Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2021 to Question 85327 on Queen's Guards: Uniforms, how much his Department has spent in total on (a) procuring the bearskin ceremonial caps worn by the Queen’s Guard and (b) seeking to develop a faux fur alternative for use in the making those caps in the last seven years.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The below table outlines the Department’s spending on Queen’s Guards ceremonial caps over the past seven years:
Bearskins purchased by the MOD | |
Calendar Year | Cost |
2015 | £149,379 |
2016 | £240,382 |
2017 | £201,071 |
2018 | £76,206 |
2019 | £127,440 |
2020 | £145,000 |
2021 | £39,330 |
Since 2015, there have been four synthetic fur test results analysed.
Where appropriate the Ministry of Defence uses faux fur alternatives, providing they meet the specific user requirements. Currently, artificial fur does not meet the necessary requirements or perform to the standard expected of fabric to be used for the Queen’s Guards ceremonial caps.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed service personnel who have served in the armed forces since 2001 have died as a result of (a) suicide and (b) another cause of death.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Statistical information for suicide in the Armed Forces, from 1984 to present, is available at the following link:
Statistical information and cause of deaths in Service in general is available at the following link from 2010 to present, this includes the period 2001-2010 in the 2010 report: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-deaths-in-service-statistics-index
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Committee’s Third Report of Session 2021–22, We’re going to need a bigger Navy, HC 168, published on 14 December 2021, what investigation has taken place to determine whether the twice replaced reactor core on HMS Vanguard is evidence of a generic defect affecting other vessels.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to the written statement laid in the House on 5 November 2018 by the then Secretary of State for Defence, the rightt hon. Gavin Williamson, HCWS1065.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using faux fur as an alternative to the use of real fur in uniforms issued to personnel in the armed forces.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Where man-made alternatives to replace natural fur items provide a suitable, affordable and sustainable alternative to animal products these will be used. For example, faux fur is now used for the smaller busby hats worn by the King's Troop. However in some instances, there is currently no viable alternative though the Department will continue to consider options for faux alternatives where available to see if they can meet our criteria.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what target date he has set for the ending of the use of fur in uniforms issued to personnel in the armed forces.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Where man-made alternatives to replace natural fur items provide a suitable, affordable and sustainable alternative to animal products these will be used. For example, faux fur is now used for the smaller busby hats worn by the King's Troop. However in some instances, there is currently no viable alternative though the Department will continue to consider options for faux alternatives where available to see if they can meet our criteria.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to end the use of fur in uniforms issued to personnel in the armed forces.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Where man-made alternatives to replace natural fur items provide a suitable, affordable and sustainable alternative to animal products these will be used. For example, faux fur is now used for the smaller busby hats worn by the King's Troop. However in some instances, there is currently no viable alternative though the Department will continue to consider options for faux alternatives where available to see if they can meet our criteria.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department last met, in person or virtually, with representatives of the each of the devolved Administrations to discuss the development and implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
Ministry of Defence (MOD) Ministers, officials and military officers regularly meet, and correspond, with representatives of the Devolved Administrations to discuss a range of issues.
I met with my counterparts in the Scottish and Welsh Governments in May this year to discuss proposals to strengthen the Covenant in law. The Chief of Defence People met with Ministers from the Welsh Government earlier in October. Officials met with counterparts from the Devolved Administrations on 14 October at a virtual conference hosted by the MOD to discuss the Covenant.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of employment preparedness and support programmes offered to military personnel prior to and immediately post-service.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence provides comprehensive resettlement support for people leaving the Armed Forces to help them make the transition to civilian life.
The long-established Career Transition Partnership (CTP) provides guidance to Service leavers in their transition from military to civilian life through a range of career and employment support services including skills development workshops, seminars, resettlement training advice, vocational training courses, career consultancy, one-to-one sessions and job finding support. A bespoke service is provided for the most vulnerable leavers through the CTP resettlement pathway.?This function is called CTP Assist and delivers an individualised, needs-based service to those?Service personnel who face the greatest barriers to employment as a consequence of their medical conditions.?This comprehensive employment support is made available to all Service personnel subject to medical discharge in order to maximise their?successful transition to civilian life.?All military personnel can access CTP two years before leaving and within two years of leaving; beyond that point they can access The Forces Employment Charity (RFEA) which provides support for life.
Statistics on the estimated employment outcomes for ex-Service personnel who used the services provided by CTP can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/career-transition-partnership-ex-service-personnel-employment-outcomes-statistics-index. Of the 2018-19 UK Regular Service leavers who used a billable CTP service and reported their employment outcomes six months after leaving service, 86 per cent were employed.
As part of the ten-year vision articulated in the Strategy for our Veterans, in October 2019 the Ministry of Defence introduced a ‘Defence Holistic Transition’ policy, which brings together a wide range of support for Service leavers and their families in their transition to civilian life including help with life's basic needs such as registering with a doctor or a dentist, or much more intensive help for those with complex needs (including housing, budgeting, debt, wellbeing and children’s education). ‘Defence Transition Services’ (DTS) was established at the same time, to support those Service leavers who face the greatest challenges to making a successful transition to civilian life, including those who are medically discharged. The full-spectrum service is available to all Service leavers exiting the Armed Forces and is based on the needs of the individual, providing the specific support they may need and interventions to ensure issues are resolved. This support extends for two years after discharge and longer if necessary.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2017 to Question 64013, on armed forces: deployment, what the legal basis was for UK involvement in US airstrikes against (a) Junaid Hussain and (b) Mohammed Emwazi.
Answered by Mike Penning
Junaid Hussain and Mohammed Emwazi were members of Daesh. The UK has been working as part of a Coalition since September 2014 which was invited by the Iraqi Prime Minister to defeat Daesh, on the legal basis of the collective self-defence of Iraq. This was confirmed by the UK Permanent Representative to the UN in a letter dated 25 November 2014 to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council indicating that the UK is taking measures "to enable Iraqi forces to regain control of the borders of Iraq by striking ISIL [Daesh] sites and military strongholds in Syria".
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 April 2016, HCWS 678, on Armed Forces update, when he will provide the House with the annual update on embedded personnel for the year 2016.
Answered by Mike Penning
The written statement, 'UK Embedded Forces', of 17 December 2015 (HCWS431) informed the House that future updates would be published annually through the Ministry of Defence's annual report and accounts (ARAC). Page 28 of the linked report for financial year (FY) 2015-16 refers:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/558559/MoD_AR16.pdf .
Figures for FY 2016-17 will be published via the 2016-17 ARAC later this year.