Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the UK's airborne early warning aircraft capability is for air and maritime threat to the UK.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Royal Air Force has six Sentry airborne early warning Mk1 aircraft, which are declared to the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force and fulfil a range of roles including air and sea surveillance and airborne command and control. | |||||||
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many serving members of the Fleet Air Arm have given notice of their intention to leave before serving the time that they signed up for in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The number of serving members of the Fleet Air Arm who have given notice of their intention to leave before serving the time that they signed up for in each of the last five years is as follows:
Years | Total No*. |
July 2010 - June 2011 | 200 |
July 2011 - June 2012 | 200 |
July 2012 - June 2013 | 270 |
July 2013 - June 2014 | 340 |
July 2014 - June 2015 | 320 |
*The above figures have been rounded in accordance with Defence Statistics Policy; as a result, the totals may not equal the sum of their component parts.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the level of morale amongst military personnel on the front line.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Although the Ministry of Defence does not measure the level of morale amongst Armed Forces personnel specifically on the front line, we do conduct an annual continuous attitude survey which measures morale and I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 June 2015 to Question 498 to the hon. Member for North Durham (Kevan Jones).
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length of tour for army personnel serving overseas in combat zones has been in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The majority of Army personnel deployed to Afghanistan had an average tour length of approximately 180 days, in line with the standard operational tour length.
The Army's policy is that six months is the optimal tour length for an intense operational deployment within a combat zone. Over the past three years, as service in the Afghanistan combat zone was drawn to a close, the standard tour length remained six months. Some personnel were required to serve up to 12 months and some specialist personnel had tours of four months or less.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average availability of indulgence flights in military aircraft for army personnel serving overseas returning to the UK on leave has been in the last three years.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who is responsible for paying the cost of the excess on a travel insurance claim for cancelled flights when leave is cancelled at short notice for soldiers serving overseas.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Service personnel who have purchased an insurance policy which includes cancellation cover are entitled to claim back the excess fee from the Ministry of Defence when their leave is cancelled at short notice for service reasons.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of serving military personnel in combat zones purchased their own clothing in preference to army issue kit.
Answered by Philip Dunne
This information is not held by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The MOD is fully committed to ensuring that our Armed Forces are properly resourced, funded and equipped. There may be occasions when serving personnel opt to customise the equipment provided to them. However, there is no need for them to do so and it is purely a matter of personal choice.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has been made of the quality and robustness of army issue clothing for serving military personnel.
Answered by Philip Dunne
All clothing items issued to UK Armed Forces are made to stringent specifications developed after field trials and laboratory testing to ensure that the garment is fit for purpose for the task required.
The range, quality and versatility of the clothing we issue to our troops is far greater than it has ever been and we are continually working to make further improvements.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the nutritional value of army provided meals for army personnel serving overseas.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Ministry of Defence personnel in the UK and permanent bases overseas are primarily catered for through a number of multi-activity contracts. Armed Forces personnel serving on operations, exercises and HM Ships and Submarines, are catered for under a single food supply contract with Purple Foodservice Solutions Ltd.
The daily diet provided for each member of the Armed Forces serving on operations and exercises ensures that their meals are both nutritious and varied and provide a minimum of 4,000 calories per day, this being the recommended daily allowance required for such activity.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average annual allowance is for army personnel serving overseas for travel on leave back to the UK.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Allowable costs vary widely with location, ranging from £148 for Germany to £1,235 for Diego Garcia. In financial year 2014-15 Army personnel claimed an average of £380.