Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to introduce a civilian home guard as part of the armed forces reserve capabilities.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I am grateful for the contribution of our Reserve Forces who provide the UK with the ability to meet the threats we face at home and overseas, with the scale, skills, agility and connection to society that it needs, in a cost-effective way. Home Defence resilience is one of the key themes from the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) Report released on 2 Jun 2025.
The Ministry of Defence will now work with other relevant Government Departments to consider the implementation of the recommendations within the SDR, which includes Home Defence and Critical National Infrastructure. The potential role of Armed Forces Reserves capabilities will be considered as part of this.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will end his Department's pension payments to any former defence personnel who have served in any branch of the UK armed forces and who have fought alongside (a) Russian Federation military personnel and (b) Russian proxies in (i) Ukraine, (ii) North Africa and (iii) Sub-Saharan Africa.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Armed Forces Pension Schemes allow for the forfeit of an individual’s pension entitlements where certain conditions are met. The conditions largely concern circumstances where the member has been convicted of a serious criminal offence. This power provides assurance that those who commit grave and serious crimes, connected with their service, that bring His Majesty’s Armed Forces into disrepute or cause grave injury to the interests of defence or the State, do not receive public funds in the form of an Armed Forces pension. Pension forfeiture is rare and requires consideration by the Secretary of State or the Defence Council.
The Ministry of Defence cannot comment on individual cases but further information on the general conditions under which forfeiture may be applied and the procedure to be followed when enacting forfeiture can be found at:
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will have discussions with his US counterpart on the (a) strategic contribution of Red Sea region and (b) the potential merits of retaining the United States Africa Command.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Secretary of State for Defence has regular engagements with the US Secretary of Defense where they discuss a range of topics including Red Sea security. The UK Ministry of Defence also undertakes frequent engagement with US AFRICOM on a range of issues.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Nepal on the (i) number of Nepalese nationals who are and (ii) steps Nepal is taking to help prevent its nationals fighting as mercenaries for the Russian Federation in Ukraine; and what information his Department holds on whether those mercenaries have received training from the British Army.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry for Defence engages regularly with the Government of Nepal. The Nepali Government has denounced recruitment and has formally asked Russia to desist its attempts to recruit Nepali citizens to fight.
They have also sought to deter Nepalis travelling to Russia through immigration measures and raising public awareness of the risks, to which HMG is supportive. As the Government of Nepal does not allow citizens to join the Russian military there are no official figures available.
No evidence has been provided by Ukraine or Nepal to suggest that Nepalis trained by the British Army are fighting for Russia.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure a space defence strategy is included in the outputs from the Strategic Defence Review.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
While the Ministry of Defence continues to deliver against its existing space strategy, the Strategic Defence Review provides an opportunity to assess the strategic landscape and threat picture to inform long-term decisions, including on refreshing the Defence Space Strategy. The existing strategy has led to the establishment of UK Space Command, the National Space Operations Centre, and the development of the UK’s sovereign space-based ISR programme, which we will build on going forward.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Ghana on the (i) number of Ghanaian nationals who are and (ii) steps Ghana is taking to help prevent its nationals fighting as mercenaries for the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Ghana is a valuable security partner, and I met with the Ghanaian Defence Minister this week. The UK engages regularly with Ghana on a range of topics of mutual concern, including Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will have discussions with Cabinet colleagues on safeguarding civilian national infrastructure required for the (a) mobilisation and (b) deployment of the armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has robust plans for mobilising and deploying the Armed Forces in response to events and crises, both at home and abroad. The Ministry of Defence works closely with other Government Departments, including the Cabinet Office, as well as the owners and operators of civilian national infrastructure, to ensure plans include safeguarding of vital sites and infrastructure.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to protect UK defence personnel at RAF Akrotiri from regional ballistic missile attacks.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK takes the security of all our overseas bases seriously and takes appropriate measures for their protection.
The UK employs a broad approach to deterring and defeating air and missile threats. We pursue counter-proliferation and military activities to counter threats before an attack is ever launched. However, if those approaches fail, we can employ a range of active and passive defence measures to intercept the threat and increase our resilience. This process remains continually under review.
We are committed to enhancing our capabilities and modernising our air and missile defence approach to ensure our Armed Forces, including those in places such as RAF Akrotiri, have the capabilities they need to meet current and future threats. As part of this commitment, a Strategic Defence Review is being conducted with missile defence capabilities forming an important part of our inputs to this review.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average waiting time was for nuclear test veterans who applied for no-fault compensation under the War Pension Scheme to receive compensation in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Nuclear Test Veterans (NTVs) who believe they have suffered ill health due to Service have the right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pension Scheme (WPS). Each case is considered on its own merits. War Disablement Pensions are medically certified with relevant material facts including on claimed incidents, events, and exposures.
There is not a specific NTV claim form for compensation under the WPS. However, a supplementary form is available which allows for NTV-specific information to be provided at the point of claim.
The number of WPS claims with a supplementary NTV claim form attached and the information requested for the number of NTVs who applied for, and received compensation, over the last five years is not held centrally.
WPS Caseworkers are experienced and, together with qualified medical professionals, do their utmost to acquire the relevant evidence and information to ensure the decisions made are both fair and correct. Currently, there are 35 Caseworkers who assess claims and appeals under the WPS, which include the assessment of the supplementary NTV claim form. There are currently 30 Medical Advisers who medically certify War Disablement Pension decisions.
First claims made under the WPS during 2023/24 were cleared, on average, in approximately nine months. Second and subsequent claims made under the WPS during 2023-24 were cleared, on average, in seven months. War Widow/Widowers claims during 2023-24 were cleared, on average, in two months.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department are employed to assess compensation claims from British nuclear test veterans who served on Christmas Island.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Nuclear Test Veterans (NTVs) who believe they have suffered ill health due to Service have the right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pension Scheme (WPS). Each case is considered on its own merits. War Disablement Pensions are medically certified with relevant material facts including on claimed incidents, events, and exposures.
There is not a specific NTV claim form for compensation under the WPS. However, a supplementary form is available which allows for NTV-specific information to be provided at the point of claim.
The number of WPS claims with a supplementary NTV claim form attached and the information requested for the number of NTVs who applied for, and received compensation, over the last five years is not held centrally.
WPS Caseworkers are experienced and, together with qualified medical professionals, do their utmost to acquire the relevant evidence and information to ensure the decisions made are both fair and correct. Currently, there are 35 Caseworkers who assess claims and appeals under the WPS, which include the assessment of the supplementary NTV claim form. There are currently 30 Medical Advisers who medically certify War Disablement Pension decisions.
First claims made under the WPS during 2023/24 were cleared, on average, in approximately nine months. Second and subsequent claims made under the WPS during 2023-24 were cleared, on average, in seven months. War Widow/Widowers claims during 2023-24 were cleared, on average, in two months.