Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment she has made of the effect of shortages in Defence Medical Service doctors on the ability to deploy forces.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Against a backdrop of medical workforce shortfalls nationally and across the global health care sector, we also have a number of specialty areas where we are experiencing consultant shortfalls. These are being monitored and addressed through normal workforce control mechanisms. To date this has not affected our ability to deploy forces on any directed tasks or operations.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of the tapered annual allowance on the retention of armed forces doctors.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Secretary of State for Defence and Chancellor of the Exchequer have not yet discussed this particular issue. However, given concerns expressed by Defence Medical Services personnel and the well-publicised discussions in the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Defence has consulted internally on pension taxation, including the issue of tapering.
We recognise the current situation with pension taxation (including tapered annual allowance) is a risk to retention and are monitoring any associated increase in the outflow of personnel. To date, monitoring suggests no apparent increase in the voluntary outflow of Medical Officers, but we accept this might change in the future.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to establish a public inquiry into the handling of UK nuclear submarine decommissioning.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We have no plans for a public inquiry.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether British personnel stationed at Abu Ghraib (a) made an assessment of and (b) produced a report on the conditions in which prisoners at that facility (i) lived and (ii) were treated; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The UK personnel that deployed to Abu Ghraib had been briefed to report any concerns to the UK chain of command and keep records in accordance with UK policy. They did not report any allegations or incidents of abuse taking place during their deployment to Abu Ghraib.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition, published in June 2018, what role British personnel played in interrogations at Abu Ghraib while the prison was under the control of the United States Administration.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Three members of the UK Armed Forces were deployed to Abu Ghraib during the period January - April 2004. During their time there, they interviewed a small number of prisoners. All activity conducted by UK personnel at Abu Ghraib was in accordance with domestic and international law and the Geneva Conventions.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much money spent by his Department has been counted as UK aid spending; and what programmes that money has been allocated to within his Department.
Answered by Gavin Williamson
The Ministry of Defence has an annual Official Developmental Assistance target of £5 million, of which approximately £6.12 million was spent in the calendar year of 2017 – a breakdown by programme is below. 2018 figures are currently undergoing a regular assurance process and will be published in April 2019.
Programme | £ million* |
Defence Education Programmes | £3.74 |
Britjish Forces Cyprus: Refugee Camp | £0.63 |
UK Hydrographic Office Charting Support | £0.86 |
Locally Employed Civilian Training: Afghanistan | £0.86 |
Royal Navy: Disaster Relief Training | Less than £0.05 |
'Askari Serpent': Local Vaccination Programmes | £0.10 |
*Figures rounded to 2 decimal places.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to create of an Armed Forces Association for service personnel and veterans.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence has no plans to create an Armed Forces Association.
I am satisfied that the interests of members of the Armed Forces as employees are suitably represented by the Chain of Command, SSAFA - the Armed Forces Charity, the Royal Naval Association, the Royal Air Force Association, the Veterans Association and a great many more Regimental Associations and groups around the country. Many of these associations also represent the veterans' community. Along with the various Service-facing charities, the above-mentioned associations will all have regular access to the Chain of Command and Ministers to represent their members' interests.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using multi-annual spending plans instead of annual budgets.
Answered by Gavin Williamson
The Department maintains a 10-year plan of activity and spending intended to deliver the Government's strategic direction. These plans are typically developed in the context of a multi-year financial settlement and longer-term planning assumptions agreed with Her Majesty's Treasury.
The Department allocates indicative budgets across business areas over 10-years as the basis for planning. These plans are reviewed and adjusted annually as part of the Annual Budget Cycle process, which also confirms the budget settlement for each business area for the start of each financial year. More significant changes in plans are typically limited to significant fiscal or policy events such as a spending review. This approach of annual reviews of plans allows the Department to respond dynamically to emerging risks to delivery against strategic direction or financial pressures.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff have been appointed to prepare his Department for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how much has been spent on such preparations to date.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence currently has a small central team of 12 civil servants who deal exclusively with Defence issues relating to the UK's decision to leave the EU.
This central team draws on subject matter experts across the Department.
The Ministry of Defence continually reviews workforce plans and reprioritises as necessary.
To date, a total of 28 military planners have been posted to other Whitehall Departments to assist with contingency planning for leaving the EU. Military planners offer unique skills and operational planning experience and will be involved in a variety of tasks tailored to the needs of the requesting Department. Staff across the Department are integrating ongoing contingency planning into their day-to-day work in recognition of the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.
At the Autumn Budget 2017, the Chancellor of the Exchequer committed £3 billion over the next two financial years to helping Departments and the Devolved Administrations to prepare.
HM Treasury allocated £12m of EU Exit funding to the Ministry of Defence for 2018/19. This will fund the administrative, legal and infrastructure requirements for Defence of leaving the EU, including for our bases and people in Europe. It also includes funds to preserve three Offshore Patrol Vessels for the security and enforcement of UK waters and fisheries. The breakdown of this funding will be confirmed within the Supplementary Estimates 2019/20 in early 2020.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government’s policy is on pursuing an Administrative Arrangement with the European Defence Agency.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is important that UK and European industry can continue to work together to deliver the capabilities we need to keep us safe. The European Defence Agency (EDA) has a central coordinating role in the development of the EU's defence capabilities. As outlined in the Political Declaration, the UK will seek an Administrative Arrangement with the EDA that would enable us to participate in EDA projects and programmes where it is of mutual benefit, to further our defence cooperation opportunities.