Live Defence Questions House of Commons

round-up of the day in both houses

of parliament from 11pm. First,

questions to the Defence Secretary,

Gavin Williamson, and his

ministerial team.

Secretary of State

for Defence, Mr Jim Shannon.

Question number one.

Secretary of

State for Defence, Gavin Williamson.

We take the cyber threat seriously.

We are strengthening defences

against increasingly sophisticated

attacks. Our approach to cyber

defence includes a wide range of

technical, operational and

administrative measures. As well as

close corporation with the National

cyber Security Centre. This week we

are opening a dedicated,

state-of-the-art cyber defence

school at the defence Academy to

enhance cyber skills of defence

personnel.

Jim Shannon.

I think the

secretary of State for his reply.

There were 762 3C attacks, so can

the Secretary of State outline how

his department is being shored up in

the light of rising Russian

aggression and increasing cyber

attacks?

The honourable gentleman is

right to highlight this increasing

threat and that is why we have

announced plans to spend £1.9

billion over five years in making

sure the cyber defence is right and

also make sure we develop

capabilities, not just to defend

against attack, but also to

operationalise this ourselves.

Britain's forces are a major force

in the Baltic states. At a recent

meeting of the Nato Parliamentary

assembly we heard of some of the

malign attacks made on those forces,

particularly the German deployment

in Lithuanian. I'm not asking my

right honourable friend to give me

great detail, because it might be

secret, but can he give the house

assurance we are learning from every

attack taking place and we are

training people down at quite a low

level to ensure forces are best

equipped to deal with this.

I think

it's a very important point. It's

not just about the work we do

centrally. It's about training our

forces to best understand the

threats they will be potentially

exposed to as they are operating in

increasingly hostile fields. This is

something we have done in terms of

all troops engaged in Nato

operations and more globally as

well.

Local authorities can be

vulnerable to cyber attacks. One in

four councils including East

Berkshire have experienced cyber

security incidents but many do not

even provide mandatory training on

cyber security. What discussions has

he had with the Department for

Communities and Local Government and

devolved administrations to make

sure local communities do not become

a soft target for cyber attacks.

This is part of the reason why we

set up the National cyber Security

Centre, to make sure all elements of

government are working together and

tackling this issue. The point the

right Honourable Lady raises is one

I will take up with the Secretary of

State for Department communities and

local government to highlight the

threats and challenges local

government faces.

Traditionally

young men and women joined the Armed

Forces in large part because of the

physical challenge and desire for

combat experience. Shouldn't we

increasingly be recruiting young men

and women because of their digital

and IT proficiency so we can develop

an elite group of cyber specialists?

I think as we face new challenges

going forward we have to be

realistic that we need a whole

different range of skills, not just

the traditional skills that have

been the backbone of our Armed

Forces, but new skills and we are

looking at how we can best recruit

those into our Armed Forces. And not

just into the regulars but also into

reserves.

Surely the Secretary of

State knows that what Mr Putin

announced a few days ago was

basically a new Cold War. It's not

just cyber warfare, it's every kind

of warfare, at a time when Europe

seems to be fragment in. Our

commitment to Nato is deeply hurt by

Donald Trump moving into a new phase

of withdrawal. What will we do about

all this?

So, Putin has made it

quite clear that he has hostile

intent towards this country. We have

been seeing the build-up of his

forces across the Eastern front, and

in terms of what they are doing over

many years now, we have to wake up

to that threat and respond to it.

It's not just through nuclear

weapons. Our continuous at sea

nuclear deterrent is absolutely

integral to maintaining peace, but

it's also through conventional Armed

Forces. We have to match what Putin

is doing with Russian forces. We

have to be aware of the challenges

they face and that is very much why

we are engaging in modernising the

defence programme to ensure we can

match the Russians going forward.

Ross Thompson.

Question number two.

Secretary of State.

With permission,

Mr Speaker, I would like to answer

questions two and seven together.

The US and United Kingdom enjoy a

strategic global partnership. This

was forged through shared values and

belief in freedom, the rule of law

and order, and reinforced by mutual

history, partnership and military

cooperation. The UK defence

cooperation is today the broadest,

deepest and most advanced of any two

countries. Our collaboration extends

across the full spectrum of defence,

including operations and flagship

capability programmes. Our troops

have fought alongside each other for

over 100 years. And 2018 will be

another busy year.

Ross Thompson.

Thank you Mr Speaker, and I thank my

right honourable friend for his

answer. Currently the UK's defence

trade partnership with the US is

worth over $3 billion including

collaboration projects such as the

S35 programme and the common

compartment for the ballistic

submarines. Does the UK regaining

its ability to strike free trade

deals across the globe post Brexit,

we have the opportunity to deepen

the bonds of our special

relationship with the US when it

comes to national defence interests?

