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1656393

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Weddings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 191222 on on Ministry of Defence: Weddings, what security considerations his Department has identified for not permitting civil marriages or civil partnerships to take place on the Defence Estate in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	195688
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p>Civil marriages and partnerships occur on Defence estates outside the UK and will comply with host countries’ laws or the Sovereign Base Regulations. <ins class="ministerial">The last civil marriage that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 11 March 2023 and the last civil partnership that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 27 June 2022.</ins> <del class="ministerial">The last time such a ceremony took place in Cyprus was 4 September 2021.</del></p><p> </p><p>Civil marriages or partnerships cannot take place on the Defence Estate in England and Wales due to The Marriages and Civil Partnership (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005, which requires Approved Premises to be regularly available to the public. That is not tenable in respect of the defence estate because of security concerns.</p><p> </p><p>On 24 July 2023, in my capacity as Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families, I wrote to the Ministry of Justice to enquire about amending the legislation to remove the requirement for unrestricted public access. Such an amendment would ensure that the Defence community could enter into civil marriages and partnerships in locations that have particular significance to them.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 11/09/2023 15:02:56 question first ministerially corrected 18/10/2023 15:32:16 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison previous answer version 93187 answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1656392

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Weddings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Ministry of Defence: Weddings, on what date did a civil (a) marriage and (b) partnership last take place on the Defence Estate in (a) England and (b) Cyprus.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	195687
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p>Civil marriages and partnerships occur on Defence estates outside the UK and will comply with host countries’ laws or the Sovereign Base Regulations. <ins class="ministerial">The last civil marriage that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 11 March 2023 and the last civil partnership that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 27 June 2022.</ins><del class="ministerial">The last time such a ceremony took place in Cyprus was 4 September 2021.</del></p><p> </p><p>Civil marriages or partnerships cannot take place on the Defence Estate in England and Wales due to The Marriages and Civil Partnership (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005, which requires Approved Premises to be regularly available to the public. That is not tenable in respect of the defence estate because of security concerns.</p><p> </p><p>On 24 July 2023, in my capacity as Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families, I wrote to the Ministry of Justice to enquire about amending the legislation to remove the requirement for unrestricted public access. Such an amendment would ensure that the Defence community could enter into civil marriages and partnerships in locations that have particular significance to them.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 11/09/2023 15:02:56 question first ministerially corrected 18/10/2023 12:36:10 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison previous answer version 93179 answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1658191

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Challenger Tanks
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of the Challenger 3 upgrade programme; what the definition is of initial operating capability for Challenger 3; and what the planned date is for that initial operating capability.
	tabling member constituency	Rayleigh and Wickford
	tabling member printed	Mr Mark Francois
	uin	197700
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">To ensure I can provide as much detail as possible, I will write to the right hon. Member with the detail requested once it has been collated and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House. </del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We do not routinely release forecast figures regarding the resource and capital expenditure of our major projects. Portfolio data is published annually in support of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) Annual Report which includes a budget baseline and the latest HM Treasury approved estimates in respect of whole life costs. The current report is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infrastructure-and-projects-authority-annual-report-2022-23" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications//infrastructure-and-projects-authority-annual-report-2022-23</a></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> Initial Operating Capability is defined as a single squadron of Main Battle Tanks with trained crews and is planned to be achieved in 2027.</ins></p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 11/09/2023 16:46:20 question first ministerially corrected 12/09/2023 13:04:29 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge previous answer version 93597 answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	1444 label Biography information for Mr Mark Francois

