Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what methods are used to immobilise fissile material removed from dismantled nuclear warheads withdrawn from operational service; what that cost is of that immobilisation programme; and where that process is carried out.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) stores and re-uses fissile material removed from dismantled nuclear warheads which have been withdrawn from operational service as part of routine stockpile management. This material is not immobilised.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel are not registered to vote in the EU referendum; and what steps his Department is taking to improve accessibility to register for that vote for armed forces personnel.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The number of Service personnel who are registered to vote was published in the 2016 Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS), Table B22.1-3:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-continuous-attitude-survey-2016
The Department takes a number of steps each year, with assistance from the Electoral Commission, to inform Service personnel of the arrangements for electoral registration. The annual information campaign encouraging Service personnel and their families to register to vote was launched on 1 February 2016, in conjunction with the National Voter Registration Drive. We have issued an updated, separate instruction for the EU Referendum and are conducting further internal communications to once again encourage Service personnel to register to vote.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Defence Attaché and Loan Service Centre was established; how many staff that Centre employs; and what that Centre's budget is for 2016-17.
Answered by Julian Brazier
Staff for the Defence Attache and Loan Service Centre (DALSC) were recruited from January to March 2016. The Centre opened for limited operations on 4 April 2016, supporting 75 defence section staff currently undertaking language training or preparation for deployment. In the first quarter of 2017 the DALSC is expected to be at full capability. The Centre will then also provide support to Loan Service personnel.
The DALSC employs 14 staff and, when running fully in 2017, their annual operating costs will be approximately £1.2 million. The establishment of the DALSC represents early progress against a Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 deliverable.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 12325, how many defence attachés at what rank were employed at each of those locations on 1 April 2016; and whether each of those attachés has civilian assistants.
Answered by Julian Brazier
All Defence Attaches (except those for Bahrain and the UK Mission to the UN) have civilian employees working within the Defence Section. The Defence Attaches by rank as at 1 April 2016 are listed in the attached table.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what priority issues were discussed and conclusions reached at the UK-US bilateral annual stocktake of the UK-US Mutual Defence Agreement on atomic energy matters in April 2016; who attended that stocktake from which organisations; and what the cost was of that stocktake.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The UK/US Stocktake took place in April 2016 and was hosted by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). UK attendees were from the MOD and the Atomic Weapons Establishment and US attendees from the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Defense, the US Air Force, the US Navy and Department of Energy Laboratories. No priority issues were discussed. As usual, technical and programme updates and discussions of collaborations took place. The costs were approximately £2500.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what joint exercises his Department has held with participants from the US National Nuclear Security Administration on rapid response to emergency nuclear incidents, including those potentially involving terrorists, in the last 12 months.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Ministry of Defence has been involved in four joint exercises related to nuclear incidents with the US National Nuclear Security Administration in the last 12 months. This included Exercise DIAMOND DRAGON 2015, a joint UK/US nuclear emergency exercise testing our response to an emergency involving US aircraft carrying US nuclear weapons in the UK. The other three exercises focused on countering nuclear terrorism.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the carbon emissions of UK forces operating abroad were in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Julian Brazier
Information on the Department's carbon emissions can be found in the Sustainable Ministry of Defence Annual Report 2014/15, using the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447951/20150723-Sustainable_MOD_Annual_Report-internet-ver.pdf
These figures cover carbon emissions from the Defence estate, including overseas sites and domestic business travel; the Department does not hold data on emissions from UK military operational activity overseas.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what attempts have been made to clean up contamination from bullets and shells used by UK forces in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Iraq and (c) Libya; what the cost has been of that work to date; and which UK companies have been awarded contracts to carry out that remediation.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
In all operational theatres the UK, where practical and possible, records the use of all explosive ordnance and makes every effort to ensure no remnants, hazardous or otherwise, remain. This is done for both humanitarian concerns and operational imperatives as we would not wish to leave any ordnance which could fall into the hands of our adversaries and subsequently be used against UK forces.
UK forces records the use of all munitions and protects civilians under the Geneva Conventions with marking, removal and destruction of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) wherever practical and possible: where troop movements may be affected or where ERW represent an immediate and significant danger to life. The Ministry of Defence does not hold information centrally on commercial ERW clearance: after the cessation of hostilities, the UK will normally contract commercial organisations, through the Department for International Development, to carry out the routine assessment, marking and clearance of ERW and risk education for humanitarian and developmental purposes.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 3 March 2016, HCWS576, on Successor Submarine Assessment Phase, whether the sum of £642 million expenditure announced represents new expenditure over and above that originally budgeted for the Assessment Phase; whether that sum includes any money which has been the subject of earlier press announcements by his Department; and which projects of what value that sum has been allocated to fund.
Answered by Philip Dunne
As announced in my Written Statement of 3 March 2016, HCWS576, the funding will supplement the Successor submarine programme Assessment Phase, taking that investment to £3.9 billion. The additional investment covers activity for Nuclear Propulsion systems, Facilities and Infrastructure, the Common Missile Compartment and submarine Design, including Design Assurance. All of the projects have previously been announced. I am withholding cost estimates as to release them would prejudice commercial interests.