Ministry_of_Defence_(United_Kingdom)

context: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is the British government department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by Her Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
qas: answers: text: British
question: Which government's Ministry of Defence is mentioned here?

answers: text: Ministry of Defence
question: What does MoD stand for?

answers: text: Her Majesty's Government
question: Who sets the defence policy in Great Britain?

answers: text: British Armed Forces
question: For which part of the government is the MoD the headquarters?

context: The MoD states that its principal objectives are to defend the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its interests and to strengthen international peace and stability. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the MoD does not foresee any short-term conventional military threat; rather, it has identified weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, and failed and failing states as the overriding threats to Britain's interests. The MoD also manages day-to-day running of the armed forces, contingency planning and defence procurement.
qas: answers: text: international peace and stability
question: What does the MoD wish to strengthen?

answers: text: Great Britain and Northern Ireland
question: The UK consists of what two areas?

answers: text: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
question: What does the MoD defend?

answers: text: weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, and failed and failing states
question: What are the threats that the MoD has identified?

answers: text: day-to-day running of the armed forces, contingency planning and defence procurement
question: What does the MoD manage?

context: During the 1920s and 1930s, British civil servants and politicians, looking back at the performance of the state during World War I, concluded that there was a need for greater co-ordination between the three Services that made up the armed forces of the United Kingdom—the British Army, the Royal Navy, and the Royal Air Force. The formation of a united ministry of defence was rejected by David Lloyd George's coalition government in 1921; but the Chiefs of Staff Committee was formed in 1923, for the purposes of inter-Service co-ordination. As rearmament became a concern during the 1930s, Stanley Baldwin created the position of Minister for Coordination of Defence. Lord Chatfield held the post until the fall of Neville Chamberlain's government in 1940; his success was limited by his lack of control over the existing Service departments and his limited political influence.
qas: answers: text: the British Army, the Royal Navy, and the Royal Air Force
question: What three services make up the armed forces of the UK?

answers: text: The formation of a united ministry of defence
question: What did David Lloyd George's coalition government reject in 1921?

answers: text: 1923
question: When was the Chiefs of Staff Committee formed?

answers: text: Stanley Baldwin
question: Who created the position of Minister for Coordination of Defence?

answers: text: Minister for Coordination of Defence
question: What post did Lord Chatfield hold until 1940?

context: Winston Churchill, on forming his government in 1940, created the office of Minister of Defence to exercise ministerial control over the Chiefs of Staff Committee and to co-ordinate defence matters. The post was held by the Prime Minister of the day until Clement Attlee's government introduced the Ministry of Defence Act of 1946. The new ministry was headed by a Minister of Defence who possessed a seat in the Cabinet. The three existing service Ministers—the Secretary of State for War, the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Secretary of State for Air—remained in direct operational control of their respective services, but ceased to attend Cabinet.
qas: answers: text: Winston Churchill
question: Who created the office of Minister of Defence?

answers: text: 1946
question: When was the Ministry of Defence Act introduced?

answers: text: 1940
question: When did Winstron Churchill form his government?

answers: text: a seat in the Cabinet
question: The new ministry, according to the Act of 1946, was headed by a Minister of Defence who possessed what?

answers: text: the Secretary of State for War, the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Secretary of State for Air
question: Who stopped attending Cabinet with the passage of the Ministry of Defence Act of 1946?

context: From 1946 to 1964 five Departments of State did the work of the modern Ministry of Defence: the Admiralty, the War Office, the Air Ministry, the Ministry of Aviation, and an earlier form of the Ministry of Defence. These departments merged in 1964; the defence functions of the Ministry of Aviation Supply merged into the Ministry of Defence in 1971.
qas: answers: text: 1946 to 1964
question: During what years did the five Departments of State do the work of the modern Ministry of Defence?

answers: text: the Admiralty, the War Office, the Air Ministry, the Ministry of Aviation, and an earlier form of the Ministry of Defence
question: What were the five Departments of State that did the work of the modern Ministry of Defence?