1645032

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Disability Strategy published on 28 July 2021, which of his Department’s commitments in that strategy that have not been paused as a result of legal action have (a) been fully, (b) been partially and (c) not been implemented.
	tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
	tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
	uin	189789
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2023 answer text <p>In January 2022, the High Court declared the National Disability Strategy (NDS) was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) had five commitments included in the National Disability Strategy. These included:</p><p>1. By September 2021, the MOD will publish a plan to bring more disabled people into the civilian workforce to meet its target of 15.3% by 2030</p><p>2. MOD will explore how to increase opportunities for disabled people to serve as part of the Armed Forces reserves by the end of 2023, including:</p><p>- promoting better use of disabled reservists for appropriate roles across the Armed Forces</p><p>- guaranteeing interviews for disabled reservists who meet the minimum requirements when recruiting for those roles</p><p>3. By 2025, MOD will deliver the Armed Forces Recruiting Programme to recruit more diverse military personnel, including disabled people</p><p>4. We will experiment with the recruitment of more diverse military personnel into the new National Cyber Force, using it as a pathfinder for increased inclusivity</p><p>5. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs will share best practice and insight from the veterans’ adaptive sport community with disability organisations and providers of sport and activity by March 2022</p><p>Commitment 1, to publish a plan to bring more disabled people into the civilian workforce has been partly implemented. A plan is in development and a number of relevant activities have so far been identified and are progressing. We continue to monitor the effects of the actions, which will make Defence a more attractive, diverse and inclusive employer.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 2, to explore how to increase opportunities for disabled people to join Defence, has not been implemented. Defence wishes to minimise the risk of acting inconsistently with the Court’s declaration, without compromising on the ambitious agenda we are delivering for disabled people. As such, we are disappointed to have had to pause the work on guaranteed interviews for disabled reservists. However, this does not prevent disabled people who meet the minimum requirements from applying to be a reservist. Our intent remains to contribute to the wider commitment of creating more opportunities for disabled people to participate and thrive across the whole Force, not just as reservists; to protect and promote the rights of disabled people; and to tackle the barriers that prevent disabled people from fully benefiting from, and contributing fully to, every aspect of our society.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 3, to deliver the Armed Forces Recruiting Programme (AFRP) to recruit more diverse military personnel, is in the process of being implemented. The AFRP is responsible for the delivery of a new single, tri-Service, Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS). A key requirement of the future solution is placing candidates at the heart of the Armed Forces recruiting experience, keeping them inspired and motivated whilst recruiting from the broadest spectrum of society to improve diversity and representation. A key tenet of the Programme is to establish an agile and flexible approach to meet the demand of the Armed Forces across roles and people requirements. The Armed Forces demand requirement is updated annually and will be delivered through the supplier and the AFRS working collaboratively. It will be fully implemented in 2027.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 4, to use the National Cyber Force as a pathfinder for inclusivity, has been fully implemented. In 2021, the MOD announced a Cyber Pathfinder Scheme to increase inclusion in Defence. This is now open and trains and assesses military personnel joining the National Cyber Force.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 5, to share best practice and insight from the veterans’ adaptive sport community with disability organisations and providers of sport and activity, was fully implemented <ins class="ministerial">in March 2022.</ins> <del class="ministerial">before the High Court's judgement on the NDS was delivered.</del></p><p>We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people in the UK through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights, and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society. To support this, the MOD will be providing further details of our recent achievements to improve disabled people’s lives in the forthcoming Disability Action Plan consultation due for publication in the summer.</p><p> </p><p>Ahead of this, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work will write providing a list of these achievements and will place a copy in the House Library.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 22/06/2023 13:36:48 question first ministerially corrected 06/09/2023 15:46:16 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison previous answer version 83167 answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1653921

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July to Question 192193 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many service accommodation units do not have valid gas certificates.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	194672
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2023 answer text <p>As at 19 July 2023, <del class="ministerial">116</del><ins class="ministerial">353</ins> occpied Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties do not have a valid gas safety certificate. This equates to 0.26% of the 43,928 SFA properties with a mains gas supply.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 20/07/2023 15:01:55 question first ministerially corrected 18/08/2023 10:27:30 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge previous answer version 89169 answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1653412

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Aviation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to sub-target two of the Greening Government Commitments reporting requirements for 2021 to 2025 last updated on 15 December 2022, whether his Department follows the encouragement in that guidance to (a) monitor and (b) report on the number of domestic flights for which her Department is responsible each year; and how many domestic flights were taken by Ministers in his Department in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
	tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
	uin	194399
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2023 answer text <p>In support of the Greening Government Commitments (GGC), Defence's domestic business flights are recorded and associated annual carbon emissions reported in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts.</p><p>For 2021, our records show there was a total of <del class="ministerial">48</del> <ins class="ministerial">36 </ins>domestic flights recorded as being used by Ministers e.g. Commercial flights, RAF planes and RAF helicopters. For 2022, our records show there were a total of<del class="ministerial"> 91</del> <ins class="ministerial">41</ins> domestic flights.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 20/07/2023 13:24:04 question first ministerially corrected 24/07/2023 08:49:26 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge previous answer version 89096 answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1651760

