Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) highly skilled jobs are created at RAF Valley and (b) existing highly skilled jobs are retained.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) commitment to RAF Valley is enduring. It is the second largest employer on Ynys Mon and the largest single employer on the island of skilled workers with around 1,200 civilian contractors and 300 uniformed personnel based there. The MOD continues to invest heavily in the station, including investment announced in the last 18 months of some £775 million that will continue to support hundreds of skilled jobs in the local area over the coming years.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many highly skilled jobs are based at RAF Valley; and whether he has plans to increase that number.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) commitment to RAF Valley is enduring. It is the second largest employer on Ynys Mon and the largest single employer on the island of skilled workers with around 1,200 civilian contractors and 300 uniformed personnel based there. The MOD continues to invest heavily in the station, including investment announced in the last 18 months of some £775 million that will continue to support hundreds of skilled jobs in the local area over the coming years.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to move additional Red Arrows depth work to RAF Valley on Ynys Môn.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 19 April 2021 in response to Question 180656.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to make efficiencies in the Hawk UK programme (a) in the UK and (b) on Anglesey.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
It was announced in the Defence Command Paper that Hawk T1 aircraft would be retired from combat support roles reflecting improvements in synthetic training capabilities.
Work continues on the optimum drawdown profile and transition to new operational training capabilities. It is therefore too early to determine what efficiencies might be implemented for the Hawk fleet in the UK as a whole or on Anglesey.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to move any of the operations from RAF Valley on Anglesey to RAF Leeming.
Answered by James Heappey
There are no plans to move any flying operations from RAF Valley to RAF Leeming. RAF Valley will remain the home of UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) Hawk T2, Texan T1 and Jupiter fleets.
We have announced that the Qatar Emiri Air Force will base their new Hawk Mk167 aircraft at RAF Leeming and these will be jointly manned by RAF personnel. We have also announced Hawk T1 with 100 Squadron will drawdown at RAF Leeming later in the decade.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, what estimate he has made of the cost of the additional nuclear warheads.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Members for Brighton, Pavilion and Glasgow South on 13 April 2021 to Questions 174806 and 175921.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the allocation of Red Arrows depth work to RAF Valley to mitigate the effect of any T1 Black Fleet reductions; and what effect that increase in allocation will have on employment levels in Ynys Môn.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence is committed to RAF Valley which delivers world leading aircrew fast jet training, and the advanced Hawk T2 aircraft, used for lead-in fighter training, together with Texan T1 aircraft in the basic fast jest training role will continue to be operated, maintained and upgraded at the station, thereby sustaining high quality engineering employment on Ynys Môn.
The retirement of Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawk T1 aircraft from combat support roles was announced in the recent Defence Command Paper but the out of service date is yet to be determined, as are any potential implications of the withdrawal of these aircraft on employment on Ynys Môn. No decision has yet been taken on the location of the future maintenance for the RAF Aerobatic Team (Red Arrows), within the framework of the Future Hawk Support Contract.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the out of service date is for the RAF T1 Black Fleet; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the cessation of that fleet on employment on Ynys Môn.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence is committed to RAF Valley which delivers world leading aircrew fast jet training, and the advanced Hawk T2 aircraft, used for lead-in fighter training, together with Texan T1 aircraft in the basic fast jest training role will continue to be operated, maintained and upgraded at the station, thereby sustaining high quality engineering employment on Ynys Môn.
The retirement of Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawk T1 aircraft from combat support roles was announced in the recent Defence Command Paper but the out of service date is yet to be determined, as are any potential implications of the withdrawal of these aircraft on employment on Ynys Môn. No decision has yet been taken on the location of the future maintenance for the RAF Aerobatic Team (Red Arrows), within the framework of the Future Hawk Support Contract.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to offer non-religious pastoral care to members of the Armed Forces.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes all aspects of the health and wellbeing of its personnel very seriously; we are working to create and sustain an environment where people feel able to be authentic in the workplace; where people feel respected and able to achieve their full potential.
All military Chaplains have long provided pastoral care to those of all faiths and none. Assurance work in this area consistently indicates that Service personnel have a high degree of satisfaction with this pastoral care – which is always non-invasive, professionally qualified and non-partisan. In addition, all Service personnel can access pastoral care from a variety of sources, including from within their Chain of Command, through the Services’ professional social workers, medical staff, welfare staff and via the various staff networks.
In Defence we encourage and support a number of faith and belief staff networks to support and connect people with each other and help to create a better working environment for our staff. They also play an important role connecting Defence to local faith and belief communities, who often have a strong interest in our work. The Defence Humanist Network (DHN) is a thriving community, led by a strong champion, promoting Humanism consistently within Defence.
The DHN is committed to giving personnel with humanist beliefs the option to talk to someone with a similar view on life, should they need pastoral support. The DHN, working together with the MOD’s Diversity and Inclusion team, have an active ongoing project which seeks to address the delivery of pastoral care to Defence personnel.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's News story of 17 July 2020 entitled £200-million announced for vital improvements to troops' accommodation, if he will allocate a portion of that funding to RAF Valley to support personnel visiting for short training stints thereby making sourcing accommodation challenging.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The funding allocated to the Royal Air Force as part of this announcement will be prioritised to improve existing accommodation across its estate. No current requirement has been identified for additional accommodation to support visiting personnel at RAF Valley.