answers: text: 1971
question: When did the defence functions of the Ministry of Aviation Supply merge into the Ministry of Defence?

answers: text: 1964
question: All former Departments of State (except the Ministry of Aviation Supply) merged in what year?

context: The Ministers and Chiefs of the Defence Staff are supported by a number of civilian, scientific and professional military advisors. The Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence (generally known as the Permanent Secretary) is the senior civil servant at the MoD. His or her role is to ensure the MoD operates effectively as a department of the government.
qas: answers: text: The Ministers and Chiefs of the Defence Staff
question: Who is supported by civilian, scientific, and professional military advisors?

answers: text: Permanent Secretary
question: What is the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence generally known as?

answers: text: MoD
question: Where does the Permanent Secretary serve as the senior civil servant?

answers: text: to ensure the MoD operates effectively as a department of the government
question: What is the role of the Permanent Secretary?

context: The current Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces, is General Sir Nicholas Houghton, late Green Howards. He is supported by the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, by the professional heads of the three services of HM Armed Forces and by the Commander of Joint Forces Command.
qas: answers: text: General Sir Nicholas Houghton
question: What is the name of the person who is the current Chief of the Defence Staff?

answers: text: Chief of the Defence Staff
question: Who is the professional head of the British Armed Forces?

answers: text: HM Armed Forces
question: The professional heads of what three services support the Chief of the Defence Staff?

answers: text: the Commander
question: Which person in the Joint Forces Command supports the Chief of the Defence Staff?

context: There are also three Deputy Chiefs of the Defence Staff with particular remits, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Capability), Deputy CDS (Personnel and Training) and Deputy CDS (Operations). The Surgeon General, represents the Defence Medical Services on the Defence Staff, and is the clinical head of that service.
qas: answers: text: three
question: How many Deputy Chiefs of the Defence Staff are there?

answers: text: Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Capability), Deputy CDS (Personnel and Training) and Deputy CDS (Operations)
question: What are the three Deputy Chiefs of the Defence Staff?

answers: text: The Surgeon General
question: Who represents the Defence Medical Services on the Defence Staff?

answers: text: The Surgeon General
question: Who leads the Defence Medical Services?

context: Additionally, there are a number of Assistant Chiefs of Defence Staff, including the Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets) and the Defence Services Secretary in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, who is also the Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel).
qas: answers: text: Cadets
question: One of the Assistant Chiefs of the Defence Staff is for Reserves and what?

answers: text: the Defence Services Secretary in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom
question: The Personnel Chief is also known as what?

answers: text: Sovereign
question: There is a Defence Services Secretary in the Royal Household of the what?

answers: text: Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets) and the Defence Services Secretary in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom
question: Who are two of the Assistant Chiefs of the Defence Staff?

context: The 1998 Strategic Defence Review and the 2003 Delivering Security in a Changing World White Paper outlined the following posture for the British Armed Forces:
qas: answers: text: 1998
question: In what year was there a Strategic Defence Review?

answers: text: Delivering Security in a Changing World White Paper
question: What paper was published in 2003?

answers: text: British Armed Forces
question: Which part of the Britsh government were the two publications listed concerning?

context: The MoD has since been regarded as a leader in elaborating the post-Cold War organising concept of "defence diplomacy". As a result of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron signed a 50-year treaty with French President Nicolas Sarkozy that would have the two countries co-operate intensively in military matters. The UK is establishing air and naval bases in the Persian Gulf, located in the UAE and Bahrain. A presence in Oman is also being considered.
qas: answers: text: defence diplomacy
question: In what concept is the MoD considered a leader?

answers: text: David Cameron
question: Who was the PM of Britain in 2010?

answers: text: Nicolas Sarkozy
question: Who was the president of France in 2010?

answers: text: UAE and Bahrain
question: In which two countries is the UK installing military bases?

answers: text: Oman
question: In which other country is the UK thinking about installing a military base?

context: The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 included £178 billion investment in new equipment and capabilities. The review set a defence policy with four primary missions for the Armed Forces:
qas: answers: text: £178 billion
question: How much was the investment in new equipment and capabilities worth?

