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Written Question
Kneller Hall: Sales
Monday 15th April 2019

Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish Ministerial Submission Ref Army/Sec/21/02/80551; and if he will make a statement on the sale of Kneller Hall.

Answered by Tobias Ellwood

It is a long standing convention that advice to Ministers is not published as to do so would be likely to prohibit the free and frank provision of advice and inhibit the effective conduct of Government. Members of this House affected by the decision to vacate Kneller Hall have been informed about the future plans for it and I wrote to the right hon. Member on 28 February 2019 setting out this detail.

Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Brexit
Tuesday 5th February 2019

Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2019 to Question 207550 on Ministry of Defence: Brexit, how much of the £25 million allocated to his Department for Brexit preparations in 2018-19 and 2019-20 has been allocated to preparing for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton

Her Majesty’s Treasury has allocated over £4.2 billion of additional funding to departments and the Devolved Administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This breaks down as:

  • £412 million of additional funding over the spending review period for the Department for Exiting the European Union, Department for International Trade and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at Autumn Statement 2016.

  • £286 million of additional funding for 2017-18 (a full breakdown of which can be found in Supplementary Estimates 2017-18:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/679738/PU2137_Supplementary_estimates_web.pdf)

  • Over £1.5 billion of additional funding for 2018-19. A full breakdown of the allocations can be found in the Chief Secretary's Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, released on 13 March 2018:

(https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/)

  • Over £2 billion of additional funding for 2019-20. A full breakdown of the allocations can be found in the Chief Secretary's Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS1205, laid on 18 December 2018:

(https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-12-18/HCWS1205/)

  • The Ministry of Defence (MOD) was allocated £12.7 million in 2018-19, for costs arising as the UK leave the EU in any situation. This allocation has allowed the MOD to retain three Off-Shore Patrol Vessels and support EU Exit preparedness for UK defence bases in Europe, for either EU Exit scenario.

  • The final breakdown spend will be confirmed in the Supplementary Estimates 2018-19 which will be published at the end of the Financial Year. The MOD has also been allocated a total of £12 million in 2019-20 for either EU Exit scenario. The 2019-20 final breakdown spend will be confirmed in the Supplementary Estimates 2019-20 in early 2020.

Written Question
Military Aid: Public Order
Monday 28th January 2019

Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what roles service personnel on standby for the UK leaving the EU without a deal would have in such an event; and what roles have been specifically precluded for such personnel.

Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton

The Ministry of Defence is closely engaged with other Government Departments on contingency planning for a range of scenarios. At this point no formal requests have been received for support. As with extant Military Aid to Civil Authorities policy, any use of military personnel will be subject to agreement by a Defence Minister, who would need to be satisfied that it was appropriate to use military personnel in the manner requested.

Written Question
Military Aid: Public Order
Monday 28th January 2019

Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance his Department has issued to service personnel on standby for the UK leaving the EU on their role in maintaining public order.

Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton

The Ministry of Defence has been working across Government, including the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs' Council, to ensure that Defence is prepared for a range of scenarios. There are no plans to utilise military personnel for public order in the event of a no-deal Brexit, however Defence remains closely engaged on contingency planning and remains available to support the civil authorities if necessary.

Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Brexit
Wednesday 16th January 2019

Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much money his Department has allocated for preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal to date; how much of that funding has been made by way of ministerial direction; and for what functions that funding has been allocated.

Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has already allocated over £4.2 billion of additional funding to Departments and the devolved administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This includes the £1.5 billion of additional funding announced at Autumn Budget 2017 for 2018-19, and an additional allocation of £2 billion announced at Autumn Budget 2018 for 2019-20.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been allocated £12.7 million in 2018-19, and £12 million in 2019-20 for essential EU exit preparations for both deal and no deal scenarios. This will fund the administrative, legal and infrastructure requirements for Defence of leaving the EU, including for our bases and people in Europe. There has been no ministerial direction on this subject in the MOD.