Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the resilience of the military from potential cyber attack.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Defence prioritises cyber security of its systems and implements a range of measures, including security and monitoring tools, to support cyber resilience and protect as far as possible from attack. Details of the measures are not shared publicly for security reasons.
In autumn 2025 we established Defence Cyber & Electromagnetic Force (DCEMF) to unify and advance previously fragmented and nascent capabilities, while empowering leadership to deliver operational advantage across the domain. This is in recognition of the critical importance of Cyber and Electromagnetic operations and capabilities in an increasingly complex and uncertain geopolitical environment. The DCEMF plays a central role in ensuring the UK remains competitive against peer adversaries in cyberspace and electromagnetic operations, driving the development of a technologically advanced Integrated Force capable of outthinking, outmanoeuvring, and outpacing its opponents.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of raw materials used in the production of equipment for the armed forces are sourced in Britain.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government is spending more of a rising defence budget with British companies.
Ministry of Defence (MOD) total direct expenditure with industry was £35.4 billion in 2024-25, of which £31.7 billion was with UK industry. Of the total industry spend, £11.9 billion was on equipment, of which £10.4 billion (87%) was in the UK.
Statistics on MOD expenditure with industry are published annually on the gov.uk website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-statistics-with-industry-202425.
The Department does not centrally track the origin of all raw materials used in the production of equipment.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of equipment used by the British armed forces is made in the UK.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government is spending more of a rising defence budget with British companies.
Ministry of Defence (MOD) total direct expenditure with industry was £35.4 billion in 2024-25, of which £31.7 billion was with UK industry. Of the total industry spend, £11.9 billion was on equipment, of which £10.4 billion (87%) was in the UK.
Statistics on MOD expenditure with industry are published annually on the gov.uk website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-statistics-with-industry-202425.
The Department does not centrally track the origin of all raw materials used in the production of equipment.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department holds data on much money the Armed Forces have spent on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion programmes in each of the last three years.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 6 May 2025 to Question 49058 to the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
A full Departmental response could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Full advertising and marketing costs for the Department are not held centrally. The majority of advertising and marketing expenditure is accounted for by advertising for the Royal Navy, Army, RAF and Ministry of Defence Police to aid recruitment.
All spending is subject to regular review to ensure it delivers value for money.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure veterans are not (a) homeless and (b) rough sleeping.
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: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether their Department has run any (a) recruitment and (b) internship schemes aimed to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future. Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition.
The Ministry of Defence is committed to reviewing and improving its recruitment model to ensure we are attracting a skilled and diverse workforce. This includes supporting central Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) pathways, which focus on recruitment from a wide range of backgrounds into the Civil Service, including people from low socio-economic backgrounds, prison leavers, Veterans, carers and care leavers. and. We are also committed to supporting schemes such as a Great Place to Work for Veterans and the cross-Government Summer Internship Programme.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what purposes their Department has used artificial intelligence in the last year.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Artificial Intelligence technologies offer the potential to transform all aspects of Defence - from the front lines to the back office - helping enhance operational effectiveness, improve productivity and maintain the UKs strategic advantage. Over 400 AI-related projects and programmes are currently underway, including predictive maintenance tools to help optimise equipment availability and reduce downtime, decision-support tools to enhance intelligence analysis and situational awareness, and projects to improve workforce efficiency by automating routine tasks and streamlining administrative processes.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The number of workdays spent working remotely is not recorded centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Local leadership is actively managing engagement and compliance on office attendance/ working remotely and has reported that compliance with the 60 percent attendance target is being met or exceeded where impediments such as restrictions on car parking and desk space are not prevalent; this has been done in line with, and supported by, HR policy, guidance, and management communications.
MOD Main Building (MOD’s HQ) is routinely published in Civil Service HQ occupancy data on GOV.UK. Main Building total occupancy for June 2025 was 87%.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 61621.