House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Armed Forces: Eastern Europe
Question for Ministry of Defence
The Marquess of Lothian
Conservative
Life peer
Lords
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British troops they are preparing to deploy to the countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including (1) the Baltic States, (2) Bulgaria, and (3) Romania; and how many British troops they are preparing to deploy to those NATO countries…
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Answer
Baroness Goldie
Conservative
Life peer
Lords
Answered on 9 February 2022
The UK is currently finalising its contribution to NATO’s reinforced deterrence and defence posture. We already make a long-term enduring contribution to NATO enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia and Poland (Op CABRIT) totalling just over 1,000 Service personnel.
NATO is and has always been a defensive Alliance, which does not threaten Russia or any other country. We remain committed to our dual-track approach of strong defence and meaningful dialogue. In the NATO-Russia Council earlier this year, Allies made clear to Russia that any further aggression that threatens Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity would carry a significant cost.
Space Technology
Question for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Derek Thomas
Conservative
St Ives
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the National Space Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the potential contribution of the Defence Space Portfolio to supporting wider space sector growth.
Answer
George Freeman
Conservative
Mid Norfolk
Commons
Answered on 9 February 2022
In September 2021, the Secretaries of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Defence published the UK’s first joint civil and military National Space Strategy. A core part of that strategy is delivering the defence space portfolio, which will support our goals in space including both protecting and defending the UK and supporting economic growth. As reaffirmed in the recently published Defence Space Strategy, the MOD is investing an extra £1.4bn in Defence space technologies over the next 10 years. This is in addition to the £5bn investment in Skynet satellite communications over a similar timeframe. This represents a significant increase in Government funding for the UK space sector and will play a part in stimulating innovation, commercialisation, and growth across the wider sector. Defence will utilise elements of the Defence Space Portfolio funding to further support Space Science & Technology (which includes Research & Development), alongside existing funding.
Ministers and officials engage regularly with the Ministry of Defence to understand the opportunities and challenges to enable the UK’s space sector to grow and flourish, and I look forward to continuing to engage in that process as we implement the National Space Strategy.
National Space Strategy
Question for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Derek Thomas
Conservative
St Ives
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether a detailed implementation plan for the National Space Strategy will be published.
Answer
George Freeman
Conservative
Mid Norfolk
Commons
Answered on 9 February 2022
The National Space Strategy, published in September 2021, sets out the government’s plans to build one of the most innovative and attractive space economies in the world. Government is already pivoting to build on the success of the strategy’s publication to drive forward its delivery and prioritise commercial and investment enabling activities.
The newly stood-up BEIS Space Directorate is working closely with the Ministry of Defence to develop an implementation plan to guide strategy delivery, as we work through this process a decision will be made on publication. We will engage with industry, academia, and the sector in due course. BEIS jointly co-chairs the newly established Director-level National Space Board with the Ministry of Defence to oversee and drive delivery of the National Space Strategy’s ambitions and commitments across government. The strategy will be delivered jointly by several government departments and with the support of our thriving space sector: businesses, innovators, entrepreneurs, and space scientists. Monitoring and evaluating the impact of initiatives against key success factors will be an integral part of delivering the strategy’s vision. Government will work with the space sector on finding the right set of metrics to raise ambition, drive progress and monitor delivery.
Nigeria
Question for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Baroness Cox
Crossbench
Life peer
Lords
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with regard to the Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability: Guidance Note, published in June 2017, when an assessment on Nigeria was last conducted; and what is their assessment of the situation in Nigeria, with particular reference to the…
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Answer
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Conservative
Life peer
Lords
Answered on 9 February 2022
The UK Government monitors the conflict trajectory in Nigeria closely. We regularly engage with a wide range of actors, including the Nigerian Government and Non-Governmental Organisations, on developments. Conflict assessments also help us to understand the conflict picture. We have commissioned conflict assessments of North West and North Central Nigeria which will be published shortly. A Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability (JACS) assessment of North East Nigeria, including reference to the treatment of Christians, was conducted in 2018; a JACS assessment for the Delta was conducted in 2021. We are concerned about rising insecurity across Nigeria. Insecurity in the North East, where there is an ongoing conflict involving terrorist groups, is driven by Jihadist ideology. These terrorist groups attack those of all faiths who do not subscribe to their extremist views. On the other hand, we assess the root causes of intercommunal violence in the North West and Middle Belt to frequently relate to resource competition and criminality, as well as historical and ongoing inter-communal grievances. The Minister for Africa discussed insecurity with National Security Adviser Monguno last week, during the inaugural dialogue of the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership. At the dialogue, hosted in London, the UK and Nigeria agreed on areas of future cooperation to respond to shared threats, and to support Nigeria to tackle a range of security challenges.
Satellite Communications: Procurement
Question for Ministry of Defence
Derek Thomas
Conservative
St Ives
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the next steps are for the Skynet 6 Enduring Capability programme; and when a timeline for that programme will be published.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 9 February 2022
The Enduring Capability requirement consists of two elements: the satellites and the ground-based infrastructure.
