Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department provides for junior soldiers at AFC Harrogate with mental health problems.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Army Foundation College (AFC) Harrogate training staff provide the first line level of support to Junior Soldiers experiencing mental health problems. They are specifically trained for their appointment to pro-actively identify recruits who may be struggling and/or experiencing problems with adapting to military life. Mental resilience training is also provided to all Junior Soldiers in the early stages of the course covering areas such as coping mechanisms, decision making and effective communication. This is reinforced through training activities including in Leadership and Initiative training, Adventurous Training and field exercises.
AFC Harrogate has a well-resourced medical and welfare department. This includes a civilian Behavioural Development Officer, who is an expert in cognitive behavioural studies and counselling, specialising in the military environment. This officer provides advice and guidance to staff on how best to manage referred Junior Soldiers. There are also military and civilian medical and welfare staff, two Padres and access to representatives from the Army Welfare Service (who also draw on support from wider public sector and charity support services).
In addition, in February 2018, the Secretary of State announced a new MOD-funded 24/7 Military Mental Health Helpline to provide support and advice to all serving personnel and their families.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether AFC Harrogate has internal mental health support workers for junior soldiers.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Army Foundation College (AFC) Harrogate training staff provide the first line level of support to Junior Soldiers experiencing mental health problems. They are specifically trained for their appointment to pro-actively identify recruits who may be struggling and/or experiencing problems with adapting to military life. Mental resilience training is also provided to all Junior Soldiers in the early stages of the course covering areas such as coping mechanisms, decision making and effective communication. This is reinforced through training activities including in Leadership and Initiative training, Adventurous Training and field exercises.
AFC Harrogate has a well-resourced medical and welfare department. This includes a civilian Behavioural Development Officer, who is an expert in cognitive behavioural studies and counselling, specialising in the military environment. This officer provides advice and guidance to staff on how best to manage referred Junior Soldiers. There are also military and civilian medical and welfare staff, two Padres and access to representatives from the Army Welfare Service (who also draw on support from wider public sector and charity support services).
In addition, in February 2018, the Secretary of State announced a new MOD-funded 24/7 Military Mental Health Helpline to provide support and advice to all serving personnel and their families.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the disciplinary policy of AFC Harrogate.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Army disciplinary policy is set out within the Queen’s Regulations and Army General and Administrative Instructions 62 (Discipline Policy) and 67 (Administrative Policy). These are kept under constant review and routinely updated. There is no bespoke discipline policy for Junior Soldiers at Army Foundation College (AFC), Harrogate.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many junior soldiers were (a) arrested by civilian police and (b) charged with a criminal offence during their time at AFC Harrogate in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
From January 2013 to December 2017, less than five instances of Junior Soldiers being charged with a criminal offence during their time at Army Foundation College Harrogate are recorded on the Defence Joint Personnel Administration system. This figure is not broken down by year due to data protection.
Information on arrests by civilian police is not held centrally in the format requested.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of serving soldiers that trained at (a) AFC Harrogate, (b) ITC Catterick, and (c) ATC Pirbright were arrested by the civilian police during each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
From January 2013 to December 2017, less than five instances of Junior Soldiers being charged with a criminal offence during their time at Army Foundation College Harrogate are recorded on the Defence Joint Personnel Administration system. This figure is not broken down by year due to data protection.
Information on arrests by civilian police is not held centrally in the format requested.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2018 to Question 176506, how many pilots the RAF has trained on behalf of other countries broken down by country in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Pilots from other nations routinely train alongside RAF pilots. Between 1 January 2009 and 30 October 2018, the following were trained by the RAF on behalf of other countries:
Nation | Number of pilots |
Algeria | 14 |
Australia | ~ |
Bahrain | 5 |
Brunei | 7 |
Iraq | 14 |
Kenya | 12 |
Kuwait | 97 |
Netherlands | ~ |
New Zealand | ~ |
Oman | 16 |
Portugal | ~ |
Qatar | 7 |
Saudi Arabia | 102 |
UAE | 5 |
Where numbers are below 5, they have been replaced with ‘~’ in order to avoid the identification of individual pilots. It is not possible to identify the numbers of pilots trained each year, as training typically spans multiple years.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2018 to Question 176506, what estimate he has made of the revenue received from training pilots of behalf of other countries broken down by country in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Between 1 January 2009 and 30 October 2018, the RAF received approximately £95 million from training pilots of behalf of other countries. This information cannot be broken down by year, as pilot training typically spans multiple years. Furthermore, the revenue by country cannot be released, as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and other states.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2018 to Question 147490, what progress is being made on the Army's review of junior entry.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Army is in the process of finalising its report, prior to submission to Ministers. It remains our intent to share the findings of the review with Parliament. The supporting policy work has been ongoing throughout the review and has taken longer than initially anticipated.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2018 to Question 147490 on Army: Young People, what the planned completion date is for the Army review of Junior Entry.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Army is in the process of finalising its report, prior to submission to Ministers. It remains our intent to share the findings of the review with Parliament. The supporting policy work has been ongoing throughout the review and has taken longer than initially anticipated.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2018 to Question 147490 on Army: Young People, if he will place a copy of the completed Army review of Junior Entry in the Library.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Army is in the process of finalising its report, prior to submission to Ministers. It remains our intent to share the findings of the review with Parliament. The supporting policy work has been ongoing throughout the review and has taken longer than initially anticipated.