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Written Question
NATO
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) location is of and (b) deployment levels are at each NATO (i) owned and (ii) operated sites.

Answered by James Heappey

The UK is one of the largest contributors of personnel to NATO, underlining our commitment to deterrence and defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area.

The table below shows the number of UK personnel posted to NATO Peacetime Establishment locations, with personnel in 39 NATO locations in 19 countries all over Europe and the Continental US, and the UK has proportional workforce equity at all locations.

Country

Location

UK Fill

Country

Location

UK Fill

Belgium

Brussels

50

Netherlands

Brunssum

110

Mons

170

Norway

Stavanger

30

Bulgaria

Sofia

~

Poland

Bydgoszcz

~

Estonia

Tallin

~

Elblag

~

France

Lille

10

Szczecin

~

Germany

Geilenkirchen

10

Portugal

Lisbon

10

Munster

10

Oeiras

~

Oberammergau

~

Romania

Bucharest

~

Ramstein

70

Slovakia

Bratislava

~

Uedem

20

Spain

Torrejon

20

Ulm

20

Valencia

~

Wesel

30

Türkiye

Istanbul

10

Greece

Thessaloniki

~

Izmir

30

Italy

Milan

20

UK

Blandford

50

Naples

120

Molesworth

10

Poggio

20

Northwood

60

Sigonella

~

Yeovilton

~

Latvia

Adazi

~

USA

Norfolk

50

Riga

~

Tampa

~

"~" denotes a number less than or equal to 5.

Data have been rounded to 10 and therefore totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.


Written Question
Arms Trade: Israel
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Janke (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the recent decisions by the governments of Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands suspending the licensing of arms and military equipment to Israel, whether they will review the United Kingdom’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria and suspend the licensing of arms and military equipment to Israel.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government takes its defence export responsibilities extremely seriously and operates some of the most robust export controls in the world.

The Government continue to monitor closely the situation in Israel and Gaza, and if extant licences are found to be no longer consistent with the UK Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC), then those licences can be revoked, suspended or amended.


Written Question
Littoral Warfare
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press release entitled New Amphibious Transport Ships better suited for war conditions, published by the Dutch Ministry of Defence on 6 March 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to end the joint procurement of a littoral strike platform with the UK on the Royal Navy’s plans to acquire this capability through the Multi-Role Support Ship programme.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Multi-Role Support Ship Programme is currently in its pre-concept phase, which has included the exploration of opportunities to collaborate with the Netherlands on common design options, interoperability, and equipment commonality. The focus is on determining the requirement and on setting the programme up for success, with work ongoing to ensure affordability.

The UK continues to have a strong and enduring relationship with the amphibious forces of the Netherlands, and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Netherlands last year reaffirmed that commitment. The intent will be collaborate and co-operate across the amphibious and littoral domains, both in developing equipment capability, interoperability and exploiting training opportunities to mutual benefit.


Written Question
Netherlands
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions the Government has had with the government of the Netherlands on the future Littoral Strike Platform.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Multi-Role Support Ship Programme is currently in its pre-concept phase, which has included the exploration of opportunities to collaborate with the Netherlands on common design options, interoperability, and equipment commonality. The focus is on determining the requirement and on setting the programme up for success, with work ongoing to ensure affordability.

The UK continues to have a strong and enduring relationship with the amphibious forces of the Netherlands, and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Netherlands last year reaffirmed that commitment. The intent will be collaborate and co-operate across the amphibious and littoral domains, both in developing equipment capability, interoperability and exploiting training opportunities to mutual benefit.


Written Question
Ukraine: Military Aid
Friday 15th March 2024

Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value of contributions by each country is to the International Fund for Ukraine.

Answered by James Heappey

To date seven countries have contributed £896 million to the International Fund for Ukraine. These contributions are set out in the following table:

Country

Contribution in £million

Denmark

133

Iceland

3

Lithuania

5

Netherlands

110

Norway

119

Sweden

26

UK

500

Australia and New Zealand have recently announced their intention to contribute 50 million Australian dollars and 6.5 million New Zealand dollars to the International Fund for Ukraine.


Written Question
Music: EU Countries
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Berkeley of Knighton (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Treasury has made any assessment of the economic effect of post-Brexit arrangements for the music industry, including the altered ability of British artists to tour and perform in Europe.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

We are committed to supporting and promoting a thriving live music industry and ensuring the continued growth of this vital and vibrant sector. The music industry is one of the UK's greatest success stories, producing an extraordinary level of talent recognised and respected the world over.

Since the UK’s exit from the EU, the vast majority of Member States have clarified arrangements or introduced easements to allow visa and work permit free routes for UK performers for some short-term touring. This includes most of the UK’s biggest touring markets such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands. It also includes Spain, which changed its position following engagement from the UK Government and industry.

The Government works closely with the sector and continue to engage with the few remaining Member States to improve arrangements or clarify guidance.

The Government is committed to supporting the UK's brilliant artists to adapt to the new arrangements as part of the Creative Industries Sector Vision, that is why we announced that funding for the Music Exports Growth Scheme (MEGS) will be tripled to £3.2 million over the next two years. This will enable touring artists to break into new international markets.

The Government also provides generous support for orchestras to tour through orchestra tax relief, which currently has a rate of 50%. At Spring Budget 2024, the Government announced that orchestras will permanently receive a rate of 45% from 1 April 2025.