We already one of the world's

leading countries in terms of

defence exports and we have to seize

the opportunities that exiting the

European Union provides in order to

expand the ability to export right

around the world. Making sure it's

absolutely clear Britain is a world

leader in technology and science,

and so much of what we do

historically with the United States

is something we can do more and more

right around the globe.

Can I

implore my right honourable friend

not to listen to the Trump bashing

opposite. There is absolutely no

indication whatsoever that President

Trump is attenuating his commitment

to Nato. Can I further say to my

right honourable friend, that Nato

is the backbone, not the European

Union, of this nation's defence. And

he should be, and I know that he is,

going out there to Washington,

speaking to his counterparts, and

can he talk about precisely what he

has achieved. Sorry about that!

LAUGHTER

I thought my honourable friend was

incredibly elegant. Let's be

absolutely clear, there is one

reason that we have had peace right

across the continent of Europe since

the Second World War, and that's

down to the North Atlantic Treaty

Organisation. And the fact it has

acted as deterrents against those

who wished to prosecute aggressive

campaigns against the West. I am

very proud of the work that has been

done and will be done in the future

with our allies.

David Hanson.

That

the Secretary of State to tell me

what was the pound and dollar rate

at the time of the commissioning of

the S35 programme, what is it now,

and how much taxpayer's extra money

is being commissioned as a result?

I'm afraid I don't have the exchange

rates with me, but I will write to

the honourable gentleman with those

exchange rates. The changes in terms

of exchange rates over the last few

years have cost about a quarter of

£1 billion extra for the defence

budget as a result of the pound

moving.

Jonathan Edwards.

The US

nuclear posturing was met with an

equal amount of posturing from

President Putin in his State of the

nation address. What is the

Minister's response as the world

slides into a new Cold War.

Let's be

really clear, President Putin has

been developing a much more hostile

and aggressive posture towards the

United Kingdom, towards the United

States, towards our allies, for an

awful lot longer than the last 12

months. They want to assert their

rights, you have seen increased

Russian activity in the North

Atlantic. A tenfold increase in the

last few years. Do we sit

submissively bike? Do we just accept

that President Putin can do whatever

he wishes to do, or do we have to

look at how we respond and make it

clear that we are not willing to

stand up to bullying? The fact

nations are being subjected to

attacks by Russia, we need to deal

with that, that's what we will do,

and that's why I am proud we have a

continuous at sea nuclear deterrent.

Would my right honourable friend in

from the house were discussions he

has with his US counterpart so we

work together to ensure other Nato

allies pay the 2% of GDP they should

be paying towards collective

defence?

In this country I am proud

to be able to say we spent 2% of GDP

on defence. But we cannot outsource

the defence of Europe to the United

States. Every European country has

to play its part in terms of

defending Europe, and that means

spending the money required in order

to defend the borders of western

Europe.

Can I begin by paying

tribute to the members of the Armed

Forces who helped their country get

moving as much as it could over the

week. How confident can the

Secretary of State, his US

counterpart, or indeed any Nato

counterpart be that we can bring

what we say we can bring to the

table when there is a £20 billion

funding gap in his department?

What we are doing we are looking at

what resources are needed in terms

of going forward and we carry

considerable contingencies in terms

of our equipment plan and we are

very competent we can deliver

everything we need for our Armed

Forces. -- confident for the.

That

is a head in the sand answer, it was

said that projects would have to be

scaled back or an accountant, will

he assure us that no project in

Scotland will suffer this?

I'm sure

the gentleman is where we are doing

a modernising defence programme and

he will be pleased that we opened up

our public consultation as part of

this programme and we are going to

be looking at all of what we do, how

best we can use our Armed Forces to

deliver for the whole of the UK and

make sure that we are best protected

against the threat from abroad and

other forward to the gentlemen's

contribution. -- I look forward.

Question three.

Minister Mark

Lancaster.

The Royal Navy is going

for the first time in a generation

with the aircraft carriers, news of

dreams and frigates and patrol

vessels and aircraft, and the Royal

Navy continues to respond to the

demand be placed upon them and

maintain their operational edge --

with you submarines.

The nation has

lost a third of our ships, and in

uncertain times, can the minister

give people in Plymouth the visuals

that Devonport will not have any

more cuts to frigates in the

upcoming review?

I take this

opportunity to underline and thank

the people of Plymouth for their age

commitment and support to the Royal

Navy and I can absolutely sure the

gentleman that Devonport will

continue to be one of the

Cornerstone basis of the Royal Navy

in the future and he will be aware

that only recently we allocated the

location of the type 23 frigates and

we are doing will work with the type

26 and we hope to announce that

shortly.

I must declare an interest,

my grandfather and father in the

world maybe and I can say they would

be telling in their grave at the

size of the Royal Navy -- turning.

Would the minister except that the

threats around the world are

growing, not least with China, which

is seldom talked about, and I know

we are sending one ship across the

waters to South Tanna, can I ask him

for assurance that the Royal Navy

will be increased? -- South China.

