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 oral contribution during the debate on Defence on 2 July, Official Report, Column 327, whether the additional £5 billion spent on defence includes funding for Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government is committed to providing Ukraine with £3 billion a year of military support for as long as needed. This year, the UK will provide more financial aid in military support to Ukraine than at any time since the full-scale invasion began: £4.5 billion to deliver military support, enhance training and strengthen industrial collaboration.
This is separate from the £5 billion we are investing in the Ministry of Defence budget this financial year. This additional investment will enable us to fix the foundations of defence and support key activities including the UK’s programme of joint exercises with NATO allies, invest in advanced technology such as Directed Energy Weapons and develop and refurbish the defence estate to provide our military families with the homes they deserve.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many scalable tactical vests his Department has ordered since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To meet the ongoing demand for scalable tactical vests (STV) in August 2024, 1,980 STV textile covers in civilian blue (No Multi-Terrain Pattern) and without the Soft Armour Filler(SAF), were ordered. Defence Equipment and Support have ordered 15 Special Measure bespoke STV (SAF and MTP cover) since July 2024 for those that do not fit in any of the 12 standard sizes.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 52037 on F-35 Aircraft: Meteor Missiles, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the delay to the integration of the Meteor air-to-air missile with F-35B aircraft on F-35 capability.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
With the F-35 Lightning, the RAF is already equipped with one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world, and the integration of METEOR will further improve the aircraft's capability in future years. While Meteor integration is in progress, the UK's fleet of F-35 aircraft already carry AIM-120 AMRAAM. Once operational, Meteor and AMRAAM will offer a complementary capability.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled UK to purchase F-35As and join NATO mission as Government steps up national security and delivers defence dividend, published on 24 June 2025, when his Department expects the new F-35As to be certified to use nuclear weapons.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The nuclear weapons allocated to the NATO nuclear mission are US weapons and the US needs to certify that any aircraft or personnel allocated to the mission are appropriately trained and equipped. We will continue to work closely with the US on the timeline to deliver this capability for the UK, including certification.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, who will command the new 50,000 strong combined joint force.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Detailed planning of the Combined Joint Force (CJF), evolving from the currently existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is currently under way with French colleagues following Thursday’s announcement.
The current command structure of the CJEF under its Concept of Employment (CONEMP) is of a single operational commander provided by either the UK or France, appointed by both nations. It should be noted the CJEF is not a standing force, but made up of high-readiness forces available when it is deployed.
All UK Service Chiefs, including VCDS and Commander Strat Comm, were consulted ahead of the agreement to create the CJF. Most significantly, on 24 March 2025 at the third annual UK-France All Chiefs meeting in London, the proposal was discussed with all of the French and UK Military Chiefs of Staff.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, whether Commander Strategic Command was consulted prior to the agreement to create the 50,000 strong combined joint force.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Detailed planning of the Combined Joint Force (CJF), evolving from the currently existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is currently under way with French colleagues following Thursday’s announcement.
The current command structure of the CJEF under its Concept of Employment (CONEMP) is of a single operational commander provided by either the UK or France, appointed by both nations. It should be noted the CJEF is not a standing force, but made up of high-readiness forces available when it is deployed.
All UK Service Chiefs, including VCDS and Commander Strat Comm, were consulted ahead of the agreement to create the CJF. Most significantly, on 24 March 2025 at the third annual UK-France All Chiefs meeting in London, the proposal was discussed with all of the French and UK Military Chiefs of Staff.
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 press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, whether he consulted the Chief of the Air Staff before the agreement to create a 50,000 strong combined joint force.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Detailed planning of the Combined Joint Force (CJF), evolving from the currently existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is currently under way with French colleagues following Thursday’s announcement.
The current command structure of the CJEF under its Concept of Employment (CONEMP) is of a single operational commander provided by either the UK or France, appointed by both nations. It should be noted the CJEF is not a standing force, but made up of high-readiness forces available when it is deployed.
All UK Service Chiefs, including VCDS and Commander Strat Comm, were consulted ahead of the agreement to create the CJF. Most significantly, on 24 March 2025 at the third annual UK-France All Chiefs meeting in London, the proposal was discussed with all of the French and UK Military Chiefs of Staff.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, whether the Chief of the Defence Staff was consulted prior to the agreement to create the 50,000 strong combined joint force.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Detailed planning of the Combined Joint Force (CJF), evolving from the currently existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is currently under way with French colleagues following Thursday’s announcement.
The current command structure of the CJEF under its Concept of Employment (CONEMP) is of a single operational commander provided by either the UK or France, appointed by both nations. It should be noted the CJEF is not a standing force, but made up of high-readiness forces available when it is deployed.
All UK Service Chiefs, including VCDS and Commander Strat Comm, were consulted ahead of the agreement to create the CJF. Most significantly, on 24 March 2025 at the third annual UK-France All Chiefs meeting in London, the proposal was discussed with all of the French and UK Military Chiefs of Staff.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, whether the First Sea Lord was consulted prior to the agreement to create the 50,000 strong combined joint force.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Detailed planning of the Combined Joint Force (CJF), evolving from the currently existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is currently under way with French colleagues following Thursday’s announcement.
The current command structure of the CJEF under its Concept of Employment (CONEMP) is of a single operational commander provided by either the UK or France, appointed by both nations. It should be noted the CJEF is not a standing force, but made up of high-readiness forces available when it is deployed.
All UK Service Chiefs, including VCDS and Commander Strat Comm, were consulted ahead of the agreement to create the CJF. Most significantly, on 24 March 2025 at the third annual UK-France All Chiefs meeting in London, the proposal was discussed with all of the French and UK Military Chiefs of Staff.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, when the 50,000 strong combined joint force will reach the initial operational capability.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Detailed planning of the Combined Joint Force (CJF), evolving from the currently existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is currently under way with French colleagues following the UK-France declaration announcement. We are working to define an ambitious timeline for establishing the CJF and reaching full operational capability. For extant CJEF tasks up to 10,000, which the new CJF inherits, the force reached full operational capability in 2010.
The Lancaster House 2.0: Declaration on Modernising UK-French Defence and Security Cooperation was agreed and published on 10 July 2025.