Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proposals his Department has for further defence integration between the armed forces of EU member states; and whether defence integration will be included in the Government's planned renegotiations of the terms of its membership of the EU.
Answered by Julian Brazier
Her Majesty's Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation;we believe we can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Although we welcome closer co-operation between the armed forces of EU and NATO member states, this needs to be based on improving defence capabilities across Europe, not creating new institutions. We will not support measures which would undermine member states' competence for their own military forces, or lead to competition and duplication with NATO
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Single Intelligence Account is or will be incorporated into his Department's budget; and whether the Single Intelligence Account is included in calculations of the percentage of the UK's GDP being spent on defence.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The Secret Intelligence Account is not part of the Ministry of Defence's budget, and there are no plans for it to be incorporated.
As announced in the Summer Budget, the spending that supports the Ministry of Defence and the contribution made by the secret intelligence agencies will be included in calculations of Defence spending as a percentage of GDP, in line with NATO guidelines.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officers of the rank of inspector and above at AWE Burghfield are currently under investigation.
Answered by Anna Soubry
No officer of the rank of Inspector or above stationed at AWE Burghfield is currently under investigation.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press notice issued by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on its website on 9 February 2015, whether the proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Ukrainian governments will entail the UK Government guaranteeing any possible assistance in the pursuit of Ukrainian independence.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The Memorandum of Understanding, once signed, will provide a framework for our defence engagement with Ukraine.