Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the saving to the public purse of awarding the Maritime Defence Framework Contract at HMNB Clyde to Babcock.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Maritime Support Delivery Framework was let under a single source contract to ensure continuity of supply and incorporated financial benefits to be delivered by Babcock during the contract. I am withholding the value as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many regular, full-time serving members of the Army there were on the most recent date for which figures are available.
Answered by James Heappey
As at 1 April 2020 the strength of the Regular Army was 79,620 personnel.
Notes/Caveats:
These figures were provided by Defence Statistics (Army)
Figures are for Untrained and Trained Regular strengths and therefore exclude Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Gurkhas but include those individuals who have transferred out of the Gurkhas to the Regular Army.
Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes;
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army Reserve personnel, excluding members of University Officer Training Corps, have served for a period of over one year.
Answered by James Heappey
As at 1 April 2020, there were 25,580 Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) Army personnel who had continuous Army Reserve service of one year or more.
Notes/Caveats:
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many regular, full-time serving members of the Army there were on the latest date for which figures are available.
Answered by James Heappey
There were 78,620 Regular Army personnel on strength as at 1 January 2020
Notes/Caveats:
These figures were provided by Defence Statistics (Army)
Figures are for Untrained and Trained Regular strengths and therefore exclude Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Gurkhas but include those individuals who have transferred out of the Gurkhas to the Regular Army.
Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes;
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army Reserve personnel, excluding members of University Officer Training Corps, have served for a period of over one year.
Answered by James Heappey
As at 1 January 2020, there were 25,610 Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) Army personnel who had continuous Army Reserve service of one year or more.
Notes/Caveats:
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library his Department's report on the Tide-force vessels contract.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Careful consideration has been given as to whether the MARS (Tide Class) Tanker Lessons Learnt report can be made public at this time. It has been concluded that it cannot as its disclosure would be prejudicial to the formulation of Government policy and commercial interests.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has received a request from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the use of the RAF Voyager fleet to repatriate British nationals during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Heappey
As part of the Government’s COVID-19 response effort, the Ministry of Defence has so far provided places on 11 pre-scheduled flights on Military Aircraft to repatriate British Nationals at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s request, which has included the use of Voyager Aircraft where appropriate.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has offered the use of funded flying hours from the RAF Voyager fleet to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to repatriate UK nationals during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Heappey
As part of the Government’s COVID-19 response effort, the Ministry of Defence has so far provided places on 11 pre-scheduled flights on Military Aircraft to repatriate British Nationals at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s request, which has included the use of Voyager Aircraft where appropriate.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has offered the use of (a) the RAF Voyager fleet and (b) civil-registered aircraft from the non-core Voyager fleet to the Department of Health and Social Care for the long-distance transport of personal protective equipment to the UK during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Heappey
As part of the Government's COVID-19 response, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has provided military aircraft to transport personal protective equipment on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. The MOD deploys the most appropriate aircraft for each task in line with Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) principles. In this case, A400M and C-17 aircraft have been used but Voyager aircraft have not.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on the burning of moors in his Department's ownership.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Ministry of Defence infrastructure and estate policy is set out in JSP850. This policy states that Integrated Rural Management Plans (IRMPs), integrating military requirements with the natural and historic environment, must be in place for all protected landscapes.
Example IRMP objectives include instructions prohibiting the burning of sensitive areas and directions to conduct heather management through cutting and controlled burning.
Heather burning forms part of the Natural England management requirements where appropriate. The Department also adheres to this policy.