Asked by: Calvin Bailey (Labour - Leyton and Wanstead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to (a) publish for pre-legislative scrutiny and (b) introduce the Defence Readiness Bill in (i) 2026, (ii) 2027, (iii) 2028 and (iv) 2029.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence is currently working to develop Defence Readiness measures to ensure the Government has the powers it needs to keep the UK safe in crisis or conflict, as recommended in the Strategic Defence review. The introduction of legislation, and the scrutiny of it, will be conducted when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January to Question 107727 on Unmanned Air Systems: Higher Education, how many of the (a) civilians and (b) soldiers enrolled on the undergraduate drone degree does he expect to participate on the British Army's small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems training pathways.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Centralised training in small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (sUAS) is delivered by the Land Warfare Centre, with distributed training subsequently provided by individual units within the Field Army.
As of February 2026, 282 personnel are currently participating in the British Army’s centralised sUAS training pathways. Exact figures for those currently undertaking distributed training are not available as these figures are not held centrally.
Looking ahead, we have currently made available 915 spaces for centralised training and expect around 2,000 personnel to undertake distributed training in future financial years.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel will participate in the British Army's small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems training pathways in each remaining financial year of the current Parliament.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Centralised training in small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (sUAS) is delivered by the Land Warfare Centre, with distributed training subsequently provided by individual units within the Field Army.
As of February 2026, 282 personnel are currently participating in the British Army’s centralised sUAS training pathways. Exact figures for those currently undertaking distributed training are not available as these figures are not held centrally.
Looking ahead, we have currently made available 915 spaces for centralised training and expect around 2,000 personnel to undertake distributed training in future financial years.
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: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel are currently participating in the British Army's small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems training pathways.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Centralised training in small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (sUAS) is delivered by the Land Warfare Centre, with distributed training subsequently provided by individual units within the Field Army.
As of February 2026, 282 personnel are currently participating in the British Army’s centralised sUAS training pathways. Exact figures for those currently undertaking distributed training are not available as these figures are not held centrally.
Looking ahead, we have currently made available 915 spaces for centralised training and expect around 2,000 personnel to undertake distributed training in future financial years.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's letter to the Rt hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire, reference: PQW/24-25/2025/16500/16507/16511/16512/16514/16521, dated 20 August 2025, and the oral contribution of the Minister for the Armed Force during the Second Reading of the Armed Forces Bill on 26 January 2026, Official Report, column 706, how much was the total reserve spending for each of the last five years, including the main categories of spending beyond pay and and bounty payments; and if he will set out the expected total reserve spending for the remaining years of this Parliament.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government has committed to spending 2.6% of GDP on defence from 2027, and we have set the ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament, subject to economic and fiscal conditions. Over this Spending Review period, this Government will invest over £270 billion in cash terms in defence. This is the largest sustained increase in spending since the Cold War.
The Strategic Defence Review outlined an ambition to increase the number of Active Reserves by 20% when funding allows, enhancing surge capacity and demonstrating the UK's readiness to defend itself.
Total spending on Reserve Forces between 2023-24 and 2024-25 is not managed centrally, with each Service determining expenditure based on its specific operational requirements. In relation to spending plans in 2025-26, we do not routinely place figures relating to planned expenditure in the public domain as they are subject to change.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when will he lift the civil service recruitment controls in his department.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
An initial month-long recruitment pause was introduced in October 2025 across the Department as one of a range of workforce levers to facilitate a measured and sustainable approach to workforce reductions. The pause has been extended and is currently being reviewed. Throughout the pause, business areas have had the flexibility to approve exemptions where there are exceptional pressures.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many hearing loss cases are pending with the Davies Group.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Ministry of Defence (MOD) Claims statistics are published annually. The next MOD common law compensation claims statistics will be published this summer.
Previously published Annual reports can be found at the following link.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-compensation-claims-statistics
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 48851 on Reserve Forces: Finance, what assessment he has made of the level of available reserve service days; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of reserve service days, including for 3 Division.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Armed Forces continually review Reserve Service Days (RSD) to ensure that the Reserve Forces meet operational requirements.
The Army is currently conducting a review of Army Reserve tasks, including those for 3 (UK) Division, through the Field Army’s Force Commitments Exercise which will assess the funding required to support planned activities and to forecast the number of RSD needed for Financial Year 2026-27.
In addition, the Royal Air Force has no current plans to alter the current commitment of RSD per person, whilst the Royal Navy is undertaking work to expand funded training, increase deployment opportunities, and improve short notice tasking for the Maritime Reserves.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the scope of the Royal Navy’s Eagles Eye trials in relation to the development of a naval aviation hybrid air wing.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Eagles Eye Trial is an iterative programme designed to develop the Royal Navy concept of hybrid air wings delivered under the Maritime Aviation Transformation programme.
The Trial focuses on the development of crewed and uncrewed collaboration through the live control of Uncrewed Aerial Systems from a Wildcat Maritime Attack Helicopter.