Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of potential development sites for onshore wind which fall within the vicinity of the Eskdalemuir Seismological Array (ESA) in Scotland.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is a statutory consultee in the UK planning systems to safeguard operational defence sites. As such, the MOD is consulted on all wind farm planning applications within 50km of the Eskdalemuir Seismological Array.
The MOD cannot predict or estimate the number of wind farm applications that it may be consulted on.
The MOD routinely responds to representations and will raise objections to any development that may adversely impact Defence activities.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Ministerial severance payments in each year from December 2019 to May 2024 are published as part of the annual reportand accounts for the Department.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on providing the Ukrainian army with (a) body armour and (b) other personal protective equipment.
Answered by James Heappey
We are committed to donating further quantities of personal protective equipment to Ukraine. This equipment is drawn from stockpiles and all options are being considered which do not adversely impact on the UK's own reserves.
To date, the UK has provided some 3,000 sets of body armour to Ukraine. We have also provided 2,000 helmets, 4,000 cold weather boots and 75,000 ear defenders.
We continue to work with Allies and partners to prioritise and coordinate the provision and delivery of defensive aid in response to Ukrainian requests for assistance. We will continue to do all we can to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much was received by his Department from the Commercial Exploitation Levy in the financial years (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18 and (d) 2018-19; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Heappey
The commercial exploitation levy is a form of royalty for any commercial sales of a design, use of special tooling or the granting of licences where the Ministry of Defence has contributed to research and development costs. The gross amount received in each year since 2015-16 is in the table:
Year | £ million |
2015-16 | 20.1 |
2016-17 | 10.8 |
2017-18 | 6.6 |
2018-19 | 52.7 |