We continue to refine the Enduring Capability satellite requirement and procurement approach in light of the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy and the Defence Space Strategy. As part of this refinement, we will undertake further industry engagement which will inform the satellite programme timeline.
The exact timings for the ground-based elements are dependent on the final agreements reached on the preceding ground and flight control provision programme (the Service Delivery Wrap which is currently being competed).
Veterans: Civil Servants
Question for Ministry of Defence
Stephanie Peacock
Labour
Barnsley East
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of armed forces veterans employed by the civil service in each year since 2010.
Answer
Leo Docherty
Conservative
Aldershot
Commons
Answered on 9 February 2022
This information is not held in the format requested. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not collect or hold information on all veterans and cannot say where veterans of the Armed Forces take up employment post service. The MOD does not routinely maintain a record of an employee’s prior employment. However, the Government have successfully piloted the Great Place to Work scheme across six government Departments which includes Defence and have commenced the roll out of this initiative across Departments for all Civil Service roles, including Senior Civil Servant positions by the end of March 2022. During the pilot phase, 928 veterans applied to the Ministry of Defence under the Great Place to Work for Veterans scheme within the nine-month early adopter phase, of which 338 were offered an interview, 105 offered a job. To date 33 are known to have accepted and started in a post.
Cameroon: Military Aid
Question for Ministry of Defence
Claudia Webbe
Independent
Leicester East
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost is of the training facility the UK is currently building in Salak for Cameroon’s Battalion d’Intervention Rapide; and who is paying for that facility.
Answer
James Heappey
Conservative
Wells
Commons
Answered on 9 February 2022
The UK has been providing training to the Battalion d’Intervention Rapide (BIR) since 2018. Since January 2021, we have been training the BIR in Salak in the Far North of Cameroon. In the last financial year, all capacity building cost £1.365 million, including the cost of the training village in Salak (£250,000).
Israel: Military Alliances
Question for Ministry of Defence
Kenny MacAskill
Alba Party
East Lothian
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish (a) a summary of and (b) the full defence cooperation agreement signed with Israel in 2020.
Answer
James Heappey
Conservative
Wells
Commons
Answered on 8 February 2022
In December 2020, the UK and Israel signed a joint agreement to strengthen the defence relationship between the two nations. The agreement is an important piece of defence diplomacy that formalises and deepens cooperation. Both the UK and Israel share a commitment to improving and integrating capabilities in maritime, land, air, space, and cyber and electromagnetic domains. The cooperation includes defence medical training, organisational design and concepts, and defence education. The Ministry of Defence is not publishing the agreement for national security reasons.
Yemen: Military Intervention
Question for Ministry of Defence
Kenny MacAskill
Alba Party
East Lothian
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which UK-supplied weapons have been used by Saudi Arabian and UAE aircraft in the war in Yemen in the last year.
Answer
James Heappey
Conservative
Wells
Commons
Answered on 8 February 2022
The UK has licensed the export of a variety of military equipment to Saudi Arabia. Details are available in the official statistics published by the Department for International Trade on:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data
We do not have a full picture of which specific items have been used in Yemen.
Dstl: Newcastle upon Tyne
Question for Ministry of Defence
Chi Onwurah
Labour
Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 175 of the Levelling Up White Paper, how much funding the new expanded Defence Science and Technology Laboratory will receive per annum; what his timetable is for the opening of the Science & Technology…
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Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 7 February 2022
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is playing a key part in driving the modernisation of our defence and is delivering a substantial part of the £6.6 billion investment in Research and Development set out in the Defence Command Paper.
Dstl Newcastle is strategically located Science and Technology (S&T) Hub which will be formally opened in Spring 2022. Dstl Newcastle will specialise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science and will enhance Dstl’s capabilities by recruiting and developing local expertise and by accessing skills and expertise from Industry, innovation partners and Academia across the North East.
Co-located with the National Innovation Centre for Data, Dstl Newcastle is the first established Dstl S&T Hub. It will provide a new and innovative route by which Dstl (as a whole) will deliverinvestment in AI and Data S&T over the next four years; the majority of which will be delivered by industry and academia.
Dstl has a long history of developing specialist expertise through research sponsorship and apprenticeships. Dstl Newcastle will build on existing relationships with the excellent universities in the region to explore suitable sponsorship opportunities. The quality of support and training offered to apprentices is critical to their success, and so Dstl will seek to expand its thriving and effective apprenticeship and graduate schemes into its Newcastle site when it is sufficiently established.
Elbit Systems UK
Question for Ministry of Defence
Claudia Webbe
Independent
Leicester East
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the Government will stop awarding contracts to the Leicester-based subsidiary of Elbit Systems in response to the use of Elbit Systems’ equipment in the 2014 Gaza War.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 4 February 2022
The Procurement Regulations set out who can apply for consideration under Ministry of Defence procurement tenders.