Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the relevance of the Final Report of the US Defense Science Board Task Force on Resilient Military Systems, published on 10 October 2012, to the security of Trident submarines.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence are aware of the report in question which has not alerted us to anything new. We continue to place a high priority on assuring the effectiveness of our nuclear deterrent and managing the associated risk. We continue to monitor and evaluate capabilities and technologies that could threaten the nuclear deterrent, including from cyber-attack. It would not be appropriate to go into specific detail of the steps taken to mitigate against these threats but note that the report points out that submarine platforms have isolation "designed into how they operate and fight" and that this isolation provides nuclear armed submarines with additional resilience over other nuclear weapon systems.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse of the Defence Assistance Fund was in 2014-15.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The cost of the Defence Assistance Fund in financial year 2014-15 was £15.529 million.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department of the Export Support Team was in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and whether those costs have been reimbursed by the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Export Support Team is part of the Defence and Security Organisation, part of UK Trade and Investment. The Minister for Trade and Investment is responsible for administrative and funding arrangements, including attached Service personnel's capitation costs. Therefore, there is no cost to the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was of maintaining the defence attaché network in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and what proportion of the cost of that network was attributable to support for defence and security exports.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The following information shows Ministry of Defence funding for the Defence Attaché and Advisor Network for financial year (FY) 2013-14 and FY 2014-15.
| FY 2013-14 | FY 2014-15 |
Attaché Costs | £31,864,185 | £31,635,761 |
FCO Platform Charges | £9,919,278 | £13,302,918 |
Total Cost | £41,783,463 | £44,938,679 |
Support for exports is one of the many roles carried out by Defence Attachés as part of the International Defence Engagement Strategy. The Defence Attaché network has no specific budget or post allocated to this task.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what lessons were learned for emergency planning in the event of an accident involving the road transport of nuclear warheads from the Operation Senator emergency planning exercise held at HMS Gannet, Prestwick Airport in September 2011.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) assessment concluded that Exercise Senator 2011 achieved its stated objectives.
The DNSR assessment report contains five findings, four of which have been formally closed out. Work is in hand to address the remaining finding.
I shall place copies of the DNSR assessment and All Agency report in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's policy is on further developing the necessary facilities and skills for the UK to become a world centre of expertise in the dismantling of formerly-armed nuclear warheads.
Answered by Michael Fallon
As we set out in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we will reduce the overall stockpile of nuclear warheads to no more than 180 by the mid 2020s. The Government is investing in the Atomic Weapons Establishment, which is responsible for supporting the entire life-cycle of the UK's nuclear warheads, from design and manufacture, to maintenance and certification of the existing warhead stockpile, and, ultimately, to decommissioning and disposal. In addition, the UK is co-operating with international partners - particularly the US and Norway - on a verification regime for the dismantlement of a nuclear weapon that could support any potential future nuclear disarmament treaty.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 20 January 2016, Official Report, column 1411, if he will set out the specific activities being undertaken by British military personnel in providing training, advice and help to the Saudi Arabian military.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
We have provided education and training courses to Saudi Arabian Military personnel under existing government-to-government arrangements including the Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context, the Strategic Leadership Programmes, and Initial Officer training courses. These courses expose Saudi Military personnel to UK policy, and promote concepts of accountability, compliance with International Humanitarian Law and transparency. They are important in building skills which enable Saudi Arabia to deal appropriately with their own security problems, thereby contributing to regional security
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the most recent stocktake between the UK and the US under the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement took place; where that meeting was held; what matters were discussed at that meeting; and where and when the next such meeting is scheduled to take place.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The last Stocktake meeting between the Government and US Administration under the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement took place at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, US on 18 March 2015. Matters discussed at this meeting included: review of actions and decisions; technical and programme updates; discussion of Strategic Collaborations; and planning 2015-16 activity. The next Stocktake meeting is scheduled to take place in London later this year.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where Exercise Astral Climb 2015 took place; and where Exercise Astral Bend 2016 will take place.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Exercise Astral Climb 2015 took place in Nottinghamshire. Exercise Astral Bend 2016 will take place in Oxfordshire
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the costs were of operating the Truck Convoy Heavy Duty in each of the last three years.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The operating costs for the Truck Convoy Heavy Duty (TCHD) for the last three financial years are provided in the table below.
2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
Calculated TCHD Running Costs (£ VAT ex) | 107,446 | 90,000 | 82,195 |