Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department is for deportation flights from RAF Northolt for failed asylum seekers in each month in 2017.
Answered by Guto Bebb
There were no deportation flights from RAF Northolt in 2017 for failed asylum seekers.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military dogs have been (a) destroyed because they are considered dangerous for public safety and (b) re-homed in each year since 2012.
Answered by Gavin Williamson
Military Working Dogs (MWD) provide an invaluable service to our troops, and every effort is made to rehome them at the end of their service life. Decisions are taken following an extensive assessment of the dogs and any potential new home. Sadly, there are some occasions where it is not possible to rehome, for example when the dog poses a risk to public safety. In such cases decisions are taken following a full assessment by military veterinarians and dog behaviourist experts.
Information relating to the number of MWDs rehomed since 2013 can be found in the table below. Information prior to this date is not held centrally.
Year | MWD Re-homed |
2013 | 101 |
2014 | 123 |
2015 | 143 |
2016 | 114 |
2017 | 121 |
Total | 602 |
Information on why MWDs are euthanised is not held in the format requested. For information on the reasons why MWDs have been euthanised since 2012 I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Mark Lancaster) to Question 66528 on 8 March 2017. Information regarding why MWDs have been euthanised since 6 March 2017 is provided in the table below.
Reasons | 06/03/17 |
Chronic Recurrent Lameness | 1 |
Chronic Soft Tissue Issue | 1 |
Degenerative Joint Disease | 6 |
Failing to maintain standards[1] | 6 |
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation | 1 |
Heavy bleeding/Infected anal furniculous | 1 |
Kidney Disease, Skin Disease, Degenerative Joint Disease | 1 |
Lumber-Sacral Disease Unremitting Pain | 1 |
Multiple Malignant Tumours | 1 |
Aged/welfare concerns | 5 |
Dangerous temperament | 6 |
Rapid Onset Degenerative Myelopathy | 1 |
Severe non weight bearing lameness non-responsive to medication | 1 |
Spinal Disease | 3 |
Splenic Neoplasia | 1 |
Suspected Haemangiosarcoma | 1 |
Unremitting Osteo Arthritis Pain | 1 |
Total | 38 |
[1] All descriptions are based directly on veterinary records. Some dogs included in these categories will have not been suitable for rehoming based on behaviour and temperament, with potential consequences to public safety. The expression ‘failing to maintain standards’ can include a combination of welfare and behavioural issues.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to respond to Question 117720, tabled by the right hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale on 5 December 2017.
Answered by Gavin Williamson
I have responded to the hon. Member today.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) men and (b) women widowed during the Second World War are claiming war widow or widower pensions.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much money his Department has spent on bottled water in each year since 2010.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The information on how much money was spent on bottled water by the Department, each year since 2010 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the war widow(er) pension payment rates will be for the 2018-19 financial year.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS402 dated 15 January 2018.
The war widow(er) pension payment rates for the next financial year are as follows:
2018 RATES
Widow(er)s Benefits | |||
widow(er) - other ranks (basic with children) (weekly amount) | 140.60 | ||
widow(er) - officer higher rate (basic with children) (£ per annum) | 7,477.00 |
| |
childless widow(er), Under age 40 (other ranks) (weekly amount) | 33.67 | ||
widow(er)- officer lower rate (£ per annum) | 2,597.00 | ||
supplementary pension | 94.05 | ||
Age Allowance | |||
(a) age 65 to 69 | 16.00 | ||
(b) age 70 to 79 | 30.80 | ||
(c) age 80 and over | 45.70 | ||
Children’s Allowance | |||
first child | 22.05 | ||
subsequent children | 24.70 | ||
Orphan’s Pension | |||
first child | 25.25 |
| |
subsequent children | 27.60 | ||
adult orphan’s pension (maximum) |
|
|
On 16 January 2018 they were also published on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/war-disablement-pension-rates-2018
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Government Departments owe money to the Ministry of Defence for the use of RAF aircraft by Ministers.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Information on Ministerial travel is published on a quarterly transparency return on ww.gov.uk.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 27 June 2017, Contingent Liability, HCWS 14, that three Type 26 global combat ships will be built, (a) how much steel in tonnes will be used to construct those ships and (b) what the country of origin is of that steel.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Around 4,000 tonnes of steel will be required to build each Type 26 Frigate. Steel will be sourced principally from the UK and Sweden. For some grades of plate steel the combination of thickness, size and flatness specifications needed for the Type 26 Frigates mean that the steel cannot be sourced in its entirety in the UK.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on utility bills for sites owned by his Department that have been officially closed in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
This information is not held. The Department holds utilities bills by geographical area and not by site.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) official and (b) official sensitive documents have been recorded as lost by his Department since 8 May 2015.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Between May 2015 and March 2017, the number of OFFICIAL documents recorded as lost/stolen was 1,765. This figure includes the loss/theft of 1,737 ID cards, which are categorised as OFFICIAL documents.
Between May 2015 and March 2017, the number of OFFICIAL SENSITIVE documents recorded as lost/stolen was 188.
The Ministry of Defence treats all breaches of security very seriously and requires all breaches to be reported regardless of whether there is firm evidence of breach or otherwise (for example if there is just an inability to account for an individual document for a period of time). All incidents are subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.