answers: text: 2015
question: In which year was a £178 billion investment made?

answers: text: four
question: How many primary missions were included in the 2015 Review?

answers: text: The Strategic Defence and Security Review
question: What is the name of the yearly statement released by the MoD?

context: Following the end of the Cold War, the threat of direct conventional military confrontation with other states has been replaced by terrorism. Sir Richard Dannatt predicted British forces to be involved in combating "predatory non-state actors" for the foreseeable future, in what he called an "era of persistent conflict". He told the Chatham House think tank that the fight against al-Qaeda and other militant Islamist groups was "probably the fight of our generation".
qas: answers: text: terrorism
question: What was the new threat that arose after the end of the Cold War?

context: Dannatt criticised a remnant "Cold War mentality", with military expenditures based on retaining a capability against a direct conventional strategic threat; He said currently only 10% of the MoD's equipment programme budget between 2003 and 2018 was to be invested in the "land environment"—at a time when Britain was engaged in land-based wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
qas: answers: text: Cold War mentality
question: Military spending that is based on conventional threats has been dismissed as what?

answers: text: 10%
question: How much of the MoD's equipment budget is invested in the "land environment"?

answers: text: Afghanistan and Iraq
question: Where was Britain involved in a land war when some thought that land wars were basically a thing of the past?

answers: text: 2003 and 2018
question: Which years make up the time span mentioned for the military budget numbers?

context: The Defence Committee—Third Report "Defence Equipment 2009" cites an article from the Financial Times website stating that the Chief of Defence Materiel, General Sir Kevin O’Donoghue, had instructed staff within Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) through an internal memorandum to reprioritize the approvals process to focus on supporting current operations over the next three years; deterrence related programmes; those that reflect defence obligations both contractual or international; and those where production contracts are already signed. The report also cites concerns over potential cuts in the defence science and technology research budget; implications of inappropriate estimation of Defence Inflation within budgetary processes; underfunding in the Equipment Programme; and a general concern over striking the appropriate balance over a short-term focus (Current Operations) and long-term consequences of failure to invest in the delivery of future UK defence capabilities on future combatants and campaigns. The then Secretary of State for Defence, Bob Ainsworth MP, reinforced this reprioritisation of focus on current operations and had not ruled out "major shifts" in defence spending. In the same article the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, Royal Navy, acknowledged that there was not enough money within the defence budget and it is preparing itself for tough decisions and the potential for cutbacks. According to figures published by the London Evening Standard the defence budget for 2009 is "more than 10% overspent" (figures cannot be verified) and the paper states that this had caused Gordon Brown to say that the defence spending must be cut. The MoD has been investing in IT to cut costs and improve services for its personnel.
qas: answers: text: General Sir Kevin O’Donoghue
question: Who was the Chief of Defence Materiel in 2009?

answers: text: Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S)
question: Which department is overseen by the Chief of Defence Materiel?

answers: text: Equipment Programme
question: Which programme was mentioned as being underfunded?

answers: text: Bob Ainsworth MP
question: Who was the Secretary of State for Defence in 2009?

answers: text: London Evening Standard
question: Which publication said the 2009 defence budget was more than 10% overbudget?

context: The Ministry of Defence is one of the United Kingdom's largest landowners, owning 227,300 hectares of land and foreshore (either freehold or leasehold) at April 2014, which was valued at "about £20 billion". The MoD also has "rights of access" to a further 222,000 hectares. In total, this is about 1.8% of the UK land mass. The total annual cost to support the defence estate is "in excess of £3.3 billion".
qas: answers: text: 227,300 hectares
question: How much land is owned by the MoD?

answers: text: £20 billion
question: How much is the land owned by the MoD worth?

answers: text: 1.8%
question: The MoD owns or has rights of access to what percentage of the UK's total land?

answers: text: in excess of £3.3 billion
question: How much is the annual cost to support the defence estate?

