Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department operates a red, amber and green rating system for categorising Freedom of Information requests according to their presentational sensitivity.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
No, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not operate a red, amber and green rating system for categorising Freedom of Information requests according to their presentational sensitivity. The MOD endeavours to process all requests on receipt within the prescribed timelines under the FOIA legislation, regardless of the subject or sensitivity of the request.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many formal complaints were received from British-born Muslim armed forces personnel in service from (a) 2016 to (b) 2019.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
In the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019 the number of admissible Service Complaints made by British-born Muslim Armed Forces personnel was 10 (rounded). This figure is based on single Service estimates.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British-born Muslims who joined the armed forces from (a) 2016 to (b) 2019 completed the minimum length of service before exiting the armed services.
Answered by James Heappey
In the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019, an estimated 85 personnel joined the untrained Regular Armed Forces and self-identified as British-born Muslims; personnel are not mandated to provide their religious identity. As at 1 April 2020, an estimated 35 of these personnel had not joined the full-time trained strength, either because they had left their Service prior to 31 March 2020 or because they were still in training. There is no standard minimum length of service across the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British born Muslims applied to the armed services in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018 and (d) 2019.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence is dedicated to achieving a more diverse workforce and is undertaking a wide range of activities to increase the number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) recruits into the Armed Forces, including through better understanding and greater engagement with BAME communities, reviewing recruitment processes; and better targeted marketing and communications towards potential BAME applicants. The Armed Forces set a target for 2020 that 10 per cent of recruits should be BAME; in the 12 months to 31 March 2020, 11.7 per cent of total intake into the combined UK Regular Forces and Future Reserves 2020 were BAME.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes biannual statistics on diversity declarations for Armed Forces personnel. The latest edition can be found at the following link and provides a detailed breakdown of the strength of the Armed Forces, including by self-declared religion, in each of the requested years:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-index. However, it will take time for officials to collate the requested detailed information and I will write to the hon. Member in due course.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of British-born Muslims who applied to the armed forces (a) successfully completed their training and (b) served in the (i) British Army, (ii) Royal Air Force, (iii) Royal Navy and (iv) Royal Marines in each year since 2016.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence is dedicated to achieving a more diverse workforce and is undertaking a wide range of activities to increase the number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) recruits into the Armed Forces, including through better understanding and greater engagement with BAME communities, reviewing recruitment processes; and better targeted marketing and communications towards potential BAME applicants. The Armed Forces set a target for 2020 that 10 per cent of recruits should be BAME; in the 12 months to 31 March 2020, 11.7 per cent of total intake into the combined UK Regular Forces and Future Reserves 2020 were BAME.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes biannual statistics on diversity declarations for Armed Forces personnel. The latest edition can be found at the following link and provides a detailed breakdown of the strength of the Armed Forces, including by self-declared religion, in each of the requested years:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-index. However, it will take time for officials to collate the requested detailed information and I will write to the hon. Member in due course.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last met with the Secretary of State for International Development to discuss Official Development Assistance spending.
Answered by James Heappey
The Defence Secretary meets regularly with the Secretary of State for International Development to discuss matters of mutual interest, including Official Development Assistance.