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759255

	registered interest
	date	11/09/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Syria: Military Intervention
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government is taking to support allied forces to defeat ISIS forces in Raqqa.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	10003
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2017 answer text <p>As part of the Coalition, the RAF continues to carry out airstrikes in support of partner forces' operations against Daesh in Raqqah. Air support of this kind has helped the Syrian Democratic Forces to retake more than 65% of the city so far.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 14/09/2017 15:24:56 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

776138

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to retain personnel with significant cyber knowledge and expertise.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	109150
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2017 answer text <p>Identifying, developing and retaining cyber expertise remains a high priority for Defence. The Defence Cyber Programme is responsible for developing and delivering a sustainable cyber profession. We work with a variety of stakeholders on a number of initiatives across Defence, allies, wider Government, academia and industry.</p><p>A Defence Cyber Aptitude Test has been developed for the Ministry of Defence to enable us to identify personnel with the latent talent suitable for selection to undertake training for specialist cyber roles.</p><p>The new Defence Cyber School located at Shrivenham will be at the forefront of the development and delivery of coherent cyber training across Defence and wider Government. The Defence Cyber Skills Competence Framework is aligned with industry skills frameworks to enable us to identify and track personnel with varying levels of cyber knowledge and expertise.</p><p>Analysis has shown that development and delivery of a sustainable cyber career is a key element in retaining cyber Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel (SQEP). The Cyber Professional Employment Model alongside other initiatives is being utilised to develop and begin to assure a career pathway for cyber professionals.</p><p>The Cyber Reserves also provide opportunities for Defence to retain cyber SQEP otherwise due to leave the Services: personnel with the appropriate cyber skillsets can apply for transfer to the Cyber Reserves, having left regular Service and while undertaking civilian cyber employment.</p><p>Defence deeply values the cyber knowledge and expertise of our staff, and works continually to monitor and enhance the methods in place in order to retain these skills.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 30/10/2017 16:07:20 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

776140

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Air Force: Languages
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve foreign language skills within the Royal Air Force.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	109151
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2017 answer text <p>A range of measures is taken to actively promote the opportunities which the RAF can offer to individuals who have foreign language skills. These include Specialist Recruitment Teams attending academies and universities; running a bursary scheme for RAF linguist undergraduates; awarding a monetary incentive where a recruit has a pre-existing language of interest. Additionally, serving personnel may be eligible for financial awards for maintaining and utilising specialist language skills. In accordance with RAF policy for all personnel, linguists must serve at least 36 months after the completion of professional language training.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 31/10/2017 16:15:09 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

776141

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Army: Languages
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that foreign language experts in the Army are available within each regiment and brigade.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	109152
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2017 answer text <p>Foreign language expertise and training within the Army is prioritised based on role and requirement. Priority is focused on the Specialised Infantry group (announced in Strategic Defence Security Review 15) and Brigades with an operational defence engagement requirement. At present, there are over 12,000 Army personnel recorded as holding language qualifications.</p><p>The Army is currently considering low-level (and higher level) language and cultural capability, as part of wider land environment defence engagement doctrine.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 31/10/2017 16:11:07 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

776139

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Languages
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people there are with foreign language skills in the (a) Army and (b) Royal Air Force; and in which such languages those people are skilled.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	109154
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2017 answer text <p>There are approximately 850 Service personnel across the Ministry of Defence (MOD) trained in some 40 different languages. It is not possible to provide a detailed breakdown because of the strategic and operational sensitivities surrounding them. The MOD's language requirements are met from a Departmental pool of Armed Forces and civilian personnel; the Department regularly reviews its future requirements for linguists and trains its personnel accordingly.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 31/10/2017 16:14:35 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

784845

	registered interest
	date	06/11/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Army: Recruitment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to recruit soldiers to the Army.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	111625
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2017 answer text <p>The Army recruits through a diverse and wide range of methods and is taking a number of steps to improve its recruitment processes.</p><p>Applications to the Army are received through the Army Website, and as of September 2016 the online application process has been enhanced by the launch of the &quot;Quick App&quot; making the application process faster and more user friendly. During the last 12 months there has also been an increased spend on marketing, including on the 'This is Belonging' campaign which is active on television, radio, cinema and a variety of social media outlets. In addition, the Army advertises for specialist staff through online job advertising boards.</p><p>These developments are showing signs of progress, over 8,000 people joined the Regular Army last financial year and since April 2017 application levels are over 20% higher than the same period last year.</p><p>This is all supported by extensive Army regional engagement to promote awareness across society of the role of the Army and the career opportunities that it presents. The Army is Britain's biggest provider of apprenticeships, offering not just a job, but a career with ongoing training and qualifications.</p><p>The Armed Forces also seek to attract recruits from across the UK, and continue to work hard at recruiting a diverse work force. The Army has made addressing issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity a priority in order to ensure that it is a modern employer which is capable of recruiting talent from all elements of society. The lifting of the exclusion for women serving in Ground Close Combat roles highlights the commitment to offering maximum opportunity for all.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 16/11/2017 14:17:02 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

795249

	registered interest
	date	27/11/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Falkland Islands: Armed Conflict
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure that memorial sites and places that commemorate the Falklands War are looked after by the Commonwealth Graves Commission.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	115670
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2017 answer text <p>The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) maintains a number of graves and memorials on the Falkland Islands from the conflict in 1982. The 14 graves from the Falklands War within the San Carlos Military Cemetery, and the memorial on the same site, are currently maintained to a very high standard by the CWGC. They also maintain a further two isolated graves at Port Howard and Goose Green.</p><p>Within the UK, beyond the official commemoration to mark and maintain a Service person's final resting place, it has been long standing Government policy that the responsibility for erecting memorials and associated projects lies with their owners and the costs are not met from public funds, but from private donations or public subscription. There are currently no plans to change this.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 05/12/2017 16:46:40 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

823371

	registered interest
	date	16/01/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Training
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure continued availability of training in (a) Canada, (b) Kenya and (c) other locations overseas for the Armed Forces.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	122854
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2018 answer text <p>We work closely with the various levels of the Governments and Armed Forces of Canada, Kenya and other nations to ensure planned training can be conducted smoothly. All three Services regularly train with a multitude of international allies and partners and we can be proud that our Armed Forces are highly sought by many other nations to participate in exercises and other training.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 24/01/2018 16:02:00 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

823374

	registered interest
	date	16/01/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Navy: Engineers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to address the shortage of engineers in the Royal Navy.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	122857
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2018 answer text <p>The Royal Navy employs a range of measures to improve the recruitment and retention of engineers. These include apprenticeship schemes and staged financial awards, as well as an active engagement in a University Technical Colleges affiliation programme aimed at assisting in the development of technically able young people.</p><p>The Royal Navy is constantly evolving their recruitment marketing methods, using specific targeted advertising campaigns, web based media, radio, social media, print and appearances at recruitment events.</p><p>In addition, the Ministry of Defence will work as a partner with the Department for Transport on its Year of Engineering 2018 initiative, and all Services will promote that initiative, helping to deliver a brighter future for engineering in the United Kingdom.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 24/01/2018 15:50:55 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

846096

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Cyprus and Gibraltar: Ports
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of its port facilities in (a) Gibraltar and (b) Cyprus.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	128800
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2018 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not comment on specific security arrangements of its estate, but assesses that adequate protection is provided of its port facilities in Her Majesty's Naval Base Gibraltar.</p><p>The MOD does not have a port in the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 01/03/2018 15:35:18 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon