Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to reduce emissions produced by the armed forces.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
MOD is committed to reducing its carbon emissions and fully contributing to the UK achieving its legal commitment to be Net Zero by 2050.
Work is underway across the MOD and Defence is beginning to drive real change; from innovation on future fuels through to embedding energy efficient measures in our bases. Underpinning all this work is the need to ensure national security and preserve our capability levels.
The Department's current progress on reducing emissions has been published in Annex D of MOD's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (publishing.service.gov.uk).
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2021 to Question 41086 on Iran: International Military Services, whether court proceedings between International Military Services Ltd and Modsaf have closed or if further hearings are expected.
Answered by Ben Wallace
All legal proceedings in the dispute between International Military Services (IMS) Ltd and Iran's Ministry of Defence (MODSAF) have been dismissed.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether IMS will now be closed down following the settlement of its debt to Iran, or whether he expects it still to be operating in the next financial year.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The closing down of International Military Services (IMS Ltd) is currently underway and is expected to be completed in Financial Year 2022-23.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date his Department provided IMS Ltd with formal notice of the reporting requirements and regulations as a designated Arms Length Body of the Government.
Answered by Ben Wallace
IMS Ltd is fully aware of the reporting requirements and regulations associated with its status as an Arms Length Body. These are reviewed and considered through regular dialogue between the company and relevant Defence officials.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date responsibility for the day-to-day activities of IMS Ltd was transferred to his Department, as stated in its 2019-20 company accounts.
Answered by Ben Wallace
Day-to-day activity of IMS Ltd has been overseen by permanent Defence officials since they were appointed to the Board of Directors the 4 of September 2020.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a date has been set for the next court hearing for the IMS-Modsaf arbitration.
Answered by Ben Wallace
We have not received a further hearing date from the court in respect of this dispute.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the corrected Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 161825, on what date (a) International Military Services Ltd (IMS) or (b) his Department took the decision that IMS should stop taking on new business.
Answered by Ben Wallace
In 1989, Ministers directed IMS Ltd to cease taking on new business by 1991.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the corrected Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 161825, what new business International Military Services Ltd undertook between 1989 and 1991.
Answered by Ben Wallace
At present, we are not aware of any new contracts signed by IMS Ltd between 1989-91. Once COVID19 guidelines allow, it would be possible to conduct a review of IMS Ltd records to determine whether there is any record of new contracts in that period.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 161824, to what extent IMS Ltd has (a) retained and (b) destroyed records of its commercial activities beyond the legally required seven years; on what date records were retained and destroyed; whether destruction of records included IMS Ltd records relating to contracts with foreign states, or contracts backed by UK state export credit guarantees; and whether IMS Ltd received authorisation from his Department for destruction of records.
Answered by Ben Wallace
Prior to its designation as an Arms-Length Body of Government in 2019, IMS Ltd was not required to seek authorisation for the destruction or retention of such records, beyond the requirements observed by all commercial entities of records, nor to record.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 161824, whether his Department (a) retained and (b) continues to retain its own records of IMS Ltd’s outstanding supply commitments at July 1991; whether those records have been placed in the National Archives; and whether any of those records have been destroyed.
Answered by Ben Wallace
A recent search for such material in Ministry of Defence files in support of a Freedom of Information request found no such records. Any records which do survive will be considered for release to the National Archives in line with standard practice.