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518188

registered interest
date	09/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
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 encourage more businesses to sign the Armed Forces Covenant.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	36922
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2016 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence recognises the value of open, mutually beneficial relationships with employers, which is why we have introduced professionalised employer engagement at the national and regional level.</p><p>The relationships we are building show that supporting the Armed Forces community is not only the right thing for employers to do, but can also yield tangible business benefits. Showing support by signing the Armed Forces Covenant can enhance the reputation of a company and attract the interest of Reservists and Service leavers; highly skilled, well-trained professionals who can add real value to a business.</p><p>Since 2014 the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) has provided visible recognition to those employers which support Defence and is inspiring others to do the same. The scheme encompasses bronze, silver and gold awards for employer organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to Defence and the Armed Forces community. Publicity around the ERS and the Armed Forces Covenant is valuable to both Defence and the employers involved. Ministers regularly attend Armed Forces Covenant signing events, most recently with ISS UK.</p><p>Our approach is delivering benefit; almost 1,000 employers have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and research shows that overall awareness of the Covenant has increased significantly over the last year.</p> answering member constituency Ludlow answering member printed Mr Philip Dunne question first answered 12/05/2016 08:36:12 answering member 1542 label Biography information for Philip Dunne
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

518191

registered interest
date	09/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Equality
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 27 April 2016 to Question 34579, what plans his Department has to publish information on the performance of the Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme in increasing the diversity of the armed forces since that programme was established.
tabling member constituency	Tottenham
tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
uin	36847
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2016 answer text <p>The Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme (DDIP) is driving change in the core areas of leadership and culture; recruitment; retention and progression; and outreach by ensuring diversity and inclusion considerations as part of normal business across the whole Department. This involves staff and funding across all areas of the Department, to define how this should be done and ensure delivery as part of people's existing roles wherever they work.</p><p>The Ministry of Defence is dedicated to achieving a more diverse workforce and is undertaking various activities to increase the number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) recruits into the Armed Forces to 10% by 2020 and has allocated resources for this purpose.</p><p>The cost of funding the DDIP is disaggregated amongst budgets across the Department; therefore a response could only be provided at disproportionate cost. As part of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review we dedicated additional resources to recruitment activity in order to help generate a more diverse workforce and reach all parts of the UK's Armed Forces community.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt grouped question UIN 36857 question first answered 12/05/2016 09:50:33 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy

517935

registered interest
date	06/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Army: Basic Skills
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of enlisted soldiers attain (a) Level 1 and (b) Level 2 literacy and numeracy skills by the end of their third year of service.
tabling member constituency	Scunthorpe
tabling member printed	Nic Dakin
uin	36709
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2016 answer text <p>The Army has traditionally linked the recording and attainment of english and maths qualifications to the point at which an individual is ready for promotion to Corporal or Senior Non Commissioned Officer ranks, rather than as a factor of time. The growth in numbers of personnel joining the Army and pursuing an apprenticeship has changed this approach and simplified the measurement of attainment by time.</p><p> </p><p>Between 1 August 2012 and 31 July 2015 1,028 soldiers gained both Level 1 functional skills (FS) english and maths qualifications; and a further 722 soldiers gained the comparable qualifications at Level 2. This represents 11.8% of those enlisting (14,816) during the same period. This does not include those who gained just a functional skill in english or a functional skill in maths qualification, nor those who already held english and maths qualification on enlistment.</p><p> </p><p>In total 23,699 FS (english and maths) qualifications at Level 1 and 2 were gained by Regular soldiers through apprenticeship and AEC provision in 2014-15. Of these 41% were at Level 1 and 59% at Level 2.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 11/05/2016 16:30:41 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4056 label Biography information for Nic Dakin

517822

registered interest
date	05/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Complaints
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what dates reviews have been carried out of his Department's Complaints Protocol written in 2005; and what alterations have been made to that protocol as a result of each such review.
tabling member constituency	Bridgend
tabling member printed	Mrs Madeleine Moon
uin	36685
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2016 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence's procedures when handling complaints from members of the general public is governed by the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman who issue government departments with guidance and advice on protocols when dealing with complaints from the general public, more specifically guidance around response times and handling. Since 2005, the Ministry of Defence has updated its internal instructions (Defence Internal Notice) in 2010 and 2015, both updates did not change internal protocols but made changes to points of contact and departmental structures where required.</p><p>The Ministry of Defence also operates procedures by which civil servants and Service personnel can make complaints. These are governed by separate policies respectively. For Service personnel the independent Service Complaints Ombudsman was established in 2015. Further information can be found at:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/guidance/armed-forces-service-complaints-process .</p> answering member constituency Canterbury answering member printed Mr Julian Brazier question first answered 10/05/2016 16:04:25 answering member 77 label Biography information for Sir Julian Brazier
tabling member	1490 label Biography information for Mrs Madeleine Moon

517823

registered interest
date	05/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Yemen: Military Intervention
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral evidence given to the Committees on Arms Export Controls on 27 April 2016, if he will publish the reports the Saudi Arabian military has shared with his Department on airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	36660
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2016 answer text <p>We will not release this information as coalition military reporting shared with the UK is sensitive operational information which we have received on privileged terms and which belongs to another country and its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and another state. Likewise, we would expect our allies and partners to protect any operational information we shared with them.</p> answering member constituency Ludlow answering member printed Mr Philip Dunne question first answered 10/05/2016 15:03:47 answering member 1542 label Biography information for Philip Dunne
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

