Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total amount is that will be spent on uncrewed and autonomous testing for the Royal Navy in the (a) current and (b) remaining financial years of this parliament.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The information required to answer the question is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost to the Department.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total amount is that will be spent on developing Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the RAF in the (a) current and (b) remaining financial years of this parliament.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK's Defence Investment Plan (DIP) allocated £300 million specifically to launch a dedicated UK Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme. This targeted funding is aimed at kickstarting a domestic autonomous jet programme, with the government expecting a flying technology demonstrator by 2030.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much he plans to spend on (a) uncrewed systems and (b) counter drone systems for the Army in each of the remaining financial years of this Parliament.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Across the remainder of this Parliament the Ministry of Defence plans to spend £1.26 billion on Land domain uncrewed systems and £482 million on deployable counter drone systems for the Army. This latter figure does not include funding for counter drone systems being procured for UK Homeland Defence or deployable Ground Based Air Defence systems capable of targeting drones.
The breakdown of spend per Financial Year is not held centrally and therefore cannot be provided within this response.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the £220million allocated to the Barrow Transformation Fund will be included in UK NATO qualifying defence spend.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In line with NATO guidance, all relevant Government expenditure will be counted towards defence spending, including Departments outside of MOD, provided it specifically meets the needs of the UK Armed Forces.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much he intends to spend on developing a Hybrid Navy in each of the remaining financial years of this Parliament.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence will invest at least £1.5 billion over the next four years to begin delivering the Hybrid Navy, including the integration of autonomous underwater, surface and airborne systems to deliver mass and persistence. By 2030, we aim to have brought the first large autonomous vessels of into service, including a prototype uncrewed missile platform and extra-large uncrewed underwater vessels (XLUUVs), with payloads developed through AUKUS. The optimal breakdown of this £1.5 billion investment between different types of vessel will now be developed in consultation with industry.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of applying a zero rate of VAT to repairs and maintenance works carried out on places of worship.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the standard rate of 20 per cent applies to most goods and services, including most construction works. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability concerns.
To support the repair and maintenance of places of worship, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport administer the Places of Worship Renewal Fund which will allocate £92m over four years. The Fund provides upfront capital grants to enable essential capital works for buildings in greatest need.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's statement entitled Naval Base Infrastructure, published on 14 July 2026, what proportion of contracts awarded under Project Royal Oak are expected to be placed with UK based suppliers.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Project Royal Oak will deliver more than £26 billion of investment over the next decade to modernise His Majesty’s Naval Bases at Clyde, Devonport and Portsmouth. As the programme remains in its early stages, detailed commercial and contracting arrangements are still being developed. It is therefore not yet possible to forecast the proportion of contracts that will be awarded to UK-based suppliers.
The hon. Member will be aware of this Government’s commitment to a Back British approach to Defence. The Ministry of Defence will continue to work closely with industry to deliver Project Royal Oak, maximising economic opportunities across the United Kingdom while ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's statement entitled Naval Base Infrastructure, published on 14 July 2026, whether major contracts under Project Royal Oak will be subject to competitive tender.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Project Royal Oak will deliver more than £26 billion of investment over the next decade to modernise HM Naval Bases Clyde, Devonport and Portsmouth. Detailed commercial and procurement arrangements are being developed.
All procurement activity undertaken by the Ministry of Defence is conducted in accordance with the relevant procurement legislation, policy and value-for-money requirements. The procurement approach for individual contracts will be determined as programme requirements are developed and approved.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 4425 on Animal Experiments: Shellfish, what recent progress her Department has made in considering whether decapod crustaceans should be regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and when she expects that consideration to conclude.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has not decided whether to extend the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to decapod crustaceans. The Home Office is continuing a phased, evidence-based programme of work to improve protections for decapods used in science and inform and inform any future decision on regulation.
This includes developing baseline welfare standards, voluntary reporting arrangements and identifying evidence, guidance and technical gaps. The Home Office is establishing an expert working group to support this work and is developing a roadmap setting out the key stages towards considering the potential future inclusion of decapods as protected animals under the Act.
Any decision to bring forward legislation will be informed by the evidence and advice produced. It would therefore be premature to set a date for the conclusion of that consideration. The Government will provide further updates as the work progresses through appropriate forums.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to extend the protections provided by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to decapod crustaceans.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has not decided whether to extend the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to decapod crustaceans. The Home Office is continuing a phased, evidence-based programme of work to improve protections for decapods used in science and inform and inform any future decision on regulation.
This includes developing baseline welfare standards, voluntary reporting arrangements and identifying evidence, guidance and technical gaps. The Home Office is establishing an expert working group to support this work and is developing a roadmap setting out the key stages towards considering the potential future inclusion of decapods as protected animals under the Act.
Any decision to bring forward legislation will be informed by the evidence and advice produced. It would therefore be premature to set a date for the conclusion of that consideration. The Government will provide further updates as the work progresses through appropriate forums.