Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has set a target date by which no veteran should be sleeping rough in England; and what resources have been allocated to achieve this objective.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is fully committed to ensuring that all veterans across the UK have access to the support they need on housing. That is why we have committed an additional £12 million to ensure the continuation of the Reducing Veteran Homelessness programme. Op FORTITUDE will also be extended, putting the service that has already supported over 1,000 veterans on a sustainable footing. These programmes will deliver three years of support services across the UK for veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
On 11 December 2025, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published A National Plan to End Homelessness. The Ministry of Defence contributed to this strategy including committing to ensuring that all councils are aware of service provision in their area to support veterans at risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to review medal eligibility criteria for armed forces personnel injured in acts of terrorism while serving in the UK but not on operational deployment.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
All UK medallic recognition is at the behest the monarch. He is advised by a Cabinet Office led system of committees that consider the merits of individual endeavour in various fields.
I am aware of calls for a specific acknowledgement for Service personnel who are injured in the course of their military careers, either during military conflict or through incidents of terrorism. For that reason, officials in the Ministry of Defence are considering this issue, looking at whether a defined ‘Injury Medal’ would be the best method of recognition in such circumstances, and whether such an award would be viable.
This work is at an early stage, and it would not be appropriate to speculate on whether such an award may be instituted, nor precisely what it might look like in terms of eligibility.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of UK defence readiness following recent Russian incursions in NATO airspace; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) the UK and (b) its allies are able to respond effectively to potential future incursions.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK is committed to defending every inch of NATO territory, including our contribution of Typhoon jets to defend Polish airspace as part of NATO’s Eastern Sentry. NATO is more united than ever as we continue to work closely to support Ukraine and defend the alliance’s territory. The Defence Secretary recently confirmed that we will be extending our contribution to Eastern Sentry until the end of 2025. Over the past 18 months, the RAF has also conducted routine deployments of Typhoons to both Poland and Romania to protect NATO airspace.
In the UK, RAF fighter jets at RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth are held at continuous high readiness 24/7, 365 days a year, to protect UK sovereign airspace. They routinely launch to intercept unidentified aircraft flying in the UK’s area of interest as part of NATO’s air policing mission.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what was the most recent date on which Israeli officials entered the Department's buildings on Whitehall.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The last visit by Israeli officials to the Ministry of Defence Main Building took place on Wednesday 5 February 2025.