28 Jun 13. The Defence Committee will be publishing a report on MoD Main Estimates 2013–14 at 11 am (BST) on Monday 1 July 2013. This will be the Committee’s Second Report of Session 2013–14 (HC 517).
The report will be made available on the Committee’s website, www.parliament.uk/defcom, on Monday 1 July 2013 and copies may be purchased from The Houses of Parliament Shop (12 Bridge Street, Westminster, London, SW1A 2JX) on the day of release.
26 Jun 13. The Defence Committee will publish the following Special Report on Thursday 27 June 2013 at 12 midday: The work of the Service Complaints Commissioner for the Armed Forces: Government’s and Commissioner’s Responses to the Committee’s Eighth Report of Session 2012–13 as its Fourth Special Report of Session 2013-14, HC 505. The Report will be on the Committee’s website, www.parliament.uk/defcom from 12 midday on Thursday 27 June and copies may be purchased from The Houses of Parliament Shop (12 Bridge Street, Westminster, London, SW1A 2JX).
House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for Thursdsday 27 June 2013
Afghanistan
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost of moving the headquarters of British forces from Lashkar Gah to Camp Bastion. [160993]
Mr Robathan: The rough order of magnitude for the move is estimated to be £1.9 million.
Defence: Expenditure
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of gross domestic product he estimates will be spent on defence in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16. [161854]
Mr Philip Hammond: The UK will meet NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defence for the duration of this Parliament and, as announced at the spending round, in financial year 2015-16.
Iraq
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make representations to the World Health Organisation for the immediate publication of its report into the health effects of the Iraq war. [161758]
Mr Robathan: No.
House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for Wednesday 26 June 2013
Afghanistan
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what equipment he proposes will (a) remain at Lashkar Gah, (b) be moved to Camp Bastion and (c) be returned to the UK; [160994]
(2) when the last service person stationed in Lashkar Gah will leave. [160995]
Mr Robathan: Future base reductions will be carried out in line with UK withdrawal plans. As part of these plans the UK base in Lashkar Gar is due to be closed in 2014. Equipment and material will only be redeployed from Afghanistan once operational commanders are content that it is no longer required. In some cases we will not redeploy material because it is beyond economic repair or does not represent good value for money to return it to the UK. If we decide not to redeploy an item we have several options for disposal; these include sale, scrap and gifting.
House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for Tuesday 25 June 2013
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to protect vehicles from blast attacks, particularly those that target the sides of vehicles. [161420]
Mr Dunne: The armed forces employ a layered approach to the protection of its vehicles in order to counter a range of threats including blasts. Physical protection includes armour as one of these layers. Physical protective measures are supplemented by layers that aim to reduce the likelihood of blast attacks occurring in the first place. These include the use of well developed tactics, techniques and procedures and the effective use of intelligence.
House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for Monday 24 June 2013
Defence Infrastructure Organisation
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the (a) effectiveness of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation’s new competency based applicati