answers: text: The Ministry of Defence
question: Who is one of the largest landowners in the UK?

context: The defence estate is divided as training areas & ranges (84.0%), research & development (5.4%), airfields (3.4%), barracks & camps (2.5%), storage & supply depots (1.6%), and other (3.0%). These are largely managed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
qas: answers: text: 84.0%
question: What percentage of the defence estate makes up training areas and ranges?

answers: text: storage & supply depots
question: What makes up the smallest portion of the defence estate?

answers: text: (3.4%
question: What percentage of the defence estate is taken up by airfields?

answers: text: Defence Infrastructure Organisation
question: Who manages the defence estate?

answers: text: (2.5%
question: Barracks and camps are what percentage of the defence estate?

context: The headquarters of the MoD are in Whitehall and are now known as Main Building. This structure is neoclassical in style and was originally built between 1938 and 1959 to designs by Vincent Harris to house the Air Ministry and the Board of Trade. The northern entrance in Horse Guards Avenue is flanked by two monumental statues, Earth and Water, by Charles Wheeler. Opposite stands the Gurkha Monument, sculpted by Philip Jackson and unveiled in 1997 by Queen Elizabeth II. Within it is the Victoria Cross and George Cross Memorial, and nearby are memorials to the Fleet Air Arm and RAF (to its east, facing the riverside). A major refurbishment of the building was completed under a PFI contract by Skanska in 2004.
qas: answers: text: Whitehall
question: In what city are the headquarters of the MoD?

answers: text: Vincent Harris
question: Who designed the headquarters of the MoD?

answers: text: Charles Wheeler
question: Who designed the statues that are on either side of the northern entrance to the MoD headquarters?

answers: text: Main Building
question: What is the headquarters of the MoD called?

answers: text: Philip Jackson
question: Who made the Gurkha Monument?

context: Henry VIII's wine cellar at the Palace of Whitehall, built in 1514–1516 for Cardinal Wolsey, is in the basement of Main Building, and is used for entertainment. The entire vaulted brick structure of the cellar was encased in steel and concrete and relocated nine feet to the west and nearly 19 feet (5.8 m) deeper in 1949, when construction was resumed at the site after World War II. This was carried out without any significant damage to the structure.
qas: answers: text: Henry VIII
question: Who had a wine cellar at the Palace of Whitehall?

answers: text: the basement of Main Building
question: Where is Henry VIII's wine cellar?

answers: text: 1514–1516
question: When was the cellar in the basement of Main Building built?

answers: text: brick
question: What is the main material used to build the cellar in the basement of Main Building?

answers: text: 1949
question: When was the cellar relocated?

context: The most notable fraud conviction was that of Gordon Foxley, head of defence procurement at the Ministry of Defence from 1981 to 1984. Police claimed he received at least £3.5m in total in corrupt payments, such as substantial bribes from overseas arms contractors aiming to influence the allocation of contracts.
qas: answers: text: Gordon Foxley
question: Who in the MoD was convicted of fraud?

answers: text: head of defence procurement
question: What position was held by Foxley?

answers: text: 1981 to 1984
question: What years was Foxley employed by the MoD?

answers: text: at least £3.5m
question: How much money was Foxley accused of taking?

answers: text: influence the allocation of contracts
question: What do the police believe the bribes were intended to do?

context: A government report covered by the Guardian in 2002 indicates that between 1940 and 1979, the Ministry of Defence "turned large parts of the country into a giant laboratory to conduct a series of secret germ warfare tests on the public" and many of these tests "involved releasing potentially dangerous chemicals and micro-organisms over vast swaths of the population without the public being told." The Ministry of Defence claims that these trials were to simulate germ warfare and that the tests were harmless. Still, families who have been in the area of many of the tests are experiencing children with birth defects and physical and mental handicaps and many are asking for a public inquiry. According to the report these tests affected estimated millions of people including one period between 1961 and 1968 where "more than a million people along the south coast of England, from Torquay to the New Forest, were exposed to bacteria including e.coli and bacillus globigii, which mimics anthrax." Two scientists commissioned by the Ministry of Defence stated that these trials posed no risk to the public. This was confirmed by Sue Ellison, a representative of Porton Down who said that the results from these trials "will save lives, should the country or our forces face an attack by chemical and biological weapons." Asked whether such tests are still being carried out, she said: "It is not our policy to discuss ongoing research." It is unknown whether or not the harmlessness of the trials was known at the time of their occurrence.
qas: answers: text: the Guardian
question: What publication released a report about the Ministry of Defence in 2002?

