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1610593

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Families Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for how long his Department plans to provide funding to the armed forces families fund.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	180726
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2023 answer text <p>The Armed Forces Families Fund is managed and administered by the Armed Forces Covenant Trust (AFCT) on behalf of Defence who fund the scheme. Defence sets the themes for the scheme’s funding criteria, which is then delivered by the AFCT. The funding is based on financial rather than calendar years and is subject to the same annual budgetary cycle checks and assurances as all other expenditure within Defence. The first round of funding concluded in March this year and publicly available details on the applications and funding were released by the AFCT (see link: <a href="https://covenantfund.org.uk/projects-weve-supported/" target="_blank">https://covenantfund.org.uk/projects-weve-supported/</a>) which showed:</p><p>Early Years programme: 18 grants totalling £903,546</p><p>Supporting Partners programme: 12 grants totalling £483,144</p><p>Education Support programme: 54 grants totalling £2,045,593</p><p> </p><p>In addition, a grant of £119,647 was awarded to SSAFA over a two-year period for the e-Redbook project.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison grouped question UIN 180724 180725 180727 180728 question first answered 24/04/2023 16:51:19 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1701569

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence Police: Defence Infrastructure Organisation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the line management of the Ministry of Defence Police has moved to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	22155
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 24/04/2024 16:52:41 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1698625

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Ethnic Groups
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason there is no armed forces recruitment target for ethnic minorities.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	20421
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>Whilst Defence has not set hard targets for the recruitment of ethnic minority personnel for the Armed Forces, we have set internally published levels of ambition to increase the recruitment and representation of underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities. The purpose of these levels of ambition is to act as a catalyst for innovation and activity, and to provide challenge and stretch to existing processes and approaches.</p><p>Defence has committed to improving the recruitment of ethnic minority personnel into the Armed Forces and is engaged in a wide range of activities to promote better understanding and enhance engagement with ethnic minority communities, reviewing Armed Forces recruitment processes and delivering more targeted marketing and communications towards potential ethnic minority applicants.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 19/04/2024 10:28:46 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1642512

	registered interest
	date	07/06/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons any military service undertaken before the age of 18 is not counted towards veterans' overall pension value.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	188371
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2023 answer text <p>The only Armed Forces' pension scheme in which service before the age of 18 is not taken into account when calculating the value of the pension is the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 75) for Regulars, which has existed in various forms since 1914, and which was closed to new entrants on 5 April 2005, on the introduction of the modernised AFPS 2005. The age requirements for the AFPS 75 scheme have been in place since at least 1940 and its pension structure is based on the 'band of brothers' principle under which all members who retire at the same rank with the same years of reckonable service receive the same pension.</p><p>The AFPS 75 rules do not specify a normal pension age, but the benefit structure assumes a pension age of 55. Reckonable service is defined as paid service after the age of 21 for Officers and 18 for Other Ranks, and the maximum which can be accrued by an Officer is 34 years, and by Other Ranks is 37 years. Under the terms of AFPS 75, Officers may retire with an immediate pension after sixteen years of service and Other Ranks may do the same after 22 years. However, the maximum (full) career pension is only payable where a member begins service at either 18 (Other Ranks) or 21 (Officers) and serves the relevant maximum years, retiring at 55.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 14/06/2023 12:28:05 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1686048

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Subject Access Requests
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how long on average it takes his Department to respond to a subject access request; and what proportion of such requests are answered after 20 days.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	12151
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>The data protection legislation requires Ministry of Defence (MOD) to respond to SARs within one month of receipt unless the request is complex and can be legally extended for total period not exceeding three months.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD receives around 45,000 requests each year. The MOD performance currently stands at over 90% of requests are responded to within the statutory legal deadlines.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 07/02/2024 14:15:59 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1702175

