Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work carried out at MOD Bicester; how many of his Department’s personnel are stationed there; and who owns the site.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Bicester site is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) via the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. There are a number of different units and organisations located in Bicester performing a wide range of tasks and services, and as such there is no overall assessment of the effectiveness of the work carried out at Bicester. If the right hon. Member has an area of particular interest, I would be happy to provide further information.
There are currently 183 MOD civilian personnel and 725 trade trained Armed Forces personnel located at MOD Bicester.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there are confidential arrangements in place governing the US military's use of bases in the UK in addition to the NATO Status of Forces Agreement 1951, the Visiting Forces Act 1952 and UK/US Cost Sharing Agreement 1973.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
A range of formal agreements govern the US military's use of bases in the UK including the NATO Status of Forces Agreement 1951, the Visiting Forces Act 1952, and UK-US Cost Sharing Agreement 1973. Classified agreements also apply in some areas, reflecting the sensitive nature of specific operational activities conducted at these facilities.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the legislative basis is for the United States' use of force from bases in the United Kingdom being subject to joint decision-making.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Permissions to utilise UK military bases by foreign partners are considered on a case-by-case basis. This includes engagement with US partners on the nature and purpose of their activity. For operational security reasons, we do not offer comment or information relating to foreign nations' military operations.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where United States (a) naval, (b) army and (c) marine detachments are stationed in the UK.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The United States Visiting Forces are present in the UK at the invitation of HM Government. The majority of US personnel in the UK are drawn from the US Air Force and stationed at RAF bases, but the overall US force composition across its UK footprint is a matter for the US.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the role is of RAF Oakhanger; how many of his Department’s personnel are stationed there; and who owns the site.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
RAF Oakhanger is a Ministry of Defence owned satellite ground station, which is contractor managed. It monitors and controls the UK's constellation of military communication satellites. There are no Defence staff stationed at RAF Oakhanger.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many US armed forces personnel undertook training courses in Britain in each year since 2020; and in which institution they trained.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence offers a very broad range of International Defence Training to our partners. Information regarding the provision of training to the US Armed Forces is therefore spread across a range of sources and providers across Defence. It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 45840 on RAF Lakenheath: Nuclear Weapons, when it first became policy for his Department to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at United States military bases in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It has been UK policy for decades to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any given location.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on running costs for RAF (a) Menwith Hill, (b) Lakenheath and (c) Croughton in each of the last three years; and how much of the cost for each year has been reimbursed by the United States.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The information requested is not centrally held, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost. There is no one identified budget for three sites, the officials would have to go into each individual item of expenditure.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether agreements between the United States and United Kingdom on the presence of US military forces in Britain place restrictions on the ability of the US to deploy nuclear weapons in Britain.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The terms, conditions and jurisdiction considerations that govern the US – and any other visiting NATO force permanently based in the UK – are enshrined in the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (1951), which is embedded into UK law by the Visiting Forces Act (1952). This is publicly available. It is longstanding UK policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any given location.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department places any restrictions on the number of United States military forces that can be deployed to bases in Britain.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK does not place any restrictions regarding the numbers of US military forces in the UK. It is up to the US to determine the number of personnel it stations in the UK at any particular time. However, significant adjustments in the nature or scale of the US footprint would be subject to discussions between the UK and US Governments.