Written Question
Imports: EU Countries
Wednesday 28th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, they have held with EU countries regarding the introduction of safety and security declaration requirements for EU imports on 31 October, and what were the contents of any such discussions.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Government officials engage regularly with officials from EU Member States to discuss new customs-related requirements, including safety and security declarations. This has included official visits to Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland with further engagement planned for Italy, Spain, Poland and Germany in 2024. Baroness Neville-Rolfe visited Belgium to discuss import controls with the Belgian Government and industry in early February 2024. Partners have been extremely helpful in communicating these requirements using their own stakeholder communication channels, and providing suggestions for further guidance that could be helpful. More formal communication of these changes to EU Member States took place in the Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin, the minutes of which can be found on gov.uk.


Written Question
Military Exercises
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 10764, how many times British armed forces personnel have taken part in (a) bilateral and (b) multinational training exercises with (i) Germany, (ii) France, (iii) Italy, (iv) Poland, (v) the Netherlands, (vi) USA and (vii) Spain.

Answered by James Heappey

The information requested is not held centrally. The following has been compiled from sources across the single-Services. It is a ‘best estimate’ based on the available information.

Year

Bilateral

RN

Army

RAF

Multinational

RN

Army*

RAF

2016

Germany

6

0

0

Germany

2

0

France

4

4

0

France

6

0

Italy

0

1

0

Italy

3

0

Poland

0

0

0

Poland

1

0

The Netherlands

0

0

0

The Netherlands

2

0

USA

7

15

0

USA

7

3

Spain

0

2

0

Spain

2

0

2017

Germany

1

0

0

Germany

2

0

France

1

4

0

France

9

0

Italy

0

1

0

Italy

1

0

Poland

0

1

0

Poland

1

0

The Netherlands

2

0

0

The Netherlands

3

0

USA

3

15

0

USA

12

3

Spain

2

2

0

Spain

0

0

2018

Germany

1

2

0

Germany

2

0

France

4

7

0

France

6

0

Italy

1

1

0

Italy

4

0

Poland

0

1

0

Poland

2

0

The Netherlands

0

2

0

The Netherlands

1

0

USA

5

19

0

USA

9

3

Spain

1

2

0

Spain

4

0

2019

Germany

0

1

0

Germany

2

0

France

5

9

0

France

6

0

Italy

0

1

0

Italy

3

0

Poland

2

1

0

Poland

1

0

The Netherlands

1

1

0

The Netherlands

5

0

USA

10

20

0

USA

9

4

Spain

1

2

0

Spain

3

0

2020

Germany

0

0

0

Germany

0

0

France

2

0

0

France

3

0

Italy

0

0

0

Italy

0

0

Poland

0

0

0

Poland

0

0

The Netherlands

2

0

0

The Netherlands

3

0

USA

6

0

0

USA

7

6

Spain

0

0

0

Spain

0

0

2021

Germany

0

2

0

Germany

3

3

France

5

6

0

France

7

3

Italy

1

1

0

Italy

3

4

Poland

0

1

0

Poland

2

0

The Netherlands

2

0

0

The Netherlands

6

1

USA

11

21

0

USA

17

8

Spain

0

2

0

Spain

3

1

2022

Germany

0

2

0

Germany

1

4

France

1

7

0

France

4

3

Italy

3

0

0

Italy

1

3

Poland

0

0

0

Poland

1

1

The Netherlands

0

1

0

The Netherlands

3

2

USA

3

22

0

USA

13

12

Spain

0

3

0

Spain

3

2

2023

Germany

0

4

0

Germany

2

2

France

1

7

0

France

9

3

Italy

0

1

0

Italy

1

1

Poland

0

0

0

Poland

1

1

The Netherlands

0

1

0

The Netherlands

3

1

USA

5

22

0

USA

15

10

Spain

0

3

0

Spain

2

2

* Due to the way in which Army data is held, multinational involvement cannot be readily separated from bilateral. Many of the bilateral exercises listed will be multinational, but the data capture only shows the primary sponsor of the exercise and not the additional participants. Army data from 2020 has been discounted due to uncertainty as to which exercises did or did not take place due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.


Written Question
Proscribed Organisations
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons the Islamic Army of Aden is a proscribed organisation; and whether they have any plans to proscribe the Houthi group as a proscribed organisation.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Islamic Army of Aden was proscribed in March 2001. It has a history of involvement in attempts to overthrow the Government of Yemen, including through use of terrorism to establish an Islamic State following Sharia Law.

The UK Government has been unequivocal: the illegal attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, as well as attacks against British and allied warships, are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Together with the US, the UK Government has imposed coordinated sanctions on the Houthis. This is in addition to the US-UK led strikes, conducted with support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain and Australia.

The Government does not routinely comment whether an organisation is under consideration for proscription. The Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review.


Written Question
Hamas: UNRWA
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the press notice entitled Allegations about UNRWA staff and 7 October attacks: FCDO statement, published on 27 January 2024, what steps his Department is taking to review those allegations; and what estimate he has made of when that review will be concluded.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. We are pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations.The United States, Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands have all temporarily paused funding.

The pause will remain in place until we review the allegations, and we are looking to our partners in the UN to carry out a robust and comprehensive investigation.

Any future funding decisions will be taken after this point.

Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response. We are getting on with aid delivery through funding multiple implementing partners including other UN agencies and international and UK NGOs. This support is helping people in Gaza get food, water, shelter and medicines.