Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the data breach relating to the Afghan relocations and assistance policy on military spending.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There has been no direct impact on military spending. Additional ringfenced funding was identified, initially from the Reserve and then funded as part of the Spending Review plans we set out in June.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has considered deploying military assets to assist the Border Force in preventing illegal maritime entry into the UK.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Home Office is the lead Government Department responsible for border security and migration. It has established the Border Security Command to strengthen global partnerships and enhance the UK’s efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute people smugglers profiting from the dangerous movement of people across the channel. This continues to incorporate the lessons identified by Defence when it had primacy for migration operations in the channel, including the procurement and use of task-specific assets.
Defence assets are procured for Defence tasks and are therefore not optimised for the issue the hon. Member raises. These assets play a critical part in preserving UK maritime security through shadowing and monitoring warships transiting the UK Exclusive Economic Zone or territorial waters.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of diversity, equality and inclusion policies on recruitment to the armed forces.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The recruitment and retention of talented personnel to the Armed Forces is mission critical. We must draw from the broadest diversity of thought, skills, and background to ensure we continue to meet the threats we face and safeguard the security, stability, and prosperity of our nation. To do this, we are fostering an inclusive environment, enabling everyone, irrespective of background, to deliver our Defence outputs. Without fostering such an environment, we risk undermining our ability to attract people with valuable contributions to make. The Ministry of Defence is committed to fostering an inclusive environment to ensure that all can thrive when called upon in the most challenging warfighting scenarios.