Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate his Department has made of how long it will take to integrate the Common Combat System onto Astute and Vanguard-class submarines.
Answered by Philip Dunne
I am withholding information on plans for fitting the Common Combat System (CCS) to Vanguard and Astute Class submarines for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
I am also witholding cost estimates for integrating the CCS onto the Astute and Vanguard-class submarines as to do so would prejudice commercial interests.
Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what projects are being undertaken by the cyber transformation team in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Each Service is seeking to address their own unique cyber defence challenges. Activities include: introducing cyber into training; strengthening cyber education for the whole organisation; integrating cyber into the strategic planning processes; improving career management for cyber specialists; and developing a better understanding of Defence's cyber vulnerabilities. All activities are brought together through the Defence Cyber Programme to ensure a holistic and coherent approach across the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget of the Defence Cyber Operations Group was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Defence Cyber Operations Group was designed to deliver cyber capability and mainstream cyber security throughout Defence by establishing a federation of cyber units. As this work matured it resulted instead in the formation of the Joint Forces Cyber Group in May 2013.
The Joint Forces Cyber Group (JFCyG) plans and co-ordinates cyber operations, and develops new tactics, techniques and plans to deliver military capabilities to confront high-end threats. It comprises Joint Cyber Units at Cheltenham and Corsham, the Joint Cyber Unit (Reserve) and Information Assurance Units.
I am withholding details on the JFCyG as their disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the reserve forces are cyber specialists.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
We are significantly growing the number of dedicated Cyber specialists in the Reserves. Recruiting is on track to meet our target by April 2017. As with other sensitive Defence capabilities, I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff make up the Defence Cyber Operations Group.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Defence Cyber Operations Group was designed to deliver cyber capability and mainstream cyber security throughout Defence by establishing a federation of cyber units. As this work matured it resulted instead in the formation of the Joint Forces Cyber Group in May 2013.
The Joint Forces Cyber Group (JFCyG) plans and co-ordinates cyber operations, and develops new tactics, techniques and plans to deliver military capabilities to confront high-end threats. It comprises Joint Cyber Units at Cheltenham and Corsham, the Joint Cyber Unit (Reserve) and Information Assurance Units.
I am withholding details on the JFCyG as their disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of his Department's staff have worked for the Centre for Cyber Assessment in each year since its inception.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Ministry of Defence has contributed members of staff to the Centre for Cyber Assessment since it was established in 2013 but does not disclose the details of these arrangements.
Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reserves were recruited in Scotland in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.
Answered by Julian Brazier
The information is not held in the format requested. However, the table below shows, where available, the estimated number of reserves recruited in Scotland in the last three Financial Years.
Service | FINANCIAL YEAR (1 APRIL TO 31 MARCH) | ||
2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
Maritime Reserve | See note | 80 | 100 |
Army Reserve | 480 | 300 | 550 |
Royal Air Force Reserve | See note | 70 | 110 |
Note – information not available.
The Future Reserves 2020 Volunteer Reserve population includes mobilised Volunteer Reserves, High Readiness Reserves, and those volunteer reserves serving on Full Time Reserve Service and Additional Duties Commitment. |
The figures are based on Service personnel's stationed location and not their location of residence - where personnel work is not necessarily where they live.
Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reports have been made on the assessed material state of HMS (a) Astute, (b) Ambush and (c) Artful.
Answered by Philip Dunne
A range of reports are generated on the material state of all Royal Navy submarines. Given the broad range of reporting that is undertaken and the large range of highly complex engineering systems reported on, this information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on ensuring the Trident nuclear weapon system from cyber-attacks in each of the last three years; and how much he plans to spend in each of the next five years.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence audits the integrity of the UK's nuclear deterrent regularly for all threats and hazards and acts to ensure that it maintains the highest possible standards. The Strategic Defence and Security Review acknowledges the growing cyber threat and the importance of investing in cyber security across all of our capabilities. The Government has invested £860 million in new technology and capabilities since 2011 and will invest £1.9 billion over the next five years in protecting the UK from cyber attack and developing our sovereign capabilities in cyberspace. Our approach to protecting Defence capabilities against and mitigating the impact of cyber attacks spans technical, organisational, procedural and physical measures benefiting many different systems and networks, and investment is integrated across these measures. Submarines operate in isolation by design, and this contributes to their cyber resilience. I will not discuss further details for reasons of safeguarding national security.
Asked by: Steven Paterson (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the threat posed to the Trident nuclear weapon system by cyber-attacks; and what steps he is taking to ensure that system is secure against such attacks.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence audits the integrity of the UK's nuclear deterrent regularly for all threats and hazards and acts to ensure that it maintains the highest possible standards. The Strategic Defence and Security Review acknowledges the growing cyber threat and the importance of investing in cyber security across all of our capabilities. The Government has invested £860 million in new technology and capabilities since 2011 and will invest £1.9 billion over the next five years in protecting the UK from cyber attack and developing our sovereign capabilities in cyberspace. Our approach to protecting Defence capabilities against and mitigating the impact of cyber attacks spans technical, organisational, procedural and physical measures benefiting many different systems and networks, and investment is integrated across these measures. Submarines operate in isolation by design, and this contributes to their cyber resilience. I will not discuss further details for reasons of safeguarding national security.