You will be aware of the recent

deployment of HMS Sutherland and

they will be further deployments in

the future to that part of the

world, but what I will say to him,

for the first time in a generation

the Royal Navy is actually growing

and it grew in manpower last year

and will continue to grow over the

next couple of years but also not

just in manpower but also growing in

its surface fleet size, the latest

arrived in Portsmouth only this

weekend.

Given everything his boss

has said about the portals of Nato,

and the deterrent of the threat of

Russia, it would be unthinkable,

would it not, not to audit the full

quota of seven S class submarines.

The honourable man is a champion for

his constituency and he frequently

comes to support the programme of

work which is considering seat has

-- which his constituency has

continued to build submarines for

generations and I'm very confident

that shortly the gentleman will have

the news he wishes.

When H mess

Queen Elizabeth goes to sea it will

lead a free to protect it -- HMS.

Can the minister reassure the house

that the Royal Navy has this

protection question --?

Yes, the

Royal Navy continues to meet its

operational requirements and as I

have said a few moments ago, the

size of our fleet will increase in

years to come.

The minister will be

aware that the National Audit Office

has released a scathing report of

the equipment plan until 2027, and

it says there is a £20.8 billion

gaping black hole in the MoD's

budget but can the minister tell me

what it is that the type 31 E

frigates are not even referred to in

the equipment plan?

It is a bit

rich, when the honourable gentleman

comes to the dispatch box to

criticise this government when it

comes to black holes in defence

spending, given the record of the

last Labour government in this area.

But I'm sure that my honourable

friend will write to the gentleman

to explain why this is the case.

Question number four.

With

permission, I would like to answer

question four. With the bigger plan

worth £180 billion over ten years,

the rise in the defence budget,

there are a range of supplies to

work with the Mehdi, and we recently

had an event reaching out to the

defence sector entrepreneurs,

increasing opportunities to work

with governments.

In my constituency

there is a leading supplier of

fabrics, which are designed to keep

our service personnel safe and well

protected in the field, what is my

friend doing to support businesses

within the defence Supply chain that

manufacture technical textiles and

would he consider visiting this

company to see for themselves be

innovative work being carried out in

support of our Armed Forces?

Thank

you for that question and indeed I

would like to take you up on the

kind offer to meet this company who

are an important provider of

services to the MoD, and I think

this is a classic example of a

company which is generating key

supplies for the MoD for our armed

service and being innovative in the

way they do that and that innovation

is something that we see across the

board with MoD contracts, innovative

in terms of the UK economy.

Does the

minister agree that the launch of

the REF's first satellite is to be

welcomed -- RAF. And we'll space

technology be part of the combat air

strategy? -- will.

I was very

disappointed not to have visited the

company who developed the facility

because of the weather last

Thursday, but this is a significant

development, this is an example of

innovative thinking being developed

by the MoD and the force and even

more important, this was a concept

only ten months ago but it has now

been delivered, and as part of the

come at a strategy, the way we

interlinked with satellite

technology will be a key aspect.

The

minister made a welcome visit to Bae

incher mustered which has played a

key role in developing radar

technology through the generations

-- Bae in Chelmsford. Does the

minister agree that it is vital to

maintain British capacity and make

sure that these skills stay in

Britain?

I thank you for that

question and I also pay tribute to

the work being done in your

constituency by Bae and she is right

to highlight the importance of

keeping skills in the UK and that is

why we should all be proud across

all parts of this house that the

Ministry of Defence is responsible

for over 20,000 apprenticeship

opportunities throughout the UK and

it highlights again BMA -- the MoD

procurement leads to high quality

jobs all through the UK including

Chelmsford.

If the UK withdraws from

the European reach chemical

regulations and the free movement of

scientists and engineers is not part

of the Brexit agreement, defence

companies have expressed concerns

over this.

I thank you for that

question and I think we can agree

that the free movement of people

with relevant skills is something

the government would like to see

continue, but in relation to the

rich issue this is an issue that the

MoD is already engaging with -- the

reach issue for them is a meeting

about this tomorrow, as it happens,

and this is a subject that the MoD

is top on but I can understand the

question, but I feel we will have

these deals shortly.

... Also in my

honourable friend's clan

would be minister commit to speaking

with his colleagues at the

Department for Transport and perhaps

meeting with me to make sure they

get the support from the whole of

government to export to other

markets including the United States?

Again, I would be delighted to meet

with you to discuss this issue in

more detail and I was pleased to

visit the company in question in my

previous position and it was

difficult not to be impressed with

what they provide for our Armed

Forces and any opportunity to

support Welsh businesses moving

forward, I would be more than happy

to take on.

This offers the

framework through which we can

achieve innovation with different

suppliers, Izzy considering agreeing

more portfolio agreements question

not -- is he.

That is a very

important but not one of the first

meetings I had in my new position

was with MBTA, and that agreement is

an example of what can be done in

terms of innovation in how we reach

procurement, it means a degree of

partnership between the MoD and the

businesses in question.

