Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage innovation in the defence industry.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
With an equipment plan worth £178 billion over 10 years and a rising defence budget, there are great opportunities for innovative suppliers.
We are spending up to 20% of our science and technology budget on game-changing research, creating a 10-year £800 million innovation fund and have established a defence and security accelerator.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft to be brought into operational service.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The first UK Poseidon P-8A aircraft will be delivered in 2019, when it will be subject to trials in America. It is anticipated that this aircraft will begin to operate from RAF Lossiemouth in 2020.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what lessons his Department learned from the Nimrod MRA4 and Chinook HC Mk3 procurement processes; and what procurement projects his Department uses as benchmarks for effectiveness.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The problems that led to cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 programme and the difficulties with Chinook Mk3 were rooted in the procurement practices of over 20 years ago. Since then a series of procurement reforms, building on an understanding of why projects such as Nimrod MRA4 and Chinook Mk 3 went awry, have produced a more robust equipment acquisition process that has led to improved project delivery performance as set out in the most recent annual NAO Major Project Reports.
Improvements to our procurement processes help to ensure we can maximise investment in the front line. Our Equipment Plan will invest £178 billion on equipment and support over the next decade.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an estimate of the effect of the change in the value of sterling since the UK decided to leave the EU on the lifetime cost of Trident replacement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 October 2016 to Question 48369 to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Mr Chapman).
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 2003 Memorandum of Understanding between Cyprus and the UK on implementation of the Protocol on the Sovereign Base of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus in so far as it concerns illegal migrants and asylum seekers on where responsibility for refugees who enter those bases rests.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
No assessments have been made.
Under the 2003 Memorandum of Understanding, Republic of Cyprus asylum officials assess asylum claims of migrants arriving directly into the Sovereign Base Areas. If they are granted asylum, they will have the same rights as those granted refugee status in the Republic of Cyprus. These collaborative arrangements between the UK and the Republic of Cyprus on the handling and processing of the migrants are being applied to those who arrived in the Sovereign Base Areas in October 2015 and the process is working well.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received on the applicability of the 1951 Refugee Convention to the migrants who arrived in the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus in 1998.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
| The 1951 Refugee Convention places no obligation on the UK to consider asylum claims made outside its immediate territory. The Sovereign Base Area is an overseas territory and separate by legal jurisdiction to the UK. The Convention has not been extended to the Sovereign Base Areas. Representations challenging the applicability of the 1951 Refugee Convention are currently being made to the High Court on behalf of a group of refugees who have been resident in the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus since 1998. | ||||||
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24080, on immigration: Cyprus, to which third countries representations have been made on accepting the remaining migrants.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
No representations have been made to third countries, but the Sovereign Base Areas Administration will continue to support those migrants whose claims for asylum have not been accepted, including where legitimate to do so, assistance to move to third countries.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the UNHCR statement of 21 October 2015 on UK responsibility for asylum seekers arriving directly on to the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
No assessments have been made.
Under the 2003 Memorandum of Understanding, Republic of Cyprus asylum officials assess asylum claims of migrants arriving directly into the Sovereign Base Areas. If they are granted asylum, they will have the same rights as those granted refugee status in the Republic of Cyprus. These collaborative arrangements between the UK and the Republic of Cyprus on the handling and processing of the migrants are being applied to those who arrived in the Sovereign Base Areas in October 2015 and the process is working well.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many requests from local or coalition forces for RAF strike missions against targets in Iraq he has rejected because they were deemed to have been in breach of British rules of engagement or posed an unacceptable risk of civilian casualties.
Answered by Michael Fallon
None because all targets which are put to me for approval are rigorously assessed in advance for compliance with UK rules of engagement, UK law and international law.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the legal basis is for RAF aircraft entering and transiting Syrian airspace when flying from Akrotiri to bombing missions in Iraq.
Answered by Michael Fallon
RAF aircraft do not enter Syrian airspace when flying from Akrotiri to conduct strike missions in Iraq.