House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Asked by The Marquess of Lothian
Asked on: 08 December 2015
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Islamic State
HL4350
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have on the extent to which Daesh is establishing and consolidating control of territory in Afghanistan, in particular in the east, and what action they plan to take to prevent that.
A
Answered by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Answered on: 16 December 2015
The Daesh affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan which identifies as Islamic State in the Khorasan Province (ISKP) primarily consists of former Taleban. While ISKP has influence in the eastern province of Nangahar, it has not yet demonstrated any national presence. The Taleban see ISKP as a threat and there have been repeated clashes between the two groups in Nangahar. The UK, through our support to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), provides Train, Advise and Assist support to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces to help them tackle the extremist threat in Afghanistan. Together with our NATO partners we continue to monitor the situation closely.
Q
Asked by Lord West of Spithead
Asked on: 08 December 2015
Ministry of Defence
Guided Weapons
HL4361
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will confirm that stocks of air-launched weapons such as Brimstone used in Syria and Iraq will be maintained at planned levels at no cost to the agreed defencebudget.
A
Answered by: Earl Howe
Answered on: 16 December 2015
I am withholding details of stock levels of air-launched weapons as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our Armed Forces and allies. However, the cost of replenishing weapons used for air strikes in Syria and Iraq will be met from the HM Treasury Special Reserve.
Q
Asked by Jim Shannon
(Strangford)
Asked on: 08 December 2015
Ministry of Defence
Armed Forces: Deployment
19099
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is sufficient lift capacity to airlift the two new strike brigades to theatres of operation.
A
Answered by: Penny Mordaunt
Answered on: 16 December 2015
As part of the SDSR and our plans for Joint Force 2025 we are investing more than £178 billion in buying and maintaining equipment over the next decade. This includes the modernisation and investment in our air transport fleet which will include the C17, A400M, Voyager and C130J platforms. We are still developing our plans for how the Army’s new strike brigades will be deployed, but part of the extra capability we expect them to offer is the ability to deploy at pace by air, sea or to self-deploy over land.
Q
Asked by Steven Paterson
(Stirling)
Asked on: 08 December 2015
Ministry of Defence
Astute Class Submarines
19185
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reports have been made on the assessed material state of HMS (a) Astute, (b) Ambush and (c) Artful.
A
Answered by: Mr Philip Dunne
Answered on: 16 December 2015
A range of reports are generated on the material state of all Royal Navy submarines. Given the broad range of reporting that is undertaken and the large range of highly complex engineering systems reported on, this information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Q
Asked by Steven Paterson
(Stirling)
Asked on: 08 December 2015
Ministry of Defence
Trident: Electronic Warfare
19229
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on ensuring the Trident nuclear weapon system from cyber-attacks in each of the last three years; and how much he plans to spend in each of the next five years.
A
Answered by: Mr Philip Dunne
Answered on: 16 December 2015
The Ministry of Defence audits the integrity of the UK’s nuclear deterrent regularly for all threats and hazards and acts to ensure that it