Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its canteens and restaurants.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence food purchasing contracts incorporate the requirements of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering (GBSF) Services. The GBSF has a focus on animal welfare, the quality and origin of food as well as nutrition advice, and these requirements are embedded within Defence Catering contracts. These contracts permit for local provision of food and/or drink where it is considered appropriate.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of (a) events, (b) activities, (c) merchandise and (d) other costs relating to Pride Month 2023.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence spent £12,496 on events during Pride Month on behalf of the Department and Armed Forces. There were no costs for activities and merchandise.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Royal Air Force has spent on diversity and inclusion personnel since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Air Force has spent £3,072,249.93 on salaries for people employed in dedicated Diversity and Inclusion roles from 2019 to 2023.
The Royal Air Force has a number of individuals whose roles encompass Diversity and Inclusion. However, all Regular RAF personnel are first and foremost aviators and are paid as such. There are a small number of Civil Servants and Full Time Reserve Service personnel within the team who applied specifically for D&I roles. In February 2024, the Secretary of State for Defence ordered a root and branch review of ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity policies in Defence which is ongoing.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Royal Navy has spent on diversity and inclusion personnel since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy has spent £2,445,980.00 on salaries for people employed in dedicated Diversity and Inclusion policy roles from 2019 to 2023.
The Royal Navy has a number of individuals whose roles encompass Diversity and Inclusion. Service Personnel rotate through postings which can include Diversity and Inclusion roles. Their work is supported by a small number of Civil Servants. Each of these individuals are paid commensurate to their rank and training. In February 2024, the Secretary of State for Defence ordered a root and branch review of ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity policies in Defence which is ongoing.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the British Army has spent on diversity and inclusion personnel since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The British Army has spent £2,569,393.89 on salaries for people employed in dedicated Diversity and Inclusion roles from 2019 to 2023. Individuals in the roles described are paid at a commensurate rate to their rank. In February, the Secretary of State for Defence ordered a root and branch review of ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity policies in Defence which is ongoing.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 12234 on Army: Equality, what proportion of the personnel employed by the British Army are in roles in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As at 1 October 2023, there are 73,515 personnel in the Full Time Trade Trained strength of the British Army, and 7,901 Civil Servants employed in the Army Top Level Budget. Of these, there are currently eight people employed in dedicated Diversity and Inclusion roles in the Army Headquarters. This reflects a reduction since 31 January 2024, at which point the Army employed 13 people in roles dedicated to Diversity and Inclusion. The five roles in Army formations have subsequently been disbanded.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what job titles are used for people with roles relating to diversity, equity and inclusion within the armed forces; and how many people have each job title.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member’s Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of staff in his Department work from home.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD), along with other Government Departments, is committed to Smarter Working and much of our workforce has embraced the benefits of hybrid working both for themselves personally and for the business. We have implemented Government direction on increased office attendance and, as a broad average, 40% of time is spent working remotely for office based workers, for some this will be more and for others less. This is dependent upon the activity and business outcomes to be delivered. All employees agree their working location with their local line management, although this can sometimes be influenced by site capacity constraints.
Details of Departmental headquarters’ occupancy are published on a regular basis and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to allow (a) next of kin and (b) executors of deceased armed forces personnel to gain access to the (i) medical records and (ii) diagnostic tests of those personnel that were completed before the Access to Health Records Act 1990 came into force.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There are no plans to change Ministry of Defence policy which is consistent with wider UK practice across the medical profession. There is an ethical obligation to respect a patient’s confidentiality after death and access to deceased patients’ health records, including for Armed Forces personnel, is governed by the Access to Health Records Act 1990.
Under the terms of the Act, someone will only be entitled to access a deceased person’s health records created after 1 November 1991 if they are either a personal representative (the executor or administrator of the deceased person’s estate) or someone who has a claim resulting from the death (this could be a relative or another person). The only exception is if disclosure of medical records created before 1 November 1991 is needed to make intelligible any record created after that date.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people are employed by the Army in roles relating to diversity and inclusion as of 31 January 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As at 31 January 2024, the Army has 13 people employed in roles dedicated to Diversity and Inclusion.