Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it his policy that people with tattoos are able to join the Army.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Individuals with tattoos are able to join the Army, subject to some restrictions. There have been some recent changes made to the Army’s visible tattoo policy following a review this year. I can confirm that, moving forwards, only tattoos on the face and front of the ear will be a bar to entry, in addition to tattoos that are deemed as offensive, obscene or racist.
Further information and guidance for prospective candidates can be found online: https://jobs.army.mod.uk/how-to-join/can-i-apply/tattoos-and-piercings/
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has deprioritised any Statutory Instruments on UK leaving the EU; and if he will publish the criteria his Department used to deprioritise those Instruments.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence has not deprioritised any European Union (EU) exit Statutory Instruments (SIs). Given the extension to Article 50, the Department will consider whether any further EU exit SIs will need to be brought forward to amend any EU Regulations, which have come into force since the original EU Exit SI programme was finalised. The Department will keep this under careful review.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has undertaken any evaluation of how training the Burmese military has led to improvements in human rights.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Ministry of Defence does not provide combat training to the Burmese military. We do provide educational training to the Burmese military in the form of programmes delivered by the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom on the role of the military in a democracy, leadership and English language training. The British Government does not hold information on whether any Burmese Army soldiers who have received educational training from the UK are involved in military operations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, nor have we undertaken any evaluation of how educational training provided to the Burmese military has led to improvements in human rights. Our programme of engagement with the Burmese military remains under continual review.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on whether any Burmese Army soldiers who have received training from the UK are involved in military operations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Ministry of Defence does not provide combat training to the Burmese military. We do provide educational training to the Burmese military in the form of programmes delivered by the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom on the role of the military in a democracy, leadership and English language training. The British Government does not hold information on whether any Burmese Army soldiers who have received educational training from the UK are involved in military operations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, nor have we undertaken any evaluation of how educational training provided to the Burmese military has led to improvements in human rights. Our programme of engagement with the Burmese military remains under continual review.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has undertaken a review of offering further training to the Burmese military to take account of recent serious human rights violations by the Burmese military against Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State and against ethnic Kachin civilians in Kachin State and northern Shan State, Burma.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Ministry of Defence does not provide combat training to the Burmese military. We do provide educational training to the Burmese military in the form of programmes delivered by the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom on the role of the military in a democracy, leadership and English language training. The British Government does not hold information on whether any Burmese Army soldiers who have received educational training from the UK are involved in military operations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, nor have we undertaken any evaluation of how educational training provided to the Burmese military has led to improvements in human rights. Our programme of engagement with the Burmese military remains under continual review.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of redundancies in the UK steel industry on the proportion of defence procurement that arises from UK businesses.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Steel is sourced by our contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers, reflecting the need to ensure competitive cost, time and quality. The Ministry of Defence has not directly made an assessment of the likely effect of redundancies in the UK steel industry but, is represented on the cross-Government steel procurement working group led by the Cabinet Office, and new Government guidelines, which include the need for effective pre-procurement engagement, will help UK suppliers compete for contracts and continue to support future defence requirements for steel.