Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label attachment file name title
tabling member	label

Search

573406

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
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, how many service personnel in each of the armed forces were affected by the increase in the qualifying age for an armed forces pension.
tabling member constituency	East Renfrewshire
tabling member printed	Kirsten Oswald
uin	44002
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2016 answer text <p>Just over 90% (155,511) of all Armed Forces personnel transferred to the new Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 on 1 April 2015 and were therefore affected by the change in the qualifying age. For those who had to move to the new pension scheme it was agreed that those pension benefits already earned in existing schemes, up to the implementation date of the new scheme would be retained. The numbers of affected personnel, by Service, are provided below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Royal Navy</p></td><td><p>31,101</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Army</p></td><td><p>92,588</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Royal Air Force</p></td><td><p>31,822</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The change of qualifying age was set out in detailed communications materiel published in the run up to, and following, the introduction of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015. This change followed a review carried out by Lord Hutton in 2011 which concluded that all public sector workforces should change their pension ages for new schemes to reflect that people are living longer. The Armed Forces, along with other uniformed public sector schemes, gained agreement that this should be set at age 60.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 08/09/2016 13:59:20 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
tabling member	4413 label Biography information for Kirsten Oswald

573408

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Defence Fire and Rescue Service: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how net pay deductions from the salaries of Ministry of Defence fire fighters and fire officers are calculated.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	44081
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The Net Pay Deduction (NPD) for Fire Officer grades, or abatement in the case of Fire-fighters, is the adjustment to the salaries of DFRS personnel to allow for the differences between their pension arrangements and those of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Service (LAFRS) employees. Ministry of Defence (MOD) Fire-fighter and Fire Officer grades are members of the Civil Service Pension Schemes and the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), whereas LAFRS staff belong to Local Authority Fire Pension Schemes (LAFPS).</p><p>The MOD Fire-fighter abatement is a single blended abatement figure based on a weighted comparison of member contributions rates between the PCSPS and the LAFPS. The abatement calculation makes allowance for the impact on the value of pension benefits which arises because the MOD Fire-fighter pension is based on an abated salary. The calculation of the abatement ignores differences in pension benefits between the schemes being compared.</p><p>The pay abatement level for Fire-fighters is calculated on behalf of the MOD by the Government Actuary Department (GAD). The current abatement of 7.1% is being reviewed by GAD to take account of the introduction of the new Civil Service Pension Scheme on 1 April 2015 and the Local Authority Fire-fighters Pension Scheme 2015.</p><p>For Fire Officer Grades the NPD has been calculated primarily by considering the differences in member contribution rates between the different pension schemes. The current NPD was implemented in 1993 and according to available information the calculation ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes but may have taken account of wider pay issues. The current NPD is 5.9% of pre-tax basic pay. In practice, an adjusted NPD, equal to 3.54% of pre-tax pay, is applied to Fire Officer salaries. This does not reduce the tax payable by the officer. For Fire Officers the NPD does not affect the salary used for pension purposes, so both pension benefits and member contributions are calculated based on salary before application of the NPD.</p><p>The MOD is currently reviewing the rate of the NPD for Fire Officer grades.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 12/09/2016 14:50:17 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

573409

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Defence Fire and Rescue Service: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse of reviewing the level of net pay deductions from the salaries of Ministry of Defence fire fighters and fire officers was in each year since 2008-09.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	44082
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The cost to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for work commissioned from the Government Actuary Department (GAD) to review the abatement and Net Pay Deduction level for MOD Fire-fighters and Fire Officers since 2009 is £139,000 plus VAT. This figure represents costs for wider advice provided by GAD on Pension issues for Defence Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) personnel and is not specifically related to abatement reviews. It has not been possible to itemise the costs in the time available, and neither has it been possible in the time available to confirm costs in 2008.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 12/09/2016 14:58:33 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

573411

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Defence Fire and Rescue Service: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total amount of pay deducted from the salaries of Ministry of Defence fire fighter and fire officer grades through net pay deductions was in each year since 2008-09.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	44079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 12/09/2016 14:57:59 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