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: P&O Ferries
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 192709 on 10 July 2023, what was the cost to the public purse of payments made to P&O Ferries for (a) support of operational movement services and (b) business travel between 17 March 2022 and 1 July 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	193273
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">Between 17 March 2022 and 1 July 2023, the Ministry of Defence made payments of nearly £92,000 directly to P&amp;O using ePC cards primarily for freight movements, some £235,000 by the National Movement Coordination Centre (Army) for operational movements, and some £164,000 was spent through GBT, the MOD’s contracted travel management company, primarily for business travel.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The Department will continue to use P&amp;O Ferries where there are robust operational or technical reasons for doing so. Some routes are solely serviced by P&amp;O Ferries and may offer the only option for our strategic movement requirements.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Between 17 March 2022 and 1 July 2023, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) made payments of £425,166 directly with P&amp;O using ePC cards primarily for freight movements (this includes operational and freight movements by the National Movement Coordination Centre (Army)), and a further £164,000 was spent through GBT, the MOD’s contracted travel management company, primarily for business travel.</ins></p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 13/07/2023 09:01:57 question first ministerially corrected 19/07/2023 09:44:52 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge previous answer version 87335 answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

1650312

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ukraine: Military Aid
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July to Question 191735 Ukraine: Military Aid, how many of the contracts placed from Urgent Bidding Round 1 have delivered capabilities to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	192474
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2023 answer text <p>The International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) announced the first major package of capabilities from Urgent Bidding Round one on 15 February 2023. Following commercial checks and negotiations to confirm specifications, contractual terms and costs, six contracts have been placed as at 7 July 2023, and <del class="ministerial">three</del><ins class="ministerial">two</ins> of these are planned to begin delivering capabilities to the Ukrainian Armed Forces later this month.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 10/07/2023 11:31:50 question first ministerially corrected 11/07/2023 15:47:48 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge previous answer version 86365 answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1623876

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Hercules Aircraft
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any RAF C-130 Hercules aircraft have been sold for disposal.
	tabling member constituency	Rayleigh and Wickford
	tabling member printed	Mr Mark Francois
	uin	182517
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2023 answer text <p>Yes. The managed drawdown of the C-130J Hercules fleet has been ongoing since 2017. A number of airframes have already been disposed of to the Bangladesh Air Force, Royal <del class="ministerial">Brunei Armed Forces</del> <ins class="ministerial">Bahraini Air Force</ins> and United States Navy.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 04/05/2023 15:32:15 question first ministerially corrected 15/05/2023 10:43:45 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge previous answer version 73118 answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	1444 label Biography information for Mr Mark Francois

1584543

	registered interest
	date	06/02/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Type 26 Frigates: Iron and Steel
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the steel procured for each Type 26 frigate is from UK steelyards.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	140032
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2023 answer text <p>For the Batch 1 Type 26 frigates, almost 50 per cent by value of the steel is UK sourced. <del class="ministerial">Steel has not yet been purchased for the Batch 2 ships</del>. <ins class="ministerial">Approximately 994 tonnes of steel was purchased for the first Batch 2 ship, HMS Birmingham, in 2022 and 25 per cent of this steel was produced in the UK.</ins></p><p> </p><p>Steel for the Type 31 frigates is sourced by Babcock from UK-based stockists. Both the Type 26 and Type 31 classes require the use of thin plate steel and this specification of steel with the required combination of thickness, size and flatness is not manufactured in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Steel for our major defence programmes is generally sourced by our prime contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers and is procured in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines. We encourage the sourcing of UK steel wherever it is technically and commercially feasible.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 13/02/2023 11:02:25 question first ministerially corrected 04/04/2023 11:16:18 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk previous answer version 55170 answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey