on defence every year of this decade in accordance with the NATO guidelines.