Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will re-evaluate the adequacy of the armed forces' tactical lift capability.
Answered by James Heappey
Strategic and tactical airlift provided by the RAF's Air Mobility fleet are key components of UK defence capability. Both are kept under review through the Capability Investigation process to ensure we are able to meet our current and future requirements in a rapidly changing and volatile world.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to award a coronation medal.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government is supporting The Royal Household to develop a range of plans for the Coronation. More details about the Coronation will be released as they are confirmed.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to ensure adequate provision for early-years childcare for service families based in the UK in the same way that his Department does for provision of primary and secondary schools.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The publication of the UK Armed Forces Families Strategy 2022 to 2032 seeks to address the needs of modern, diverse, Service families. This includes work to ensure that families are able to access appropriate, enriching and safeguarded childcare for their children.
An early success has been the launch of the Wraparound Childcare scheme which provides funding support to eligible Service families who have children aged 4 – 11; typically around £3,400 per child, per academic year, although this amount will vary dependent on location, the type of provider and the number of hours claimed. As at March 2023 there were over 6,800 children making use of this scheme.
Working with colleagues across government and through the Ministry of Defence Local Authorities Partnership groups, Defence will continue to help to identify areas where provision does not meet demand and will seek collaboratively to address these issues.
The challenges of accessing appropriate childcare are a societal issue. The government recently announced its intention to significantly expand the current entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare per week, to include children from the age of nine months through to when they start school. This expansion will be of significant benefit to Armed Forces families, as well as the general population.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support service families with childcare provision.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The publication of the UK Armed Forces Families Strategy 2022 to 2032 seeks to address the needs of modern, diverse, Service families. This includes work to ensure that families are able to access appropriate, enriching and safeguarded childcare for their children.
An early success has been the launch of the Wraparound Childcare scheme which provides funding support to eligible Service families who have children aged 4 – 11; typically around £3,400 per child, per academic year, although this amount will vary dependent on location, the type of provider and the number of hours claimed. As at March 2023 there were over 6,800 children making use of this scheme.
Working with colleagues across government and through the Ministry of Defence Local Authorities Partnership groups, Defence will continue to help to identify areas where provision does not meet demand and will seek collaboratively to address these issues.
The challenges of accessing appropriate childcare are a societal issue. The government recently announced its intention to significantly expand the current entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare per week, to include children from the age of nine months through to when they start school. This expansion will be of significant benefit to Armed Forces families, as well as the general population.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on the A400M parachute trials.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
On current planning, the first clearance for low-level parachuting is anticipated in April 2023. The aircraft is already cleared for high altitude parachuting.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the C130J fleet after its replacement by A400M.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Royal Air Force's C-130J Hercules capability is planned to be withdrawn from service on 30 June 2023. Appropriate disposal activities have already begun in support of the potential sale of the airframes, flight simulators, support equipment, and the remaining specialised C130J spares inventory.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much alcohol is permitted to be drunk by sailors on Royal Navy submarines whilst on operations.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The consumption of alcohol on Royal Navy submarines is governed by Submarine General Orders. Personnel on duty may not consume alcohol while on board Royal Navy submarines and off-duty consumption is tightly regulated to ensure that individuals are fit for duty if required at short notice.
Commanding Officers may further restrict alcohol consumption should operational circumstances necessitate it.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what proportion of time the UK's Vanguard-class submarines have been (a) at sea and (b) in refit in the last five years.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Royal Navy has provided the Continuous At Sea Deterrent for an unbroken 54 years with Operation RELENTLESS. However, we do not disclose these details for operational security reasons as to do so could or would prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps with allies to build a factory in Poland to supply military aid to Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
UK partnership with Poland is integral to our support to Ukraine. The Polish government is exceptionally generous with the provision of infrastructure and basing to support the movement of equipment to Ukraine, the training of personnel and the testing of equipment. Polish firms already support a variety of UK contracts for support to Ukraine and we will make additional investments wherever they can expedite our support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase the Army's number of combat-ready qualified parachutists.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence regularly reviews the requirement for its airdrop capability and will continue to do so following the publication of the Integrated Review Refresh.
A number of steps are already being taken to increase the number of combat-ready qualified parachutists including using Army Parachute Jump Instructors to support the RAF's training delivery, the rollout of A400M Low-Level Parachute Capability, a short-term commercial contract solution for a military parachute training aircraft, and the procurement of a new military parachute system.