Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date his Department plan to publish the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The National Shipbuilding Strategy will be published in spring 2017.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's most recent estimate is of the total cost of developing and delivering the UK's maritime patrol capability to 2026; and how much of that cost relates to (a) P8 Poseidon aircraft, (b) wages and training, (c) infrastructure and (d) support at RAF Lossiemouth.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Contractual negotiations are still ongoing with a range of commercial companies and the overall costs of the project have yet to be fully finalised.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the nine Boeing P8 Poseidon aircraft to (a) be delivered and (b) come into service.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Ministry of Defence is procuring nine P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft via a Foreign Military Sale arrangement from the US Government. Under the agreed schedule, the first UK aircraft is due to be delivered in 2019, and the final one is expected in 2021. It is anticipated that the first aircraft will begin to operate from RAF Lossiemouth in 2020.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which financial year (a) war pensions, (b) contributions to UN peacekeeping missions, (c) the Single Intelligence Account and (d) pensions for retired personnel were first included in his Department's reporting to NATO on defence expenditure.
Answered by Michael Fallon
As with other NATO allies, from time to time we update our approach to ensure we are categorising defence spending fully in accordance with NATO guidelines, seeking to capture all spending contributing to the defence of the United Kingdom.
Military pensions were included in the then NATO Government's return of defence spending for the first time in 2005-06.
War pensions, parts of the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund relating to peacekeeping, and pension payments to retired Ministry of Defence civil servants were first included in 2015-16.
As announced in the July 2015 Budget, elements of the Single Intelligence Account that relate to defence were first included in 2016-17.
NATO sets the criteria for defence spending, and like all NATO members we abide by those criteria.
NATO has confirmed that the UK continues to spend over 2 per cent of GDP on defence.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the National Audit Office in its report, entitled The Equipment Plan 2016-2026, published in January 2017, that his Department must generate £5.8 billion of new savings from projects within the Equipment Plan to meet its new commitments; and how his Department plans to make such savings.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The £5.8 billion savings target within the Equipment Plan over the next 10 years was agreed with the Cabinet Office and Her Majesty's Treasury during the 2015 Spending Review. It was built into our policies and assumptions, including those relating to the Equipment Plan, at the time.
As laid out in the National Audit Office's report, the savings will be found from the following areas:
£1.7 billion from reviews of contracts under the Single Source Contract Regulations;
£3.3 billion from transformation activities within Defence Equipment and Support;
£0.8 billion from a number of other sources, including continuing reviews of support projects and test and evaluation expenditure.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to replace the GWS 60/Harpoon Block 1C anti-ship missiles when they are withdrawn from Royal Navy service at the end of 2016.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 November 2016 to Question number 53477 to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Mrs Flick Drummond).
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what projections he has made of the size of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force in 2017-18.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015 set clear targets for the required number of trained Regular and Reserve Service personnel in April 2020, including 82,000 Regulars in the Army, 30,450 in the Royal Navy/Royal Marines and 31,750 in the Royal Air Force. Key details of the SDSR 2015 targets can be found at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/494895/SDSR_2015_Booklet_vers_15.pdf
The Ministry of Defence undertakes detailed manpower planning for the Armed Forces but does not publish interim projections.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the full order of Ajax armoured vehicles to be delivered to the British Army.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The first vehicles from the AJAX fleet will be delivered to the British Army in April 2017, with deliveries scheduled to be complete in 2025.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Ajax armoured vehicle in combat situations.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
AJAX vehicles will transform the Army's medium armour and advanced intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability. They will be able to conduct sustained, expeditionary, full spectrum operations with a minimal logistic footprint, in a wide range of combat situations and potential future operating environments. As it is brought into service, AJAX will undergo rigorous trials and experimentation to understand and further optimise its combat effectiveness.