May I also

welcome the combat Ester today and

could be minister give a commitment

that this review will look to make

sure the RAF have the equipment they

need for the complex of the future

but a look at how British industry

will deliver -- conflicts.

My

honourable friend is a great

champion of the RAF and I know this

was a issue that he called for

before the announcement was made and

indeed it is about capability but it

is also about embedding the ability

of UK industry to respond to the

needs of the 21st-century and I

think the combat air strategy will

do that.

Mr speaker there is

crippling uncertainty about the

customs arrangements that our

defence supplies will face after

Brexit and this is threatening their

ability to innovate and invest, just

today the REF's biggest supplier of

large aircraft has warned that trade

barriers will seriously impede their

ability to move parts across borders

and it is clear that only a cobra

heads a customs union with the EU

can guarantee frictionless trade --

only eight comprehensive. Why has

the government ruled out this

option?

The government has been very

clear, we want the most

comprehensive free trade agreement

possible with the EU and that will

respond to the concerns of industry

and especially industries supplying

the defence sector.

The fact of the

matter is, a DS, the trade body,

said the government's preferred

options are either incomplete or so

complex basically won't be viable.

Why is it that the government will

not listen to the voices of industry

like a DS and why are they ignoring

those voices and ignoring their

support for a customs union? Is it

not the case that the government is

putting ideology above the interests

of defence supplies, pursuing an

extreme Brexit which will damage our

national sovereignty and security?

Only a few weeks ago the honourable

lady was voting against a

proposition from her own

backbenchers asking for the UK to

stay within the customs union, and

the announcement made by the Leader

of the Opposition was about staying

in a customs union but not the

customs union.

Number five, Mr

speaker.

Secretary of State.

Our

Armed Forces are amongst the best in

the world and to the modernising

defence programme we are assessing

the threats that the country faces

an understanding what we can do to

make them ever more effective at

keeping us safe and into the future

today.

The Defence Secretary will

recognise the threats that we face

from conventional and new forms of

technology are massive and varied

and not simply from Russia but from

many different sources and in that

context, can he tell us has the

Chancellor agreed to sign up to the

process?

When the Prime Minister and

the Chancellor and myself met we

agreed the terms of reference of the

modernising defence programme and we

are clear that it was not to be

fiscally neutral and we were to

understand what the threats were and

to understand the capabilities that

were needed and made sure that the

defence... The Ministry of Defence

leads the study to make sure we are

best equipped to deal with those

threats.

Can my right honourable friend

update the house on what progress

has been made on modernising the

defence review so we can ensure the

defence of the realm is safe?

I can

assure my honourable friend we are

making good progress. As I mentioned

earlier, we are opening it up to

public consultation. We are eager to

report back to the house as quickly

as possible. We would hope this can

be done by June or July, before the

Nato summit.

We have seen this week

our Armed Forces rise to the

challenge in any weather. In spite

of our increased commitments to the

Baltic states, cuts to training have

left the Royal Marines with fewer

opportunities to develop their cold

weather warfare skills. In January

the Minister for the Armed Forces

said offcuts to training exercises

in Norway, I am confident it was a

one off saving. Can the Secretary of

State confirm that training will

return to normal levels next year?

We have had 500 Royal Marines

already training out in Norway this

year. We look forward to continuing

that collaboration going forward.

It's right to say that our Armed

Forces are always ready to serve.

And when things are difficult it is

our Armed Forces that always step up

to the plate.

Question six.

Mr

Speaker, I was trying to off-load

various questions to my ministerial

colleagues. Sadly they were not

willing to take them! God loves a

try! I have regular conversations

with my UN and US counterparts on

maintaining defence cooperation

between the European Union and Nato.

The EU and Nato cooperation is key

to combating the breadth of

challenges we face and institutions

must work together in a way that is

complimentary and prevents

duplication. UK will continue to

support better working between the

EU and Nato while we remain in the

EU and we leave.

Thank you to the

Secretary of State for taking my

question on. Following the recent

signing of the permanent structure

cooperation pact between 25 EU

nations, what role does the

Secretary of State envisage for the

UK after Brexit and ensure the

future cooperation plans enhanced

Nato rather than detract from it?

I

think they have always had

traditional tensions within the

European Union, as to which way they

would like to take the European

Union's role in defence. But we want

to work with our European Union

partners and we mustn't forget that

80% of Nato's defence is provided by

countries outside of the European

Union. And we shouldn't see leaving

the European Union as a step towards

making the continent of Europe less

safe. Indeed, it's fair to say that

before the European Union was

invented, Nato was already doing

that incredibly successfully in the

decades before. I think we want to

have the opportunity to work closely

with our European Union partners but

we equally want to make sure it does

not detract away from the amazing

work Nato does.

The European defence

agency does not really envisage

third-party countries joining. Is

this one of the agencies you will be

seeking an administrative

arrangement with?

