Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77029 on Israel: Military Aid, following the ceasefire in Gaza, when he will review his decision on Israeli defence personnel attendance on UK courses.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence decided to pause future Israeli participation on UK training and education courses until the situation in Gaza and the West Bank had been satisfactorily addressed We will keep this decision under review.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department spent on (a) external tenders and (b) contracts for (i) translation and (ii) interpretation services in the NHS in the last 12 months for which information is available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department’s expenditure with external suppliers of translation or interpretation services from 1 October 2024 to 1 October 2025 was £32,442.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contributions during Prime Minister's Questions on 10 September 2025, Official Report, if she will publish (a) the procedure followed for the appointment of Ambassadors and High Commissioners that are not career diplomats, (b) details of the independent element and (c) a list of the due diligence measures that are applied in such cases.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All appointees for Ambassador and High Commissioner roles are subject to the same standard of background and vetting procedures. Pre-posting processes, including security vetting, are conducted for each appointment. We do not comment on the details of individual clearances or national security as a matter of course.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Israeli (a) civilians, (b) military officers, (c) military other ranks and (d) defence healthcare workers have previously accessed UK (i) defence courses (ii) training in each year for which records are available.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Our records indicate 174 Israelis have previously accessed UK-based defence courses and training, between the years of 1976 and 2024. Further detail is provided in the Annex. Data has been obtained from all available sources but is not guaranteed to be exhaustive given the length of time and because training data is not held in a central database.
The data obtained does not differentiate between defence courses and training.
I would also note that positions on some UK courses are offered to the Israeli Ministry of Defence – who then allocate positions across the Israel Defence Force.
As you will be aware, the Government took the decision to pause Israeli Defence attendance on UK professional military education given our concerns about the military operation in Gaza. We are keeping this decision under review.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish his Department's impact assessment for the removal of UK military courses from Israeli nationals.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
To protect formulation of Government policy, advice provided to Ministers on this matter will not be published.
Given our concerns regarding the Israeli Defence Force’s conduct in Palestine, particularly following the Government of Israel’s decision to escalate its offensive in Gaza City, the Ministry of Defence decided to pause future Israeli participation on UK training and education courses.
To avoid significant disruption to students and their families, any students on UK courses that are currently running have been permitted to continue.
We are keeping this decision under review and are mindful of the potential prospects for a ceasefire and long-term resolution to the conflict.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the countries that are barred from accessing UK military training.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Any decision to provide professional military education or training to a partner nation is made on a case-by-case basis and is underpinned by a robust assessment as to the benefits, risks, and compliance with international human rights law. In the interests of national security and upholding trust and confidentiality in our international partnerships, it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on the provision of training to individual countries.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list military training courses booked for Israelis that have been cancelled by the UK in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence has not withdrawn any places allocated to Israel on UK training or education courses in the last five years.
As you will be aware, the Government took the decision to pause Israeli attendance on UK professional military education given our concerns about the on-going Israeli campaign in Gaza. We will keep this decision under review.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the King's Gurkha Artillery will recruit female Nepali citizens.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Gurkhas have made an outstanding contribution to the UK through their years of dedicated service to the Crown and are held in high esteem by the British Army and public alike.
The number of recruits required for the Brigade of Gurkhas is managed on an annual basis and depends on factors such as retirements, transfers and any changes in unit Order of Battles. Therefore, the Army cannot provide confirmation on the likely number of Gurkha recruits for each of the next five years.
The British Army’s wish to recruit women has been communicated to the Government of Nepal and we will continue to engage them on this subject.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the planning system to encourage the building of integrated retirement communities.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local authorities should assess the size, type, and tenure of housing needed for different groups, including older people, and reflect this in their planning policies.
Plan making authorities should also set clear policies to address the housing needs of older people and, where there is an identified unmet need for specialist housing for older people, local authorities should take a positive approach to schemes that propose to meet this need, including integrated retirement communities.
The government is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy, which will be published later this year.
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), the government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report including in relation to specialist accommodation for older people.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing license-based occupancy contracts for specialist housing for older people.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy, which will be published later this year.
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), the government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report including in relation to specialist accommodation for older people.