Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for Veterans on 23 April 2025 (HC47398), what further progress they have made on the rollout of Programme Cortisone.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The vision for Programme CORTISONE is to deliver a sustainable, integrated, cohesive and enduring information capability to support the delivery of evidence-based medical and dental health and healthcare outputs.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded a £7.8 million contract to Leeds software company, The Phoenix Partnership to provide a modern electronic healthcare records system called SystmOne for the Armed Forces. This will digitalise military medical records and integrate MOD systems with the NHS.
Scheduled to begin its roll out in 2027, SystmOne is fully secure and compatible with the NHS, meaning that Service personnel will receive quick and seamless care between Defence and civilian health systems, including both new recruits and Service leavers transitioning in and out of the military.
It will replace outdated time-consuming processes for transfers of information between the NHS and the Defence Medical services, be more user-friendly and increase time to care for patients by improving clinical productivity and reducing the admin burden with a modern IT system.
The contract award aligns with the Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 which outlines a commitment to increase MOD spending with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
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 108701 on Skynet: Procurement, when the Skynet 6A will complete the testing and validation phase.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Skynet 6 Programme continues to progress in support of Defence’s satellite communications requirements.
The testing and validation of Skynet 6A is expected to complete final acceptance activity by mid-2027, leading to issue of the Certificate of Acceptance.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the planned legislative timetable is for the Defence Readiness Bill.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence Readiness legislation is being considered to ensure the Government has the powers it needs to keep the UK safe in crisis or war, as recommended in the Strategic Defence Review. Legislation will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many non-commissioned officers ranked Staff Sergeant or above, have left the Army in the last 3 years, broken down per year.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Figures for outflow of non-commissioned officers ranked Staff Sergeant or above can be found below.
Army Trade Trained Regular Non-Commissioned Officer Outflow, Staff Sergeant to Warrant Officer 1 | ||
Financial Year (FY) | Numbers Outflowing | Outflow Rate |
2022-23 | 1,250 | 12.6% |
2023-24 | 1,148 | 11.8% |
2024-25 | 1,091 | 11.2% |
| ||
Notes/Caveats
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the full deployment timeline will be for the roll out of female body armour in the Armed Forces; and what feedback mechanisms will be established to help improve users’ experiences.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The current Tactical Ballistic Plate (TBP) project, which is currently in its assessment phase, will deliver hard armour plates in a range of different sizes, thus ensuring greater comfort and integration for all users across Defence. Multiple Human Factors Integration (HFI) trials have been completed with female representation. Further information regarding the timelines for the roll out of TBP will be available as the project progresses.
The Army will continue to investigate options to procure complex geometry plates, working alongside both industry and Dstl. However, the technology is new, and the market does not currently offer complex geometry plates which meet current requirements.
With regards to feedback mechanisms, there are opportunities for users to provide feedback however they will become more established with time.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the evidential basis is for his Department's position that all of the Atherton Report’s recommendations have been implemented in full.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 December 2025 to Question 98153 to the hon. Member for Lewes (James MacCleary).
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-12-08/98153
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of operating in Ukraine and the High North simultaneously on (a) British Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force resources.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Defence continually reviews all current and planned commitments in line with established protocols to ensure they can be fully and appropriately resourced by the single Services. This process includes ongoing dynamic assessment and the allocation of resources as new requirements emerge.
Defence’s planned commitments in relation to Ukraine and the High North have been properly resourced, deconflicted, and present no identified concurrency risks across the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force. Any additional requirements arising from future commitments will be assessed through established processes and resourced accordingly to ensure Defence maintains the highest standards of operational output.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to section 5 of his Department's policy paper entitled The Strategic Defence Review 2025 - Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 8 July 2025, what assessment he has made of potential impact of possible threats on the Antarctic Treaty system.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government’s vision to maintain the UK’s role as a leader in Antarctica and an active participant in the Antarctic Treaty system was set out in the UK Antarctic Strategy to 2035, published on 1 December 2025. The Ministry of Defence undertakes regular assessments of the requirements for Defence to support UK interests in the Antarctic, including upholding the Antarctic Treaty System.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regional disaster response to the fires in the SBAs of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in July 2025; and whether he has implemented new regional disaster preparedness plans in response.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Sovereign Base Areas Administration (SBAA) manages disaster preparedness through the Areas Resilience Forum. Modelled on UK best practice, this takes a multi-agency approach, including both the SBAA and British Forces Cyprus, to prepare and respond to civil emergencies. The Area Resilience Forum conducts regular exercises to enhance preparedness of relevant agencies.
In tackling civil emergencies, the Administration enjoys full, reciprocal cooperation with the Republic of Cyprus (RoC). For example, during the July 2025 wildfires – which took place within the RoC – significant aerial firefighting support was provided to the RoC by RAF CH-47.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a list of all (a) UK and (b) overseas sites currently used for long-range kinetic drone testing broken down by the maximum range of each location.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Defence uses various sites within the United Kingdom and overseas to test and evaluate operational capabilities. Capabilities are aligned to range standing orders, Training Danger Area limitations and the operational range of the system being evaluated. Given the geographical constraints of the United Kingdom, some capabilities are better evaluated overseas alongside our allies and partners.
I am unable to provide further details due to operational sensitivities.