We are happy to

have discussions about how best we

can work with European partners. But

we do not want to do anything that

diminishes what we actually agreed

to on 23rd of June 2016, which is

exiting the EU. But if we can work

in a pragmatic way with European

partners, that's good. Let's not

forget, most of what we do in terms

of, let's say, equipment programmes.

It's done on a bilateral relations,

not the European Union.

The Armed

Forces covered an annual report

published in December of 2017. There

are more than 2000 companies signed

up. The cross of all body, the

veterans board chaired by the

defence, secretary is used to ensure

government departments meet their

covenant commitments. What I am

grateful to my right honourable

friend for the answer, but what

conversations does he have

in the

Ministry of Housing, communities and

local governments to ensure there is

better understanding in local

government of their duties,

obligations and what they need to do

under the covenant?

My honourable

friend raises an important point.

It's important each department

recognises and understands its own

commitments. That's why stress the

importance of the veterans board. We

have proper assessment techniques to

make sure that the commitments, in

this case to do with housing, are

met.

Mr Jones.

Thank you Mr Speaker.

People across this country and in

this house were horrified to read

last week that the Minister of

defence took money from the Libor

funds, and spent it on projects,

albeit worthy ones, that he should

be part of routine department

spending. We know things are bad in

the MOD but they can hardly consider

themselves a charity. Can the

Minister tell the house how this was

allowed to happen and more

importantly, will the department pay

the money back?

I also saw those

comments that were made in the

press. It's important to understand

that the grants are therefore

additional facilities. There is an

additional facility from the MOD to

provide core activities. There is a

great area in between. I am more

than happy to look at the details he

raises and will write to him.

Sir

Robert Sims.

Questioned nine.

May I

group this question with number 17.

The house will recall the flexible

working bill passed its third

reading of January 29 this year and

has received Royal assent allowing

regular Armed Forces personnel to

work part-time for a temporary

period, but this is subject to

operational capability of the

applicants' unit.

Can I thank the

Minister for his reply. In order to

retain people in the armed services

and recruit these days, it's

important to have more flexible

terms and conditions. How rapidly

does he think this will happen, now

or in two or three months?

It's

important to recognise that we need

to reflect the needs and aspirations

of civilian society as well. This

has already been introduced as

flexible capability. The process is

ongoing. It has received Royal

assent and will come into being in

April of 2019.

It's extremely

important that we continue to make

the Armed Forces a desirable career

through measures such as flexible

working. However, in Scotland, due

to the SNP government personnel will

be paying higher taxes than their

colleagues south of the border. Will

my honourable friends do all he can

to sort out this ill thought out

mess the SNP has created?

I am not

sure there is much more to add, than

an ill thought out mess.

Specifically on the conditions of

service, it's also right that

service men and women who come unfit

for duty should have Assistant to

support them that is fit for

service. It currently is not. The

Minister said his department would

publish a response. Where is it as

Jim White I will write to the

honourable lady with the details. --

where is it?

I will write to the

honourable lady with the details. We

have a mental health strategy that

will remove the stigma sometimes

attached to people coming forward to

make clear there is an issue to be

dealt with so they can get back to

the front line. I will write to the

honourable lady.

Many constituents

have given outstanding service to

our country and I've come to me with

mental health problems. How can we

ensure the conditions of service

also include post-service follow-up

to give these people the care they

need?

It leads me nicely on from the

answer I have just given. The mental

health strategy was brought in, it

was not working well before and

people were reluctant to come

forward. We now have 11 major

departments across Britain,

established in the main hubs of

where Armed Forces are actually

based designed to help and assist

those people step forward to deal

with mental health issues. We should

also recognise that we have the

launch of the Armed Forces military

mental health 24/7 Mac helpline last

week that allows direct access to

support.

Marcus Fysh.

Number Ten.

At

last month's Nato defence

ministerial we discussed

modernisation. This is a UK priority

and my priority is for a modern Nato

fit to face modern challenges that

is delivering against its

commitments. We will take further

commitments to modernise the

alliance when defence ministers

meets next in June and at the next

Nato summit in Brussels in July.

UK

defence equivalent manufactures can

bolt on to EU defence programmes.

For example, Leonardo and the

unmanned defence system is well

placed to help their Italian

counterparts. Can my right

honourable friend assure us that

such cooperation will happen without

the UK submitting to EU defence

operational and equipment investment

governance that might risk

undermining Nato?

Yes I can.

Jim

Cunningham.

12.

Pay rates are

recommended by the independent Armed

Forces pay review body. We look

forward to receiving their next step

of recommendations later this

spring. We have made it clear to all

personnel that any award once

announced will be backdated to one

April 2018.

Is the Minister of

defence actually saying that he pay

increase for the Armed Forces is

actually being delayed, and if so,

when does he intends to implement

it?

As I say, we are waiting for the

report to come through. It's

unfortunate that we have had to

introduce a pay restraint anyway. I

think we shouldn't lose sight of why

the pay restraint was introduced in

the first place. It's because the

last government was living beyond

its means and only with a return to

a strong economy can we responsibly

increase public sector pay.

