Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 48851 on Reserve Forces: Finance, what assessment he has made of the level of available reserve service days; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of reserve service days, including for 3 Division.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Armed Forces continually review Reserve Service Days (RSD) to ensure that the Reserve Forces meet operational requirements.
The Army is currently conducting a review of Army Reserve tasks, including those for 3 (UK) Division, through the Field Army’s Force Commitments Exercise which will assess the funding required to support planned activities and to forecast the number of RSD needed for Financial Year 2026-27.
In addition, the Royal Air Force has no current plans to alter the current commitment of RSD per person, whilst the Royal Navy is undertaking work to expand funded training, increase deployment opportunities, and improve short notice tasking for the Maritime Reserves.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of the original capability requirements specified for the Ajax-family vehicles have been relaxed or amended due to an inability of the vehicles to meet the original requirements.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It would not be appropriate to release a complete list of capability criteria, or any amendments to them, as doing so could prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of the capability requirements that Ajax-family Capability Drop 4 vehicles will fully comply with.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It would not be appropriate to release a complete list of capability criteria, or any amendments to them, as doing so could prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of the capability requirements have Ajax-family Capability Drop 3 vehicles been verified to fully comply with.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It would not be appropriate to release a complete list of capability criteria, or any amendments to them, as doing so could prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, will the RAF's Eurofighter Typhoon be upgraded with the Aerodynamic Modification Kit.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Typhoon is a world-class combat aircraft and will continue to serve as the backbone of the UK's Combat Air Force mass until at least the 2040s. To ensure it remains at the cutting edge of capability, the UK is planning significant investment in the Typhoon through-life equipment programme. Further details on future Typhoon investment will be outlined in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the Capability Drop 3 Ajax-family vehicles that have undergone acceptance testing by the Joint Acceptance Group required concessions against specifications or contractual requirements to be submitted by General Dynamics; and how many were approved.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All 185 Capability Drop 3 vehicles have modifications above the current production baseline and therefore every vehicle accepted through the joint acceptance group testing has concessions. In addition to these above baseline concessions, there are 28 different concessions which are due to either alternative parts or parts out of tolerance which do not impact user performance or operation or exceptionally a timebound impact on performance which is acceptable.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to parts 1 and 2 of the Service Justice System Review, published on 29 March 2018 and 29 March 2019, if he will amend the Armed Forces Bill to exclude rape and sexual assault with penetration from Court Martial jurisdiction except when the consent of the Attorney General is given.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There are no plans to amend the Armed Forces Bill in the way proposed. There have been significant improvements to investigations, prosecutions and victim support in the Service Justice System since the Lyons Review and the House of Commons’ Defence Committee’s previous recommendation. The Defence Serious Crime Command is implementing national standards set by the College of Policing through the Professionalising Investigations Programme and the National Operating Model under Operation Soteria, in line with National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing guidance. This ensures that investigations into rape and serious sexual offences are victim-centred, suspect-focused, and consistent with nationally recognised policing standards. The Victim Witness Care Unit provides independent, trauma-informed and end-to-end support. Reports by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate independently verify the progress made.
Sir Brian Leveson’s July 2025 Independent Review of the Criminal Courts stated that “criminal justice is in crisis” with cases being listed as far ahead as 2029, while the Court Martial has no backlogs and cases progress without delay. In the civilian system 19% of victims withdraw from adult-rape-flagged proceedings in the Crown Court; in the Court Martial none withdrew in 2024.
Whilst conviction rates cannot be reliably compared, published data does not support claims that the conviction rate is higher in the Crown Court. The conviction rate for adult-rape-flagged cases in the Court Martial, excluding guilty pleas, is 51% from 2022 to 2024 compared to 36% in the Crown Court.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the ongoing industrial dispute with Royal Fleet Auxiliary sailors on day-to-day operations of the Fleet Auxiliary and Navy.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) remains an integral part of the Royal Navy and its collective ability to deliver operational effect in conjunction with our allies around the world.
The RFA continue to meet their operational commitments, and we are dedicated to resolving the current industrial dispute through continuing dialogue with their trade unions.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to undertake a refresh of the 2012 Defence Rotary Wing Capability Study.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Rotary Wing capability is vital to our Armed Forces' ability to manoeuvre and confront adversaries. We have kept our approach to Rotary Wing capability planning up to date through iterative updates to the Rotary Wing Strategy, last published in 2021, including considerations of usage of future and emerging technologies in Rotor Craft up to 2040 and beyond. Rotary Wing force design is a key consideration as part of the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan, the outcome of which will define the future capability plan.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where the planned new munitions factories will be located.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Following the Secretary of State’s announcement in November 2025 that a number of sites are under consideration, work is ongoing with respect to specific site proposals. More detail will be available once the necessary preparatory work has been completed and further public announcements will be made in due course.