573412

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Defence Fire and Rescue Service: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the net pay deductions from the salaries of Ministry of Defence fire fighters and fire officers reflect the full difference in the value of pension benefits accrued compared with staff of similar grades working for local authorities.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	44080
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The Net Pay Deduction (NPD) for Fire Officer grades, or abatement in the case of Fire-fighters, is the adjustment to the salaries of Defence Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) personnel to allow for the differences between their pension arrangements and those of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Service (&quot;LAFRS&quot;) employees.</p><p>For Fire-fighter grades the abatement figure is a comparison of member contribution rates between the Civil Service Pension Schemes and the Local Authority Fire Pension Schemes. The abatement calculation makes allowance for the impact on the value of pension benefits which arises because MOD Fire-fighters pensions are based on an abated salary. The calculation of the abatement ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes being compared.</p><p>For Fire Officer Grades the NPD has been calculated primarily by considering the differences in member contribution rates between the different pension schemes.</p><p>The current NPD is 5.9% of pre-tax basic pay. In practice, an adjusted NPD, equal to 3.54% of pre-tax pay, is applied to Fire Officer salaries; this does not reduce the tax payable by the officer. For Fire Officers the NPD does not affect the salary used for pension purposes, so both pension benefits and member contributions are calculated based on salary before application of the NPD. The current NPD rate was introduced in 1993 and according to available information the calculation of the NPD ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes but may have taken account of wider pay issues.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 12/09/2016 14:57:29 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

573416

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Army: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the rationale was for his Department's decision to allow soldiers who have completed only Phase One training to be called up to perform frontline tasks.
tabling member constituency	South Antrim
tabling member printed	Danny Kinahan
uin	44104
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2016 answer text <p>The rationale behind the decision to plan to use Army Phase 1 trained Regular and Reserve personnel in response to crises within the UK was set out in the Written Ministerial Statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) on 29 June 2016 (HCWS49).</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 08/09/2016 13:55:24 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton attachment 1 file name Hansard Extract 29 June 2016 HCWS49.docx title Strategic Defence and Security Review
tabling member	4381 label Biography information for Danny Kinahan

573417

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Veterans: Mental Illness
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department or other bodies provide to help veterans experiencing mental health difficulties as a result of military service.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Stephen Gethins
uin	44139
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2016 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" rowspan="5"><p> </p></td><td colspan="6" rowspan="5"><p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 June 2016 to Question 40418 to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger). http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-06-13/40418/</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 08/09/2016 13:55:01 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton attachment 1 file name Hansard Extract 27 June 2016 40418.docx title Veterans: Mental Health Services
tabling member	4434 label Biography information for Stephen Gethins

573418

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Dyslexia
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps are being taken to prevent discrimination against people with dyslexia in the Armed Forces.
tabling member constituency	Torbay
tabling member printed	Kevin Foster
uin	44156
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2016 answer text <p>Dyslexia is one of four specific learning difficulties (SpLD, including dyspraxia, dyscalculia and scotopic sensitivity syndrome) recognised by the Armed Forces which are not a bar to recruitment or service in the Armed Forces, as long as all applicable recruitment, training and job performance standards are met in full. SpLD are viewed by the Armed Forces as naturally occurring differences in learning that, through targeted support and the implementation of coping strategies, can generally be successfully mitigated. Many dyslexic Armed Forces personnel are enjoying successful careers.</p><p>Individuals affected by SpLD are eligible for specific support which may include reasonable adjustments to training and working environments. SpLD is recognised as being an issue that is principally and proactively managed by the individual, supported where necessary by their Chain of Command and not a condition which should draw undue attention, impractical or unmanageable special measures or stigma.</p><p>Detailed policy guidance on SpLD is accessible at unit level through Joint Service Publication (JSP) 898 'Defence Direction and Guidance on Training, Education and Skills'. In addition, the single Services have trained SpLD advisors who can offer advice, guidance and a range of strategies to help individuals get the support they need. These advisors administer the dyslexia adult screening test (DAST) to assess personnel once a trainer, trainee, line manager or member of the Services suspect dyslexia. The test is not mandatory; it is administered only with the individual's consent. The DAST result will determine whether further specialist assessment by an educational psychologist is required and also provide a profile of strengths and weaknesses which will support any necessary remedial training programme.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 09/09/2016 13:02:23 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
tabling member	4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster

573612

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Defence Business Services: Contracts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what functions undertaken by Defence Business Services are being considered for inclusion in the Corporate Services Integration and Innovation Provider contract.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	44386
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2016 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence is currently examining options for the future of Defence Business Services (DBS) as part of the Future DBS Programme. No final decisions have been taken on whether any elements of DBS current operations will be outsourced. The scope of any potential Corporate Services Integration and Innovation Provider (CSIIP) contract will be confirmed in the event that a decision to outsource is taken.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 07/09/2016 14:48:35 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

573613

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Consultants
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a list of all secondees to his Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what the role was of each of those secondees.
tabling member constituency	Barking
tabling member printed	Margaret Hodge
uin	44327
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2016 answer text <p>Fewer than five employees from PwC, Deloitte, Ernst and Young, KPMG and other consulting firms were seconded to the Ministry of Defence within the last three years. Due to the low numbers involved, a breakdown of companies and job roles has not been provided.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 09/09/2016 12:47:28 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
tabling member	140 label Biography information for Dame Margaret Hodge