Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether both tracked and wheeled solutions will be considered for the Mobile Fires Platform; and if he will take steps to ensure that all companies that have expressed interest in the Mobile Fires Platform and have responded to Requests for Information will have an opportunity to submit proposals for an interim solution.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Work is ongoing to evaluate potential vehicle types against the requirements for the Mobile Fires Platform, with delivery being accelerated to bring this capability into service earlier this decade.
In line with the Defence Secretary’s announcement to the House on 16 January, the Army is looking at solutions for an interim artillery capability, however it would be inappropriate to comment further whilst commercial options are being explored.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Secretary of State for Defence's oral evidence to the International Relations Committee on 1st November, whether it is his Department’s policy to recognise China's claims of sovereignty over Taiwan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. The UK does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but shares a vibrant unofficial relationship, based on dynamic commercial, educational and cultural ties. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the infringement by Iran on the sovereignty of the Kurdistan region of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the continued attacks by Iran of areas in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Iran must cease its indiscriminate bombardment of Kurdish towns which has led to the loss of innocent lives and damaged civilian infrastructure. These attacks are a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity and are wholly unacceptable. They demonstrate a repeated pattern of Iranian destabilising activity in the region. The UK has condemned Iranian infringement of Iraqi sovereignty alongside likeminded partners at the United Nations Security Council. The UK remains committed to the security and sovereignty of Iraq and will continue to work with the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure this.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that a 6th generation air system replacement for the Typhoon aircraft is (a) designed and (b) manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The Integrated Review confirmed our intent to develop a Future Combat Air System (FCAS) as a replacement for the capability provided by our Typhoon fast-jets. The 2018 Combat Air Strategy and 2021 Defence and Security Industrial Strategy both outline the importance of sustaining national defence industrial capability.
In the summer of 2021, we awarded the national contract, initially worth £250 million, for concept and assessment work under the FCAS Acquisition Programme. This was awarded to BAE Systems, Leonardo, MBDA and Rolls-Royce (Team Tempest), with flow through to the wider national supply chain. The Concept & Assessment Phase will define the capability we require and invest in the skills and infrastructure needed to deliver it. Our Team Tempest partners now have 2,500 people working on FCAS across the UK, with many more in the supply chain, and this number is growing. Under the Acquisition Programme, £1 billion has already been invested in UK Research & Development through the FCAS Technology Initiative, with a further £1 billion set to be invested over the coming years. This is laying the groundwork for the programme's later stages, with the aim of delivering FCAS in a shorter timeframe than previous programmes.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to enable potential hosts under the Homes for Ukraine scheme to submit family-wide visa applications to house refugee families rather than multiple individual applications for each member of the family being hosted.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Under the Homes For Ukraine scheme, application forms must be completed for each family member, including one application per child. This is to ensure the appropriate security and safeguarding checks can be undertaken.
The Home Office is continually making efforts to simplify the application process for Ukrainian refugees, and it keeps this under regular review.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 April 2022 to Question 155693, on Artillery: Armoured Fighting Vehicles, whether tracked as well as wheeled vehicles will be considered for the Mobile Fires Platform.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave in response to his question 155693 which explained that we are evaluating all potential vehicle types against the requirement for Mobile Fires Platform.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 April 2022 to Question 155693, on Artillery: Armoured Fighting Vehicles, what the timeframe is for the finalisation of key performance indicators, the request for proposal and contract award for the Mobile Fires artillery programme.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 25 April 2022 in response to his Question 155692.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Mobile Fires Platform programme is planned to focus on certain types of armoured vehicles.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Work is ongoing to evaluate potential vehicle types against the requirements for Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) as they mature.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the statement by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General on 3 March 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of his statement that the IAEA will never abandon its investigation into the previous presence of nuclear material at several undeclared sites in Iran.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General announced on 5 March that Iran and the IAEA had agreed a process for engagement on the Agency's ongoing investigation into outstanding safeguards issues in Iran. The UK fully supports the IAEA's efforts to independently monitor, investigate and report on Iran's nuclear activity. The UK has consistently urged Iran to cooperate with the IAEA on this investigation. At the IAEA Board of Governor's meeting in March 2022, the UK issued a joint statement with France and Germany reinforcing that Iran is legally obliged to cooperate with the IAEA by providing technically credible information, documentation and answers to questions requested by the IAEA. It is only through Iran's substantive cooperation with the IAEA that these issues can be clarified and resolved.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the Mobile Fires Platform programme; and when the procurement process is planned to commence.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Work continues to refine the requirements for Mobile Fires Platform and evaluate potential procurement routes.