11 Oct 19. MoD Annual Reports & Accounts 2018-19.
Tuesday 15 October 2019
The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
Witnesses:
At 2.00pm
- Sir Stephen Lovegrove, KCB, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence
- Ms Cat Little, Director General Finance, Ministry of Defence
- Air Marshal Richard Knighton, CB, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Financial and Military Capability)
- Sir Simon Bollom, KBE, CB, Chief Executive of Defence Equipment and Support
The Committee is holding a one-off evidence session with the Ministry of Defence to examine its 2018-19 Annual Report and Accounts. Topics that the session is expected to cover include the MoD’s financial management, pay, personnel and the Defence Estate.
House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Q
Asked by Lord West of Spithead
Asked on: 30 September 2019
Ministry of Defence
Type 31 Frigates
HL17939
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their recent order for five Type 31e frigates will increase the number of frigates in the Royal Navy.
A
Answered by: Baroness Goldie
Answered on: 08 October 2019
Her Majesty’s Government announced the preferred bidder for the Type 31 General Purpose Frigate competition in September 2019 and looks forward to the contract award in due course. These five ships will replace the existing five General Purpose Type 23 Frigates.
As explained in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 and in the National Shipbuilding Strategy, we remain committed to a surface fleet of at least 19 frigates and destroyers, and the Royal Navy will continue to have the ships it requires to fulfil Defence and policy commitments. It remains our intent to grow the destroyer and frigate force by the 2030s, and the Type 31 Frigates will give us the opportunity to do this.
Q
Asked by Tulip Siddiq
(Hampstead and Kilburn)
Asked on: 01 October 2019
Ministry of Defence
International Military Services: Expenditure
292967
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons IMS Ltd paid a dividend of £5 million in 2010 to the Secretary of State for Defence; and for what purposes that money was used.
A
Answered by: Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Answered on: 08 October 2019
Any dividends from investments are allocated in line with our normal financial and capability planning processes.
Q
Asked by Mr Jonathan Lord
(Woking)
Asked on: 02 October 2019
Ministry of Defence
Defence: Manufacturing Industries
293562
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to maintain the capabilities of UK defence manufacturing.
A
Answered by: Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Answered on: 08 October 2019
On 14 March 2019 (HCWS1411), we provided an update to Parliament on our ambitious Defence Prosperity Programme which includes work to sustain an internationally competitive and productive UK Defence sector. Since the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review introduced a new National Security Objective to Promote UK Prosperity we have published strategies for Shipbuilding and Combat Air and refreshed our Defence Industrial Policy with a new emphasis on supporting growth and competitiveness.
Q
Asked by Lord West of Spithead
Asked on: 25 September 2019
Ministry of Defence
Warships: Weapons
HL17850
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a service and support contract is in place to support the 30mm guns on naval ships.
A
Answered by: Baroness Goldie
Answered on: 07 October 2019
Pending the outcome of a competition to award a long-term support contract for the 30mm gun capability on in-service Royal Navy ships, interim technical support is being provided by MSI Defence Systems Limited. Arrangements are under way to award a further interim contract to provide additional support, including the provision of spares and necessary design modifications.
The 30mm gun capability on the Type 26 Frigates will be supplied to the Ministry of Defence by BAE Systems. The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers are not fitted with 30mm guns.
Q
Asked by Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham)
[N]
Asked on: 01 October 2019
Ministry of Defence
Unmanned Marine Vehicles
292857
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans for further trials of Ecosub platforms in the next two years.
A
Answered by: Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Answered on: 07 October 2019
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has already conducted environmental data gathering trials using Ecosub vehicles it has purchased. Over the next two years, the Department intends to conduct further assessments on these in a wider variety of military applications.
Q
Asked by Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham)
[N]
Asked on: 02 October 2019
Ministry of Defence
Type 31 Frigates: Procurement
293496
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the overall cost will be for each Type 31 Frigate once the cost of Government Furnished Equipment is added to the £250 million unit cost.
A
Answered by: Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Answered on: 07 October 2019
There is an estimated baseline value of Government Furnished Equipment for the Type 31e Frigate programme, but it would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence to disclose that estimate at this stage.
It is too early to specify the sources of Government Furnished Equipment that will be fitted to the Type 31 Frigates.
Q
Asked by Ruth Smeeth
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
[N]
Asked on: 02 October 2019
Ministry of Defence
Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft: Repairs and Maintenance
293666
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assurances he has received from Lockhead Martin on the (a) quality of the canopy adhesive used on the F35 and (b) effect on its stealth capability of that adhesive.
A
Answered by: Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Answered on: 07 October 2019
Investigations into F-35 production, maintenance and repair procedures have resulted in a change of adhesive to address incidents of canopy transparency delamination. Any impact on aircraft capability caused by the delamination is restored by repair or replacement of the canopy transparency.
Q
Asked by Ruth Smeeth
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
[N]
Asked on: 02 October 2019
Ministry of Defence
Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement
293667
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will announce the procurement timetable for the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme; and what proportion of the build will be undertaken domestically.
A
Answered by: Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Answered on: 07 October 2019
The Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme is currently under review and a decision is expected this year. If a contract is placed, it is anticipated that circa 60% by value of the contract spend will be with UK suppliers.
Q
Asked by Catherine McKinnell
(Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Asked on: 25 September 2019
Department for International Trade
Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia
290760
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to her letter dated 16 September 2019 to the Chair of the Committees on Arms Export Controls, how the breaches of the undertaking given to the Court by the Secretary of State in the Order of the Court dated 20 June 2019 took place; and what steps she is taking to ensure no further breaches take place.
A
Answered by: Graham Stuart
Answered on: 08 October 2019
As my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade said in her statement to Parliament on 26th September, as soon as the issue was brought to her attention on the 12th September, she took immediate action:
- Taking immediate steps to inform the Court and Parliament;
- Putting in place immediate, interim procedures to make sure the error could not happen again;
- Instigating a complete and full internal review of all licences granted for Saudi Arabia and its Coalition partners since 20 June;
- The Permanent Secretary commissioned, on her behalf, a full independent investigation.
This investigation will: (i) establish the precise circumstances in which these licences were granted; (ii) establish whether any other licences have been granted in breach of the Undertaking to the Court or the commitment to Parliament; and (iii) confirm that procedures are in place to ensure that no further such breaches can occur. The Director General Policy Group at the Department for Work and Pensions has been appointed to lead this investigation.
During the course of this investigation, licence applications for Saudi Arabia and its Coalition partners will be referred to a new weekly meeting of senior officials from the Department for International Trade, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence. (Some will have been refused by this point, for example where they fail to meet one or more of the Consolidated Criteria.) This meeting will reach a recommendation for Ministers as to whether applications are within the scope of the Undertaking and the Parliamentary Statement, applying a further checklist of questions which are designed to ensure that: (i) current and full information is available to enable an assessment of whether the items in question are for possible use in the conflict in Yemen; and (ii) if there has been any change in circumstances in the conflict in Yemen, this is properly included in the assessment. All recommendations to grant licences for the export of items to Saudi Arabia and its Coalition partners will now be referred to Ministers for decision.