answers: text: secret germ warfare tests
question: What was the MoD accused of doing to the public?

answers: text: children with birth defects and physical and mental handicaps
question: What are the children of some families in the area of the testing experiencing?

answers: text: between 1940 and 1979
question: When was the supposed germ warfare testing taking place?

answers: text: between 1961 and 1968
question: When were millions of people supposedly exposed to e. coli and an anthrax-like bacteria?

context: The MoD has been criticised for an ongoing fiasco, having spent £240m on eight Chinook HC3 helicopters which only started to enter service in 2010, years after they were ordered in 1995 and delivered in 2001. A National Audit Office report reveals that the helicopters have been stored in air conditioned hangars in Britain since their 2001[why?] delivery, while troops in Afghanistan have been forced to rely on helicopters which are flying with safety faults. By the time the Chinooks are airworthy, the total cost of the project could be as much as £500m.
qas: answers: text: £240m
question: How much did the MoD spend on Chinook helicopters?

answers: text: 1995
question: When were the helicopters ordered?

answers: text: National Audit Office
question: Which office reported that the helicopters were being stored, rather than used?

answers: text: 2010
question: In what year were the helicopters brought into service?

answers: text: £500m
question: What is the estimated total cost of the Chinook helicopter project?

context: In April 2008, a £90m contract was signed with Boeing for a "quick fix" solution, so they can fly by 2010: QinetiQ will downgrade the Chinooks—stripping out some of their more advanced equipment.
qas: answers: text: Boeing
question: Which aircraft manufacturer got a contract with the MoD?

answers: text: April 2008
question: When was the Boeing contract signed?

answers: text: QinetiQ
question: Who is downgrading the Chinook helicopters?

answers: text: £90m
question: How much was the Boeing contract worth?

answers: text: more advanced equipment
question: What was removed from the Chinook helicopters?

context: In October 2009, the MoD was heavily criticized for withdrawing the bi-annual non-operational training £20m budget for the volunteer Territorial Army (TA), ending all non-operational training for 6 months until April 2010. The government eventually backed down and restored the funding. The TA provides a small percentage of the UK's operational troops. Its members train on weekly evenings and monthly weekends, as well as two-week exercises generally annually and occasionally bi-annually for troops doing other courses. The cuts would have meant a significant loss of personnel and would have had adverse effects on recruitment.
qas: answers: text: October 2009
question: When was the TA budget withdrawn?

answers: text: £20m
question: How much money was allocated to the volunteer Territorial Army?

answers: text: April 2010
question: When was the training for the TA supposed to resume?

answers: text: a small percentage
question: How much of the UK's troops are provided by the TA?

answers: text: weekly evenings and monthly weekends
question: How often do the TA troops regularly train?

context: In 2013 it was found that the Ministry of Defence had overspent on its equipment budget by £6.5bn on orders that could take up to 39 years to fulfil. The Ministry of Defence has been criticised in the past for poor management and financial control, investing in projects that have taken up to 10 and even as much as 15 years to be delivered.
qas: answers: text: £6.5bn
question: By how much did the MoD go over its equipment budget?

answers: text: 2013
question: When was the overbudget amount discovered?

answers: text: poor management and financial control
question: What are some of the criticisms that have been directed at the MoD?

answers: text: up to 39 years
question: What is a long-range estimate on fulfillment of some of the equipment orders made by the MoD?

answers: text: up to 10 and even as much as 15 years
question: Past projects ordered by the MoD have taken what type of time frame to fulfill?