Last

week we saw how our Armed Forces

stepped up to deal with the chaos

caused by the very challenging

weather conditions. Does the

Minister not therefore agree that

these brave men and women deserve

more than 1% pay rise, which is in

fact a real terms pay cut? And will

he make that clear to the pay review

body?

It works the other way round,

but I do agree with them, I would

like to see an increase of more than

1%. I go back to the rather delicate

point, received with some hostility

from the other side, we can't lose

sight of the fact that we have to do

have a responsibility in making sure

we have a strong economy so we can

increase public sector pay across

the board. If I may, Mr Speaker,

underline the wider point I made

last week, that without strong

defence in this fast changing and

dangerous world, a strong economy

can't be guaranteed. That's why I

said that 2% GDP on defence is not

enough. Thanks to the efforts of

this Defence Secretary we now have

an opportunity to make the case, to

put the argument through the defence

modernisation programme for a more

robust defence posture that ensures

access to the markets that will help

our economy.

Question 13.

The UK has

a key role in Nato's enhanced... By

leading a battle group in Estonia

and contributing to a US-led battle

group in Poland. We have deployed

around 800 personnel to Estonia and

around 150 to Poland. These

deployments are part of the broader

commitment to Nato and alliances on

the eastern flank.

I thank him for

that response. Does he agree with me

that both our security and our

economy rely on the confidence

placed in us by our Nato allies,

that we will, in the event of an

article five situation, be both

ready and willing to support our

eastern flank Nato allies?

My

honourable friend makes a very

important point. It's absolutely

right that our power is an important

part of maintaining defence and

security, as the Vice Chief of the

Defence Staff said last week, and

made the strong case for spending

more on defence. Armed Forces and

civilians in defence must do more to

work with other departments in both

international development and

diplomacy.

Question 14.

I continue

to monitor the recruiting

partnership project very closely.

Recruiting people into Armed Forces

today is more important than ever.

The Defence Secretary recently said

we are working closely with capita

to make a contract work better.

Could he give specific examples of

this work, how he will be assessing

whether performance has improved,

and in what time frame.

Defence has

been working closely with Capita on

a recruitment plan which has now

been implement it. Initial signs are

promising. We expect Capita to

deliver on improvements and will be

monitoring progress closely in

coming months, including ensuring

that the new defence recruiting

system reaches full operating

capability as quickly as possible.

Although many believe the regular

army should be closer to 100,000 in

strength it appears we are

struggling to even reach the reduced

figure of 82,000, what more can the

government do to make sure that we

recruit and maintain those levels

and increase them close to 82,000?

There is a lot that is going on at

the moment, we're working closely

with capitalize it would be a to

said that to having to with the

implementation of the defence system

-- R but it would be wrong to say

that we're not having problems. We

are recruiting from the female and

bame population and there has been

an increase but we have to make sure

we do everything we can to make sure

that joining the Armed Forces is an

attractive population and this is

something we intend to continue with

-- attractive proposition.

May I

greet this with question 16. The MoD

works to make sure that our service

people have the best mental health

and well-being strategy but I do

stress that the number of cases

dealt with in the Armed Forces to

deal with mental health are less

than the general civilian

population.

Would my right

honourable friend agree that

organisations which run a weekly

support group in my constituency of

Southport play an essential role in

helping veterans including any

mental health support they may need.

There are over 400 charities that

support not just the military but

also their families and the

community and yours is just one of

them and they do immense work in

providing that support which they

deserve and also need.

Mental health

problems place great strain on

relationships whilst family

breakdown can worsen mental health

issues, will the minister make sure

that mental health support extends

to personnel families and that there

is also particular focus on

providing support to keep military

families together?

You are

absolutely right, it often isn't the

person themselves who recognises

there is a mental health concern but

often the partner or husband or wife

or a family member or may be a

comrade in the unit, and this is

important that we provide the

necessary support which we are doing

but unfortunately there is a stigma

of just putting your hand up and

saying there is an issue but we are

moving forward in society and in the

Armed Forces.

The house will want to

join the welcoming the visit of a

distinguished delegation of Canadian

Parliamentary is, and our very good

friends from Canada, thank you. Mr

Stephen Hepburn.

I'm dealing with

the sad case of a young man in my

constituency who was injured with

the army and he did not get the

treatment he needed because he had

stepped to the net because of his

junior rank. Can I ask the minister

to review the system is to make sure

this doesn't happen in future?

You

are very pertinent in what you say

and we should have a robust system

which is able to make sure that no

person is left behind and I would be

more than happy to speak to the

honourable gentleman afterwards to

recognise what more can be done to

help this individual but in mind of

the guests, can I say thank you to

the Canadians, we held a conference

on mental health and veterans issues

last year where we were able to

compare notes to better improve all

of our contributions and our support

to our Armed Forces personnel and

veterans.

