Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2026 to Question 101383 on Government Actuary's Department: Freedom of Information, what is the evidential basis for the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry's statement that the £34,702 million figure by the Government Actuary's Department was incorrect.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is incorrect to present the nominal costs as the true amount, and to ignore the effects of inflation and the changing value of money on the real costs of a deal that lasts 99 years.
The figures published by the Government Actuary's Department clearly show that they had also calculated a net present value of £3.4 billion, by using the OBR forecast inflation rate along with the Social Time Discount Rate set out in the Green Book. The Government gave a detailed breakdown of this methodology in the explanatory memorandum we published alongside the Treaty in May 2025.
This is standard practice for any long-term Government deal. It ensures the figures are realistic, comparable, and not artificially inflated by adding up future payments without considering the time value of money.
These figures also have been verified and confirmed by the Office for Statistics Regulation and Office for Budget Responsibility.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2024 to Question 54793 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether his Department's spending on the deal will count towards meeting the (a) 2.5 percent and (b) 3 percent defence spending targets.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The NATO qualifying status of these costs will be considered in the usual way.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2024 to Question 54793 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, what is the cash terms, monetary value of the Defence payment towards the Chagos deal in each individual year of the Spending Review 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge), in response to Question 59129, on 23 June 2025.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether his Department considered procuring the contract through a competitive tendering process under the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011.
Answered by Maria Eagle
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 40323 on 28 March 2025.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Historic £1.6bn deal provides thousands of air defence missiles for Ukraine and boosts UK jobs and growth, published 2 March 2025, whether contractual contingency measures exist within the contract in the event of (a) production delays, (b) cost overruns and (c) failure to meet performance criteria.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The contract includes provisions to incentivise the specified delivery dates and, where relevant, performance criteria, with remedies available if those contractual obligations are not met. The scope will be placed in a phased manner, with the intent being that each phase is subject to a firm price.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, what (a) transparency reporting obligations and (b) performance milestones have been placed on Thales Northern Ireland.
Answered by Maria Eagle
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 40323 on 28 March 2025.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether procurement thresholds were considered when awarding the contract.
Answered by Maria Eagle
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 40323 on 28 March 2025.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether regulatory compliance audits were undertaken on the contract.
Answered by Maria Eagle
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 40323 on 28 March 2025.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether specific contractual provisions allow for the potential extension of the contract.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The contract does not include executable options to extend its duration. The scope will be awarded in a phased manner, and the contract does include provisions to extend specific delivery dates in certain circumstances.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether the contract was awarded via (a) the Dynamic Purchasing System and (b) a Crown Commercial Service framework.
Answered by Maria Eagle
No. Procurement of this type of capability is not available through the Dynamic Purchasing System or a Crown Commercial Service framework.