Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to the armed forces.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
UK defence spending is at its highest level in history and increasing in real terms. We have increased the budget for our Equipment Plan and set out our longer-term aspiration to invest 2.5% of GDP on defence.
We continue to meet all operational commitments, including participating in every single NATO mission and tackling attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the military capability provided by (a) Challenger 3 armoured vehicles and (b) other tanks.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Army’s Challenger 3 Main Battle Tank Programme will deliver 148 modernised Main Battle Tanks, providing Defence’s only guaranteed, 24 hour, all weather, mobile anti-tank capability, delivering a step change in lethality and survivability over its predecessors. Alongside Ajax and Boxer, Challenger 3 will form the backbone of the Armoured Brigade Combat Teams, which are the cornerstone of the UK warfighting capability and an essential component of NATO’s deterrence objectives.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Ukraine has the military weapons required to defend its territories.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence continues to play a leading role in helping Ukraine defend its territories, working with Allies and partners to support Ukraine's right to be a sovereign, independent and democratic nation.
We have already committed £1.3 billion for military operations and aid, including giving Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, to meet Ukrainian Armed Forces' requests for assistance. We are also making a major contribution to the coordination of military support from our Allies and partners to enable Ukraine to repel Russian aggression.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
What recent assessment he has made of the strength of the armed forces.
Answered by James Heappey
The total strength of the Armed Forces is 168,880.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
As at 31 January 2021, three per cent of civilian staff employed by the Ministry of Defence are apprentices.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of people who surrendered their war widow's pension on remarrying or cohabiting before before 1 April 2015.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the people recruited by the (a) British Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force in 2019 resided in (i) Chesterfield constituency, (ii) Derbyshire and (iii) the East Midlands.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The requested information is provided in the table below:
Intake to the Untrained Regular Armed Forces from Chesterfield, Derbyshire and the East Midlands, 1 April 2018 - 31 March 2019
Enlistment Location | Royal Navy/Royal Marines (RN/RM) | British Army | Royal Air Force (RAF) |
Chesterfield | ~ | 10 | ~ |
Derbyshire | 30 | 110 | 50 |
East Midlands | 150 | 520 | 270 |
Notes:
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what was his Department's performance against Departmental Expenditure Limits in 2018-19 for (a) salaries, (b) accommodation and (c) equipment.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence performance in financial year 2018-19 for salaries, accommodation and equipment are published in the department's annual report and accounts, which can be found on https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831728/MOD_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2018-19_WEB__ERRATUM_CORRECTED_.pdf
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department underspent on (a) salaries, (b) accommodation and (c) equipment in 2019 through not achieving its target of a British Army standing strength of 82,000.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Defence Secretary has made recruitment and retention in the British Army the Chief of the General Staff's overriding objective.
The Department's financial planning process allows for regular re-prioritisation of funds. Accommodation and equipment costs are relatively fixed in the short term and are unlikely to vary with fluctuations in strength.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the number of veterans who have served in the armed forces who reside in each local authority area.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Department does not record the number of veterans who reside in each local authority.
An estimated distribution of the UK Armed Forces veteran population residing in Great Britain can be found in the 'Annual Population Survey: UK Armed Forces Veterans Residing in Great Britain', the latest edition of which (2017) is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/annual-population-survey-uk-armed-forces-veterans-residing-in-great-britain. As at 2017, there were an estimated 2.4 million UK Armed Forces veterans residing in households across Great Britain.
The sample size of the Annual Population Survey is statistically too small to produce veteran estimates at geographical locations below county level.
However, the Department does hold information on UK Armed Forces veterans in each local authority who are in receipt of an Armed Forces occupational pension, a disablement pension under the War Pensions Scheme or compensation under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. This information can be found in table 3 of “Location of Armed Forces pension and compensation recipients: as at 31 March 2018 (annex A)” which is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-of-armed-forces-pension-and-compensation-recipients-2018.