Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's timetable is for increasing defence spending to meet NATO commitments; and whether he is satisfied that current funding levels are sufficient to deter Russian aggression and maintain the UK's obligations to its allies.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Government remains committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, as agreed at the NATO summit last year.

As the third-largest financial contributor, and the only European Ally to commit our full nuclear deterrent to NATO, the United Kingdom already plays a central role across the Alliance.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the transfer of Southeastern to public ownership will improve service reliability at Gillingham and Rainham stations.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Southeastern has been in public ownership since Oct 2021. Overall, Southeastern is performing well above the industry average for both reliability and punctuality. In fact, they are currently ranked fourth out of 14 DfT managed train operators for both Cancellations and T-3 (% of the station stops within 3 minutes of scheduled time) and their latest results for both measures are up year-on-year, showing they are continuing to improve through initiatives across their network, including the routes serving Gillingham and Rainham, such as:

• Delivering £306m of investment to renew and enhance shared railway infrastructure to help keep trains on time.
• Investing in more fault-finding equipment so problems can be fixed before they happen.
• Working with British Transport Police and using drones and AI-powered cameras to quickly detect and prevent people from trespassing on the railway.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the £2.5 billion social housing loan fund for 2026 to 2030 will benefit housing providers in Medway; and what steps are being taken to address homelessness in Gillingham and Rainham.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

To support the delivery of new social and affordable housing, the government will make available £2.5 billion in low interest loans to Private Registered Providers, with £1 billion available outside of London.

The loans will be made available via a competitive bidding process, following confirmation of initial grant allocations made through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

The government has set out its plans to address the root causes of homelessness, shift the system towards prevention, and tackle the worst forms of homelessness through the National Plan to End Homelessness, which can be found on gov.uk here.

This is backed by £3.6 billion funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29. Medway Council will receive £12 million through the Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to increase police presence and reduce anti-social behaviour in town centres in Medway.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Through our Crime and Policing Act, we are rolling out new enhanced powers to enable local agencies to tackle antisocial behaviour offenders. And our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee has ensured that every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated antisocial behaviour lead, and a local action plan in place to crack down on offenders who blight our communities.

We are also delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel into roles across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament As of 28 February 2026, Kent Police have grown by 71 (FTE) Neighbourhood since March 2025.

Every neighbourhood, including those in the Medway towns, has named, and contactable officers dedicated to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour locally and forces have increased patrols in town centres and other key locations based on local demand and intelligence.

Furthermore, the Safer Streets Summer Initiative ran from June the September last year. The core aim was to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB), street crime and retail crime in Town Centres, and to increase confidence in policing through increased collaboration at a local level. Kent Police participated in the initiative with 15 locations, three of them in Medway covering Chatham, Brompton, and Rochester.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans the Government has to increase the frequency of interdiction operations against Russian shadow fleet vessels.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Ministry of Defence continuously monitors maritime activity in the UK waters. Any enforcement action is considered on a case‑by‑case basis.

The recent interdiction of Russian shadow fleet vessel SMYRTOS shows that the UK is ready to take action to enforce sanctions and disrupt the resources sustaining Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) mental health and (b) long-term support is available for women living with the consequences of pelvic mesh injuries.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by pelvic mesh, and recognises the profound, life‑changing impact these harms have had on individuals and their families. We know that for many, the consequences are ongoing and deeply felt.

There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need.

The current service specification requirements include psychology services, which should be available. It also states that patients should be able to have follow up reviews for up to five years post-surgery. On discharge from the Specialised Mesh Service at five years, there will be clear instructions for the general practitioner to refer the person back if there are any new problems.

However, services can always improve. NHS England has now completed their internal audit of mesh centres across England conducted in 2025, which was designed in partnership with patient representatives. Though the audit is showing the value and impact of the service delivered by mesh centres, with nearly 3,000 patients now seen in the services since their introduction, equating to 700 per year, there are distinct areas for improvement and a timeline for these improvements will be made at pace.