Emma Harding.

Sadly some

veterans returned from service with

mental health conditions and are

faced with a shameful lack of

resources to help them transition

back to civilian life and find

employment and I'm very proud that a

local charity in Hull provides them

with much-needed support and a

voice, will the minister join in

celebrating the work they do but

will he also commit to providing our

veterans with all the support they

need for transition that they

desperately need?

You are absolutely

right. We are doing mock with our

transition intervention service --

we are doing more work. To make sure

the needs of the individuals are met

as they make the transition from

being in the Armed Forces to being a

veteran and can I also pay tribute

to this charity, there are many

charities that do huge work across

the country, some small and some

large, but all making a important

effort.

Topical questions, doctor

Caroline Johnson.

I would like to

thank our Armed Forces are doing an

incredible job in supporting those

affected by the recent treachery is

whether across the UK -- treacherous

weather. They hand and 28 service

personnel and 124 vehicles and a

Chinook helicopter operating in

Cumbria have transported staff,

delivering critical care and

services to and from hospitals and

delivered medicines to vulnerable

people in the community and assisted

police in evacuating members of a

public stranded in vehicles. My

department of the Armed Forces stand

ready to assist for any further

calls for support.

Thank you for

that statement and I would like to

put on record my thanks to the Armed

Forces who came out in Lincolnshire

to support us over the last few

days, and the physical fitness of

our service men and women is

extremely important, yet sports

facilities at RAF crown well are

currently in a poor state of repair,

and I've received correspondence

from constituents regarding the

Astroturf, can you confirm whether

these will be repaired and will he

asked the minister responsible to

come and see for himself the fitness

and facilities which need repair.

May I generally remind you, topical

questions need to be much shorter.

I

can absolutely promise that my

friend is going to visit and he will

also take part in the assault course

as part of his visit but let's make

it clear, this is the member for

Bournemouth East and at the member

for South Staffordshire who will be

doing the assault course. -- and

not.

I'm sure that is very

reassuring for the nation!

After it

was admitted that the drone policy

is misleading, is it the policy of

the UK Government to kill people

outside war zones?

Our department

and our Armed Forces always operate

within the letter of the United

Kingdom and international law but

does our Armed Forces stepped up to

keep our country safe from

terrorists safe question yes, they

do, and I'm proud of the amazing

work they do in keeping this country

safe and I hope the honourable

gentleman is also.

Would my

honourable friend congratulate the

British Army for the work they have

done in Malawi working with the

Malawi government because the ivory

trade, we have seen a reduction from

4000 elephants ten years ago to now

2000, something needs to to be done

about it and they are doing it.

Our

Armed Forces are playing a variable

denial in training ranges to stop

this while trade in ivory poaching

-- very important role. We have been

able to extend this scheme and we

will continue to do this going

forward, working with local

governments right across Africa,

making sure these majestic animals

like elephants are projected.

Uniformed cadets like those of my

constituency do an amazing job of

producing well rounded and empowered

young people, and can I invite the

Secretary of State to look at the

funding that is provided to our

uniformed cadets across government,

which clearly offer a much better

value for money than some other

government funded youth programmes.

I hope he will also pay to be to the

126,000 cadets that we have in the

country, this is a wonderful

introduction into our Armed Forces,

also giving confidence to

youngsters, Bible look at individual

cases, charities are involved in

different ways in supporting our

cadets and I'm happy to meet with

him afterwards -- I will look at

individual cases.

We have a new

scheme encouraging veterans to

retrain as teachers, and this is

another example of how we are trying

to plug the skill gap.

We have the

most amazing resource in the Armed

Forces which are our people and we

want to give them the best

opportunities as they leave the

Armed Forces and the bursary scheme

offering up to £40,000 for them to

train as teachers is a great

opportunity and our Armed Forces are

often have amazing technical

expertise they are able to bring

straight to schools and benefit

generations in the future.

Mr

speaker, under a better defence, the

Secretary of State plans to close

the state-of-the-art medical

facilities in York and the upgraded

First Division headquarters, can he

say how much this is costing the

taxpayer?

You will be aware that the

UK and the MOD owns 2% of the land

in the UK and there is a

rasterisation programme to make sure

that we have affordable housing for

the future and so bases are being

closed and others are being opened

and also being reinvested, I'm happy

to look at the individual case and

discuss what can be done.

What

personnel have been reassigned to

recruitment?

There is a contingency

plan which we are looking at very

closely, probably moving about 150

personnel to act as role models on

the front line for recruiting.

There

is a great deal of confusion and

concern around the future basing

arrangements for the Army reserve,

could the minister tell us when we

might expect more information to be

published on this important matter?

Is one of the complexities about the

reserve estate is that much of it is

not owned by the Ministry of

Defence, it is owned by the reserve

forces themselves, and this is

adding complexity but we hope they

will update the house in due course.