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Bereavement Counselling
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how long visiting officers allocated to a service family who have experienced the bereavement of a member of the armed forces are allocated for.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	22646
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) as a caring employer has a comprehensive range of policies and resources in place to support families during the most difficult of times.</p><p> </p><p>With regards to accommodation, Joint Service Publication 464: Tri-Service Accommodation Regulations, makes provision for bereaved families to remain in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) for up to two years following the death of a Service person. It is normal to issue a 93 Day Notice to Vacate when two years is reached but retention of SFA may be extended beyond the two-year period on a discretionary case by case basis.</p><p> </p><p>The Purple Pack bereavement guide for families of service personnel who die in service is provided by the MOD. A routine review of the pack is underway, with a view to publication in summer 2024. The Purple Pack is supplemented and supported by documentation provided by each of the Services, for example, the Army Families Guide.</p><p> </p><p>The Purple Pack is provided for immediate adult family members. Information is provided for adults to support and manage bereaved children, including signposting to relevant charities and organisations.</p><p> </p><p>The Defence Bereaved Families Group meets twice a year in Spring and Autumn. In the past five years it has met ten times. The next meeting will be in September 2024, with the exact date yet to be confirmed. The Minister for Defence People and Families does not routinely attend the meeting, but he attended in September 2023 and regularly receives briefings from the Chair and co-Chair.</p><p> </p><p>Visiting Officers (VO) are an integral part of the support provided by Defence to bereaved families. VO are provided by each Service and undertake training relevant to their role. The Royal Navy (RN) has 60 personnel trained as VO, the Army has 1,390 and the Royal Air Force (RAF) has 1,103.</p><p> </p><p>Each Service runs training courses that meet their specific requirements, for personnel designated as a VO. For example, all RN VO are either Specialist Welfare Worker trained, having completed the Defence Specialist Welfare Worker Course (a Level Five Social Care training course specifically for the care of service personnel and their families), or Civil Service Social Workers registered with Social Work England (or equivalent devolved UK registration). In addition, all must attend and pass the RN Family &amp; People Support VO training every three years.</p><p> </p><p>For the Army, formal, in person training is provided for those conducting both Casualty Notification Officer and VO duties. The training competency is extant for four years; if not appointed within that time frame a one-day refresher course can be conducted to enable another four years competency. The Army’s recommended minimum provision of VO is set at ten for Regular major units, three for Regular minor units, and two for Reserve units.</p><p> </p><p>The RAF VO competency is awarded after completion of a workshop and remains current for four years after which volunteers must attend another briefing day to renew it. Units are expected to aim for 2-5% of their trained strength to have the VO competency.</p><p> </p><p>There is no fixed period of time during which a VO will provide support to a bereaved family. This is dependent upon circumstances but normally would not extend beyond an Inquest or Service Inquiry. Appropriate transition plans will be put in place including arrangements for ongoing support to be provided through a point of contact from either the relevant single Service aftercare cell or unit HR staff.</p><p> </p><p>Via DBS’s Veterans Welfare Service (VWS), Defence also provides support to the bereaved via its national network of welfare managers (WM). A WM is assigned to families who experience a death in service and usually attends the initial visit alongside the VO. Support from VWS then endures for as long as is required and focuses on access to financial, welfare and wellbeing support as required, including issues in relation to the Armed Forces Pension. WMs who support clients in such circumstances are specifically trained and supervised as part of a VWS experts’ group. VWS is part of the Defence Bereaved Families Group.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison grouped question UIN 22642 22643 22644 22647 22648 22649 22651 22652 question first answered 26/04/2024 10:13:34 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1700487

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Submarines: Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) payments additional to their wages and (b) deployment allowances have been made to the crew of submarines providing the continual at sea deterrent in the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	21374
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>The table below provides information requested and shows the total volume of all payments made covering additional Recruitment and Retention payments made above basic salary, Local Overseas Allowance and Longer Separation Allowance payable on deployment. This count has not been broken out as the data could compromise operational security.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019-20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020-21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021-22</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2022-23</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2023-24</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Grand Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Count of payments additional to wages</strong></p></td><td><p>16,285</p></td><td><p>17,509</p></td><td><p>14,021</p></td><td><p>17,932</p></td><td><p>19,503</p></td><td><p><strong>82,250</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It would be prejudicial to the effectiveness, capability and security of His Majesty's Armed Forces to provide any further detail.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 23/04/2024 16:44:13 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1610595

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Families Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications were made to the armed forces families fund by service type since the establishment of that fund.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	180728
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2023 answer text <p>The Armed Forces Families Fund is managed and administered by the Armed Forces Covenant Trust (AFCT) on behalf of Defence who fund the scheme. Defence sets the themes for the scheme’s funding criteria, which is then delivered by the AFCT. The funding is based on financial rather than calendar years and is subject to the same annual budgetary cycle checks and assurances as all other expenditure within Defence. The first round of funding concluded in March this year and publicly available details on the applications and funding were released by the AFCT (see link: <a href="https://covenantfund.org.uk/projects-weve-supported/" target="_blank">https://covenantfund.org.uk/projects-weve-supported/</a>) which showed:</p><p>Early Years programme: 18 grants totalling £903,546</p><p>Supporting Partners programme: 12 grants totalling £483,144</p><p>Education Support programme: 54 grants totalling £2,045,593</p><p> </p><p>In addition, a grant of £119,647 was awarded to SSAFA over a two-year period for the e-Redbook project.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison grouped question UIN 180724 180725 180726 180727 question first answered 24/04/2023 16:51:19 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1610594

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Families Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications were made to the armed forces families fund from each region since the establishment of that fund.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	180727
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2023 answer text <p>The Armed Forces Families Fund is managed and administered by the Armed Forces Covenant Trust (AFCT) on behalf of Defence who fund the scheme. Defence sets the themes for the scheme’s funding criteria, which is then delivered by the AFCT. The funding is based on financial rather than calendar years and is subject to the same annual budgetary cycle checks and assurances as all other expenditure within Defence. The first round of funding concluded in March this year and publicly available details on the applications and funding were released by the AFCT (see link: <a href="https://covenantfund.org.uk/projects-weve-supported/" target="_blank">https://covenantfund.org.uk/projects-weve-supported/</a>) which showed:</p><p>Early Years programme: 18 grants totalling £903,546</p><p>Supporting Partners programme: 12 grants totalling £483,144</p><p>Education Support programme: 54 grants totalling £2,045,593</p><p> </p><p>In addition, a grant of £119,647 was awarded to SSAFA over a two-year period for the e-Redbook project.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison grouped question UIN 180724 180725 180726 180728 question first answered 24/04/2023 16:51:19 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1551354

	registered interest
	date	13/12/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Holiday Leave
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Armed Forces personnel sold annual leave in the last financial year.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	109823
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2022 answer text <p>I can confirm that uniformed Armed Forces personnel do not currently have the ability to &quot;sell&quot; annual leave and therefore none have sold leave in the last financial year.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 20/12/2022 11:49:39 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard