17 Mar 22. Defence Minister to give evidence to Scottish Affairs Committee.
Monday 21 March 2022, 15:00
Committee Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Defence Minister Baroness Goldie will appear before the Scottish Affairs Committee as it concludes its evidence gathering on Defence in Scotland: Military Personnel and Estate. Now more than ever, defence priorities and the UK’s military capabilities in Scotland have been brought into sharp focus with the increasing threat posed by Russia. The Committee has been gathering evidence on what the UK’s changing defence priorities have meant for Scotland, the Armed Forces and the communities living in the vicinity of defence bases. The Scottish Government has said that due to Scotland’s surrounding seas and deep waters, easy access to ports and clear skies, Scotland is well-placed strategically to provide considerable defence capabilities for the UK. However, the Committee has been told that various Scottish bases are at risk of closure, Ministry of Defence spending with Scottish SMEs lags well behind other parts of the UK, and that the UK Government is behind its target to increase the number of Scottish-based Regular Armed Forces personnel to 12,500. This evidence session will be the opportunity for the Committee to reflect on the evidence heard so far with the Minister responsible for the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland devolved authorities at the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Likely topics to be discussed are:
- The impacts on Scotland of changing UK defence priorities;
- Whether the MoD’s capabilities in Scotland should be increased given the growing threat posed by Russia;
- Fostering defence industry in Scotland;
- MoD collaboration with the Scottish Government and local authorities;
- The impacts of MoD base closures and the release of surplus MoD land;
- The impacts of growing MoD bases on Scottish communities;
- The movement of UK Armed Forces personnel and their families between Scotland and other parts of the UK.
Witnesses from 15:00
- Rt Hon Baroness Goldie DL, Minister of State, Ministry of Defence
- Damian Parmenter CBE, Director General Strategy and International, Ministry of Defence
- Sherin Aminossehe, Director of Infrastructure, Ministry of Defence
- David Brewer, Chief Operating Officer, Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Ministry of Defence
Following Monday’s evidence session, the report will be written for publication in due course.
House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Ukraine: Development Aid
Question for Ministry of Defence
Patrick Grady
Scottish National Party
Glasgow North
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of how much and what proportion of his Department’s spending in response to the conflict in Ukraine will be accounted for as Official Development Assistance.
Answer
James Heappey
Conservative
Wells
Commons
Answered on 16 March 2022
At this stage, The Ministry of Defence has not committed to use Official Development Assistance funds in response to the conflict in Ukraine.
Nuclear Weapons: Testing
Question for Ministry of Defence
Stephanie Peacock
Labour
Barnsley East
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) digital and (b) physical copies his Department holds of the 1988 National Radiological Protection Report Board Report, Mortality and cancer incidence in UK participants in UK atmospheric nuclear weapon tests and…
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Answer
Leo Docherty
Conservative
Aldershot
Commons
Answered on 16 March 2022
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This report is some thirty-four years old, pre-dating the advent of widespread electronic filing, and over the intervening decades copies held by the Ministry of Defence may since have been filed, archived, placed in storage etc. making it impractical to give a definitive answer without incurring disproportionate cost recalling and searching records.
The report was originally published in the British Medical Journal, and is publicly available via the National Archives at the following link:
https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140714112415/http:/www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1281953945227
Shipping: Procurement
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Question for Ministry of Defence
UIN 139307, tabled on 14 March 2022
Question
Mr Kevan Jones
Labour
North Durham
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many bids his Department received regarding the purchase of a Special Purpose Vessel for Navy X.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 17 March 2022
Following a tender process that resulted in several expressions of interest from the market, two tenders were submitted within the pricing envelope that delivered the technical requirement detailed for the Royal Navy.
17 Mar 22. Ajax Vehicles: Testing
Question for Ministry of Defence
UIN 139303, tabled on 14 March 2022
Question
Mr Kevan Jones
Labour
North Durham
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the Millbrook Test Report on AJAX.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 17 March 2022
We do not plan to publish the report once trials have completed. The analysis of the report, which includes detailed information about the performance of military equipment could be potentially operationally sensitive However it will help inform the way ahead on Ajax and I will continue to keep the House updated on the outcome of our analysis and the implications of the programme.
Falkland Islands: Argentina
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Question for Ministry of Defence
Andrew Rosindell
Conservative
Romford
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made a recent strategic assessment of the threat posed by Argentina towards the Falkland Islands in the context of recent statements by the Minister of Argentina.
Answer
James Heappey
Conservative
Wells
Commons
Answered on 17 March 2022
The Ministry of Defence undertakes regular assessments of possible threats to the Falkland Islands to ensure that an appropriate defensive capability is maintained. Our forces in the South Atlantic are at the appropriate level to ensure the defence of the Islands.
Ukraine: Military Aid
Question for Ministry of Defence
Kenny MacAskill
Alba Party
East Lothian
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there are plans to recover unused UK-supplied weapons from Ukraine after the conflict.
Answer
James Heappey
Conservative
Wells
Commons
Answered on 17 March 2022
No. All defensive weapons supplied by the UK to Ukraine have been at the direct request of the Ukrainian Government. Not only were UK-supplied weapons granted in kind, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine are likely to want to keep any un-used weapons from the current conflict to increase their military capability to defend their future democracy and sovereignty.