Do you agree that the further set of

defence commitments reached by the

Prime Minister and Emmanuel Macron

in January represent a deepening of

this important relationship but also

a strengthening of Nato?

The

cooperation that our country has

with France is second to none and in

terms of the Anglo-French summit it

signposts and important development

in that relationship not just in

terms of operations going forward

but also about how best we can

collaborate in terms of our defence

industries as well.

Nick Smith.

How

well is the latest Army recruitment

campaign going?

We mentioned

earlier, I think we have seen some

improvement in recent weeks, the

numbers are increasing and that is a

positive sign.

Will my honourable

friend join me in congratulating the

company who have just got the

contract for the building of the new

type 26 figure?

I'm very glad to

congratulate the company, the type

26 is a great flagship for the Navy

and again we see UK industry

providing components for the type

26, an example of the way in which

the MOD is contributing to

innovation and growth in the UK

economy.

Carol Monaghan.

The National Audit

Office has revealed the cost of the

dreadnought programme has now risen

by nearly £1 million, Candy said

Terry of state confirmed that there

will be no further cuts to

conventional forces to meet the

rising costs of Trident question not

-- can the Secretary of State.

Yes,

our nuclear defence programme is

within budget and there will be no

impact as we saw to our civilian

capability.

The Daily Telegraph

reports grave concerns about the

Iraq fatalities investigations unit,

will the minister urgently reviewed

the case of Robert Campbell and

offer reassurance that the bond of

trust between soldiers and the

government remains intact?

You make

a very powerful point and this is

not about process, this is about

people and it is about the

government's obligation to look

after people and where they find a

balance between supporting our

service personnel and veterans but

equally the right of Iraqi families

to find out what happened to their

loved ones, and the Iraq totality

investigation can't lead to a

criminal investigation but I will

look very carefully at what you say

-- Iraq fatality.

Can the secretary

of state confirmed that Trillium was

the largest provider of services for

the MOD and whether there are any

gaps -- confirm that Carillion was

the largest provider.

In the joint

ventures that we were involved in,

there were agreements that were put

forward ahead of time to make sure

that if one of the partners were to

step back the other would continue

the work and that is exacted what

has happened right across the board

with the MoD. -- exactly.

Will my right honourable friend paid

tribute to UK peacekeepers in South

Sudan and elsewhere across the

world?

I would very much like to pay

tribute to the amazing work our

Armed Forces do in terms of keeping

peace in so many areas, South Sudan

being a perfect example. It also

goes to show what an amazing impact

all our Armed Forces have in

projecting Britain's global

influence in all parts of the globe.

What assessment has the Secretary of

State carried out for the

preparedness of our Armed Forces for

any expansion in the Syrian war,

given the conflict, the proxy

conflict between Russia and America

in Match Zone?

On this side of the

house we have always recognised that

it's very important to be fully

engaged into what is happening in

Syria and Iraq and we will continue

to look at that exceptionally

closely. I am incredibly honoured

that our Armed Forces are playing a

vital role in degrading the Daesh

terra cults, and that's what we will

continue to do going forward.

What

protections have been made for trade

in our important economy?

He's right

to highlight the issue. The Ministry

of Defence is responsible for one of

the largest customers of UK plc. We

support more than 20,000 positions

throughout the UK and it's clear the

Ministry of Defence contributes

significantly to the prosperity

agenda across the UK.

The incidence

of traumatic brain injury among the

Armed Forces is much higher than it

is even in the general population.

How will we make sure that every

single member of the Armed Forces

who has such an injury gets the full

rehabilitation they require?

The

honourable gentleman is absolutely

right, we want to measure we have

the necessary support for all those

affected. The question is to whether

they are higher than the general

population, but the new process we

are putting forward, and the

helpline launched last week by the

defence minister helps us to cover

that promise.

Reports suggest that

the near 100,000 who wanted to join

the Army last year, only 7500

actually made it, in part because of

time delay. What can be done to

streamline recruitment process?

My

honourable friend makes a valuable

point. We have identified that one

of the key problems we face is that

time-lag between application and a

listing in the Army. That's the main

focus of work at the moment to

shorten the period to get the

maximum number of people through the

system.

Why has the mechanised

infantry vehicle programme not that

an acquisition strategy, never mind

the contract, with only three years

to go, when it could optimised

vehicles back to Newcastle.

I can

assure the honourable lady

announcements will be made before

the end of the financial year.

The

parents of Corporal Simon Miller are

yet to receive justice for their son

who was one of the red Caps murdered

in Iraq in 2003. I have written to

ministers over many years on this

issue. Will the Minister agree to

meet with me and the Miller family

to see if there can be some justice

they receive for their son?

I would

be delighted.

Will the Minister

commits to following the Scottish

Government's lead and commit to

lifting the public sector pay cap

for Armed Forces workers?

What we

are looking at doing is how we

reduce the effect of the Scottish

Government's Nationalists' tax on

service personnel. 70% of service

personnel serving in Scotland are

having reduced pay as