Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to increase co-operation between (a) British armed forces and the (b) Italian armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Italy remains one of the UK’s most critical partners for European defence and security. The UK has a valuable and longstanding partnership with Italy built on deep tri-service links and historic cooperation in the combat air and weapons sectors.
Through annual 2+2 meetings between our Foreign and Defence Secretaries, our bilateral High-Level Military Dialogue, and regular interaction through other groupings such as NATO and E5 Defence Ministers Group, we continuously explore how our nations can better work together to address issues of shared strategic interest.
The closeness of our relationship is exemplified by our commitment to the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). Alongside Italy and Japan, we have made great progress delivering GCAP, achieving Treaty Ratification between all partner nations in December 2024 and establishing the GCAP Headquarters, based in Reading. This programme will not only deliver a cutting-edge combat aircraft but will foster closer defence cooperation between the three nations while also strengthening each country’s defence industry, creating jobs and fostering economic growth.
Outside of GCAP, the bi-annual Senior Armaments Export Group meeting brings together Government and industry to understand how we can best work together to pursue opportunities for deeper collaboration on defence programmes and exports. In February 2025, British and Italian capability directors signed a Statement of Intent focusing on complex weapons cooperation, adding more structure to this relationship.
Operationally our relationship is strong. We continue to deepen interoperability between our Carrier Strike Groups. As the only other European nation with carrier-capable F-35B aircraft, the Italian Armed Forces are providing a crucial contribution to the UK’s 2025 Carrier Strike Group deployment, Op HIGHMAST.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the capabilities of the Royal Air Force Chinook fleet.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The phased retirement of the 14 oldest Chinook helicopters, as announced by the Secretary of State in November 2024, will be optimised to ensure that the Chinook Force continues to meet its many operational commitments to the British Army and that UK and global readiness continues to be delivered. From January 2027 these 14 helicopters will be replaced by state-of-the-art H47 (Extended Range). The Force remains ready to rapidly deploy as directed by Defence.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to increase the pay of soldiers, in the context of planned increases in defence spending.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Pay is an important part of a comprehensive benefits package to our Service personnel including subsided food and housing; together, these play a vital role in supporting wider recruitment and retention.
Pay for most frontline public sector workforces, including the Armed Forces, is set through an independent Pay Review Body process. These independent bodies consider a range of evidence when forming their recommendations and then submit reports to the Government, which considers them before announcing final settlements.
The Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body submitted its report to the government on 10 April 2025. The Government will now carefully consider the recommendations before publishing the report and the Government’s response to it, recognising the importance of giving certainty on 2025-26 pay settlements as early as possible.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK’s financial contributions to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission are sufficient to maintain the graves of UK military personnel.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The annual funding for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC’s) is split between the six member countries, in proportion to the number of war dead from each nation. The United Kingdom is by far the largest contributor at 78.4%.
Defence officials work very closely with the CWGC each year to set the annual budget, and therefore funding, for the following year. This work takes account of any specific requirements or projects that may be forecast, whilst also ensuring that the Commission works effectively and efficiently.
On that basis, the Ministry of Defence will continue to provide adequate funding going forwards.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to increase the presence of the Royal Navy in the Indo-Pacific region.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
In 2025, our maritime presence in the Indo Pacific will increase through Operation HIGHMAST, an eight-month multi-national UK-led carrier strike deployment comprising four Royal Navy platforms and an air wing. Op HIGHMAST will complement the Royal Navy's persistent maritime presence, which since 2021 has retained two Offshore Patrol Vessels in the region.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to increase defence co-operation between the United Kingdom and Japan.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK’s defence relationship with Japan is the closest it has ever been. The Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) allows our forces to deploy to one another’s countries for large-scale exercises and operations, such as Exercise VIGILANT ISLES which saw more than 100 UK troops deploy to Japan’s island of Kyushu in January 2025. The Carrier Strike Group will conduct training alongside the Japanese Self Defence Forces and HMS PRINCE OF WALES will conduct a port visit in Tokyo later this year. We have stepped up industrial collaboration through the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) to build the next generation of fighter jet by 2035.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps he has taken to support the aerospace industry.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The strategic aim of this Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy is to make sure the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy are aligned. This Government is committed to supporting UK defence manufacturing, including in the aerospace industry, ensuring a robust industrial base and creating skilled job opportunities, particularly through projects which uphold our sovereign capability in producing defence equipment.
This Government recognises the vital contribution of the aerospace industry. There are already over 3,500 roles supporting the Global Combat Air Programme in the UK alone, compared to 1,800 in 2021.
All Ministry of Defence procurement decisions are carefully considered, taking into account not only the capabilities of the equipment but also the wider economic impact and the need to maintain operational sovereignty.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to increase defence co-operation between the United Kingdom and Italy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Italy remains one of the UK's most critical partners for European defence and security. The UK has a valuable and longstanding partnership with Italy built on deep tri-service links and historic cooperation in the combat air and weapons sectors.
Through annual 2+2 meetings between our Foreign and Defence Secretaries, our bilateral High-Level Military Dialogue, and regular interaction through other groupings such as NATO and E5 Defence Ministers Group, we continuously explore how our nations can better work together to address issues of shared strategic interest.
The closeness of our relationship is exemplified by our commitment to the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). Alongside Italy and Japan, we have made great progress delivering GCAP, achieving Treaty Ratification between all partner nations in December 2024 and establishing the GCAP Headquarters, based in Reading. This programme will not only deliver a cutting-edge combat aircraft but will foster closer defence cooperation between the three nations while also strengthening each country's defence industry, creating jobs and fostering economic growth.
Outside of GCAP, the bi-annual Senior Armaments Export Group meeting brings together government and industry to understand how we can best work together to pursue opportunities for deeper collaboration on defence programmes and exports. In February 2025, British and Italian capability directors signed a Statement of Intent focusing on complex weapons cooperation, adding more structure to this relationship.
Operationally our relationship is strong. We continue to deepen interoperability between our Carrier Strike Groups. As the only other European nation with carrier-capable F-35B aircraft, the Italian Armed Forces are providing a crucial contribution to the UK's 2025 Carrier Strike Group deployment, Op HIGHMAST.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support the work of armed forces chaplains.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) value our Armed Forces Chaplains and are committed to supporting their work to provide spiritual support and guidance to Service personnel and their families, in times of war and peace.
In addition to providing and maintaining faith, belief and worship spaces across the Defence Estate, the MOD funds continued professional development for chaplains including places on coaching courses, post-graduate courses in chaplaincy, attendance at annual retreats, spiritual conferences, and visits to a spiritual director.
Chaplains are also able to access health and wellbeing resources available to all Service personnel which are designed to support mental and physical resilience.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve defences against hypersonic missiles.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK continually reviews its approach to evolving threats, including hypersonic missiles, as part of wider plans for Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD). We mitigate air and missile threats through a spectrum of activities including counter proliferation, arms control and deterrence as well as active and passive defences.
Allied co-operation is key to addressing advanced threats and we are working with the USA and Australia on this topic through the AUKUS framework. In addition, we are investing in developing future defensive capabilities of tomorrow through our defence science and technology portfolio.
Additional measures are under consideration as part of the Strategic Defence Review.