Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with UK-based companies on trends in the level of cyber security jobs moved abroad.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers engage regularly with UK cyber security companies to understand employment trends. This includes engagement through visits and forums such as the Cyber Growth Partnership and the National Cyber Advisory Board. The government's annual cyber security sectoral analysis reviews the growth and health of the sector, showing employment in the UK has risen each year since the government began publishing the data in 2018. Currently, the UK cyber security sector employs over 58,000 people, having generated an additional 5,300 jobs in the past year alone.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department (a) has made an assessment of trends in the number of cyber-security roles off-shored to overseas contractors and (b) holds data on the (i) number of roles affected and (ii) financial value of that market.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK cyber security sector is worth £10.5 billion, up 3% since last year, and employs over 58,000 people, having generated an additional 5,300 jobs in the past year. The government's annual cyber security sectoral analysis shows employment in the UK cyber security sector has risen each year since the government began publishing the data in 2018.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his oral answer of 25 April 2024, whether the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has recused himself from any aspects of his role.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Under the terms of the Ministerial Code, Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their ministerial position and their private interests, financial or otherwise.
There is an established regime in place for the declaration and management of interests held by ministers. This ensures that steps are taken to avoid or mitigate any potential or perceived conflicts of interest. The Foreign Secretary has declared his interests in line with this process. Those interests judged, by the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, to be relevant to his ministerial role have been published in the List of Ministers’ Interests, which is available on GOV.UK.
As set out in the Ministerial Code, it is the personal responsibility of each Minister to decide whether and what action is needed to avoid a conflict or the perception of a conflict, taking account of advice received from their Permanent Secretary and the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ interests.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2024 to Question 21960 on Air Force: Training, for what reason the requirement for pilots to successfully complete Phase 2 Military Flying Training was lower in the training years (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
For each training year, the number of trainee RAF pilots who enter the Phase 2 Military Flying Training System is based on the number of pilots required to commence Operational Conversion Units (OCUs) to meet the Front Line demand for qualified pilots in future years.
The RAF Pipeline Management Team, governed through the Aircrew Pipeline Steering Group, actively manage the pilot training pipelines to ensure that trainee flowthrough is kept to an optimum to reduce periods of holdover for trainees between training courses. In 2022-23 and 2023-24 there was a managed reduction in some of the training pipelines to appropriately control the numbers of trainees in holdover ahead of joining OCUs. Additionally, as already documented, Hawk T2 engine issues impacted the number of Fast Jet pilots trained during this period.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2024 to Question 20584 on Air Force: Training, what constitutes a Front Line Operational Conversion Unit; what the average cost of such a Unit was in each year since 2018-19; and how many such Units the RAF had in each such year.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Operational Conversion Units (OCU) support operational output through type specific training on front line aircraft for aircrew, engineers and other ground personnel as required. They also provide refresher training for personnel who have previously operated the aircraft type and are returning to the type following other tours of duty in the wider Service.
The average costs of Operational Conversion Units are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Between 2018 and 2023 there were five OCUs. In 2023 a sixth OCU was formed.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2024 to Question 20584 on Air Force: Training, how many RAF pilots completed their phase 2 training but did not complete training to the level required to operate Front Line Operational Conversion Units in each year since 2018-19.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The following table details the number of personnel who have not completed Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) flying conversion courses, across all the OCUs in each year.
2018-19 - Nil
2019-20 - Nil
2020-21 - Nil
2021-22 - One
2022-23 - Three
2023-24 - Nil
Personnel who do not complete an OCU flying conversion course for a specific frontline aircraft type are considered for re-streaming of their career path. They may subsequently successfully complete another OCU conversion course for a different aircraft type or be re-streamed into wider ground-based RAF Profession.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2024 to Question 20584 on Air Force: Training, what the average cost was of training a Royal Air Force pilot to Phase 2 Military Flying Training in the each of the training years between 2018-19 and 2023-24.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The average cost of flying training per trainee is not currently compiled on an annual basis. The last time in-depth cost modelling conducted was in Financial Year 2021-22.
The average cost of flying training for Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots in Financial Year 2021-22 was as follows:
RAF Fast Jet: £5,362,085
RAF Multi Engine: £ 953,817
RAF Rotary Wing: £1,041,843
The above figures include pay, support costs and costs within the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) contract up to the point a trainee pilot commences training on a front line aircraft as part of an Operational Conversion Unit.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2024 to Question 20584 on Air Force: Training, for what reason fewer pilots successfully completed Phase 2 Military Flying Training in the training years (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that reduction in numbers on the UK’s preparedness for military conflict.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The number of Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots who successfully completed Phase 2 Military Flying Training in training years 2022-23 and 2023-24 was in line with requirement. There is no impact on the UK’s preparedness for military conflict; the UK continues to train the required number of RAF pilots, on time, to world-leading standards.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2024 to Question 20584 on Air Force: Training, what the target number of Royal Air Force pilots was for successful completion of Phase 2 Military Flying Training in each of the training years between 2018-19 and 2023-24.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Between 2018-19 and 2023-24, Phase 2 Military Flying Training pilot output achieved 100% of the training targets to enable Front Line operations. I am withholding the specific information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Defence Procurement in response to the question from the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent on 25 March 2024, Official Report, column 1253, whether the RAF have met their quota for successfully trained pilots in (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Yes.