Earl Attlee

The Malvern Hills Trust, also known as the Malvern Hills Conservators, is not considered to be a public body.

The cost for police to escort abnormal loads to Transpennine Route Upgrade worksites, when required, is included within crane hire companies’ costs to the consortium. The Department does not hold information on the breakdown of crane suppliers’ costs or the number of movements they undertake.

I can confirm that the TransPennine Route Upgrade programme is wholly funded by central government.

The agreed industry scale rate for lorry drivers’ overnight subsistence allowance is currently £34.90, or 75% of this figure (£26.20) where the driver uses a sleeper cab. These are the maximum amounts that can be paid free of Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions under the agreed industry scale rate.

There is no commitment to uplifting agreed industry scale rates in line with inflation. In order to seek an increase in the rate, haulage operators would need to provide evidence to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that drivers are incurring expenses that exceed the current benchmark rate.

Alternatively, employers can reimburse drivers for their actual travel costs incurred when staying away from home rather than pay the set benchmark scale rate.

The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of vehicles that are operated by West Yorkshire Police.

The vehicles funded by the West Alliance as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme are Volvo XC90s. The vehicles have standard police livery, and in addition of ‘Abnormal Load Escort’ on the rear side windows. The vehicles are only used for abnormal load escorts and not general roads policing duties. Transfer of funds took place on 26 March 2025 and 20 June 2025, amounting to £175,000.

HM Treasury is aware that SMEs and startups operating in the defence sector face barriers to accessing finance.

The Ministry of Defence is looking at these issues as part of the Defence Finance and Investment Strategy (DFIS) to be published in early 2026. The DFIS will look at the entire spectrum of defence companies, from start-ups through to primes, and provide recommendations to the Defence Secretary on how barriers to investment in defence can be removed.

Notwithstanding that the comments referred to were made by the previous government, this government’s policy is that the Money Laundering Regulations are a vital part of the UK’s comprehensive economic crime response and should not be a barrier to legitimate customers.

While the process of granting an export licence is thorough, it does not consider the source of funds related to the movement of relevant goods. It is therefore right that firms are required to carry out their own, risk-based due diligence when providing financial services to those engaged in the defence industry, regardless of any licences those customers may hold.

West Yorkshire Police will receive funding of up to £659.6m in 2025-26. You should note that this figure includes core Government grants and council tax precept only and does not represent the totality of the force’s budget. The Home Office does not routinely collect information on other police force revenue.

Police forces in England and Wales are operationally independent of Government. Decisions on the procurement or allocation of resources, including vehicles, are matters for Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners or equivalents and are not matters the Home Office would routinely be involved in.

There have been two occasions where a Minister of His Majesty’s Government has ridden in an Ajax armoured fighting vehicle during this session of Parliament.

The first occasion was on 17 July 2025 and the second occasion was on 5 November 2025. Both occasions took place on a concrete hard surface test track.

There have been two occasions where a Minister of His Majesty’s Government has ridden in an Ajax armoured fighting vehicle during this session of Parliament.

The first occasion was on 17 July 2025 and the second occasion was on 5 November 2025. Both occasions took place on a concrete hard surface test track.

The British Army have two armoured brigades. These are the 12 Armoured Brigade Combat Team (12 ABCT) and the 20 Armoured Brigade Combat Team (20 ABCT).

There are currently four armoured regiments in the British Army that are equipped with the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank. They are The Queen’s Royal Hussars (QRH), The King’s Royal Hussars (KRH), The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), and the Reserve armoured regiment, The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY).

The KRH, RTR, and RWxY are assigned to 12 ABCT and The QRH is assigned to 20 ABCT.

The British Army have two armoured brigades. These are the 12 Armoured Brigade Combat Team (12 ABCT) and the 20 Armoured Brigade Combat Team (20 ABCT).

There are currently four armoured regiments in the British Army that are equipped with the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank. They are The Queen’s Royal Hussars (QRH), The King’s Royal Hussars (KRH), The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), and the Reserve armoured regiment, The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY).

The KRH, RTR, and RWxY are assigned to 12 ABCT and The QRH is assigned to 20 ABCT.

The Department continues to fill the highest priority roles first in accordance with current and future output requirements. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.