517400

registered interest
date	04/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	War Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons there has been no increase in the war disablement pension for 2016-17; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	North Down
tabling member printed	Lady Hermon
uin	36625
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2016 answer text <p>War Pensions are uprated to ensure that they reflect any increases in the cost of living. The approach taken by successive governments is that by increasing awards with reference to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), we ensure consistency with the measure of inflation used by the Bank of England.</p><p>The level of any annual increase is set against the September CPI figure. In September 2015 CPI was negative. Consequently, for financial year 2016/17 War Pensions have been maintained at previous levels. War Pensions will increase when the annual CPI figure next increases.</p> answering member constituency Canterbury answering member printed Mr Julian Brazier question first answered 09/05/2016 16:33:26 answering member 77 label Biography information for Sir Julian Brazier
tabling member	1437 label Biography information for Lady Hermon

517401

registered interest
date	04/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	War Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans are in receipt of war disablement pension; and what steps his Department takes to notify recipients of changes in the level of that pension.
tabling member constituency	North Down
tabling member printed	Lady Hermon
uin	36624
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2016 answer text <p>As at 31 March 2015, there were 116,049 disablement pensioners in receipt of a War Pension administered by Veterans UK. Whenever there is a change in an individual's rate of war pension, Veterans UK will write to inform them. For 2016, Veterans UK elected not to issue an annual uprating letter to individuals as there was no change to payment levels. Instead, an alternative communication plan was put in place utilising automated messages on the Veterans UK helpline, letters to Third sector organisations for publication, and articles in Veterans World magazine, the Armed Forces pension newsletter, social media and on the gov.uk website.</p> answering member constituency Canterbury answering member printed Mr Julian Brazier question first answered 09/05/2016 16:34:00 answering member 77 label Biography information for Sir Julian Brazier
tabling member	1437 label Biography information for Lady Hermon

517402

registered interest
date	04/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: GCSE
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 25 April 2016 to Question 34910, how many Guided Learning Hours are required for recruits to complete a (a) GCSE and (b) Level 2 in numeracy or literacy.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	36555
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2016 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence has no established policy relating to time allowed to deliver GCSEs and Level 2 functional skills. Armed Forces Training Establishments follow the Guided Learning Hours (GLH) guidance provided by Education Awarding Bodies. The GLH as identified by the course governing body are used as a starting point when teaching functional skills. Our aim is to provide our trainees with a framework to achieve the qualification with the best possible support, not to achieve it within a certain period of time.</p><p>The Royal Navy normally allocate three weeks for guided learning functional skills courses delivered as part of longer professional skills development training. The GLH for each qualification in the Army is 45 hours; however this can vary depending on individual needs and other factors such as location. Time allocated to functional skills training in the RAF will depend on the establishment delivering the training with some schools allocating between 45 and 64 hours.</p><p>GCSEs are treated as elective courses for Service Personnel and time allocated for GCSEs is dependent on the individual and varies between four weeks for an intensive course and up to 16 weeks for a part time course. Army Personnel can undertake GCSEs or IGCSEs through evening classes run by the Army Education Centres and there will be a set programme linked to the GLH which is usually a minimum of 125 hours. The RAF and Navy offer courses which can be intensive or delivered over an extended period of time delivered by external providers.</p><p>All Armed Forces Training Establishments have the ability to deliver functional skills training and GCSEs flexibly and time allocated is dependent on the individual and their needs as reflected in each individual's learning plan.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 11/05/2016 16:38:48 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

517403

registered interest
date	04/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Apprentices
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 25 April 2016 to Question 34910, what the completion rate is for recruits who start on an apprenticeship.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	36556
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2016 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is able to provide the following information on completion rates for Level 2 and Level 3 Apprenticeships in the Armed Forces by Academic Year for 2011-12 and 2012-13. For information on completion rates for apprenticeships in 2013-14 and 2014-15, I will write to the hon. Member shortly.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Level 2 Apprenticeships - 1 August 2011- 31 July 2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Level 2 Apprenticeships - 1 August 2012- 31 July 2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Level 3 Apprenticeships - 1 August 2011- 31 July 2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Level 3 Apprenticeships - 1 August 2012- 31 July 2013</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Army </strong></p></td><td><p>4,507</p></td><td><p>3,116</p></td><td><p>1,682</p></td><td><p>1,763</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Royal Navy</strong></p></td><td><p>2,182</p></td><td><p>2,006</p></td><td><p>339</p></td><td><p>334</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Royal Air Force </strong></p></td><td><p>764</p></td><td><p>693</p></td><td><p>665</p></td><td><p>618</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>7,864*</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>5,891*</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>3,134*</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2,893*</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>*total numbers include apprenticeships completed by Service personnel and MOD civilian staff.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 11/05/2016 16:45:04 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

517404

registered interest
date	04/05/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Inquiries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance there is for briefing relatives following Boards of Inquiry which take place when there has been an in-service death; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Bridgend
tabling member printed	Mrs Madeleine Moon
uin	36445
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2016 answer text <p>Boards of Inquiry were replaced in 2008 by Service Inquiries. The policy on Service Inquiries, which includes support to families, is laid out in Ministry of Defence Joint Service Publication (JSP) 832, Guide to Service Inquiries.</p><p>Further, JSP 751, Joint Casualty and Compassionate Policy and Procedures, provides the framework and direction on casualty management, from which the single Services develop and deliver their support for bereaved families. No distinction is made between operational and non-operational deaths.</p><p>Although JSPs 832 and 751 lay out the overarching policy and processes, the single Services may involve different organisations in supporting bereaved families according to individual need and local circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>In the case of a Defence Safety Authority Service Inquiry, next of kin are offered a personal brief from the Inquiry President on the findings before they are published.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 12/05/2016 09:53:28 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1490 label Biography information for Mrs Madeleine Moon