Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what payments to Mauritius under the UK-Mauritius Treaty will be included in the UK’s calculation of the (a) 3.5% core defence spending and (b) defence-related investments.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The NATO qualifying status of these costs will be considered in the usual way.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made by the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Since the Coalition of the Willing Summit in London in March 2025, the UK and France have co-led military planning efforts and brought together over 30 countries at four leader level events including one in Kyiv.
The Prime Minister and President Macron convened a Leader Level Coalition of the Willing meeting on 10 July 2025, confirming the development of mature operational plans to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, to help secure Ukraine’s skies and seas and to regenerate Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether operations conducted by special forces will be subject to the notifications requirements of paragraph 2 of Annex 1 of the UK-Mauritius Treaty.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As per longstanding Government policy, I can neither confirm nor deny information relating to UK Special Forces.
Annex 1, paragraph 2 of the Chagos Archipelago Treaty, once it has entered into force, will not require the UK to divulge sensitive information and will not require prior notification of any military operation.
Moreover, Article 3(2) of the treaty states that Mauritius cannot undermine, prejudice or otherwise interfere with the long-term, secure and effective operation of the military base on Diego Garcia, and that Mauritius shall cooperate to that end.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Annex 1 of the UK-Mauritius Treaty, whether he has agreed (a) a process with the Government of Mauritius to provide them with the required notifications and (b) a definition of the term expeditiously inform with the Government of Mauritius.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is standard practice for basing arrangements to include an agreement to inform a host nation about military action from their territory. Annex 1, paragraph 2 of the Chagos Archipelago treaty, once it has entered into force, will not require prior notification and will not require the UK to divulge sensitive information. The United Kingdom will inform Mauritius through normal diplomatic channels.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 1(b)(viii) of Annex 1 of the UK/Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago (CS Mauritius No.1/2025), what the notification process will be for informing Mauritius about (a) non-United Kingdom and (b) non-United State of America that have been permitted (i) access, (iI) basing and (iii) overflight access to Diego Garcia; how his Department defines the term upon notification; whether notification should be provided before permitted vessels and aircrafts enter Diego Garcia; what details will be provided through the notification process; who in the Mauritian government will receive the notification; and whether those notifications will be confidential.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As Annex 1, paragraph 1(b)(viii) of the treaty confirms, the United Kingdom will have unrestricted ability to permit access, basing and overflight for non-United Kingdom and non-United States of America aircraft and vessels. Aircraft accessing Diego Garcia will maintain standard notification practices for flight information regions, which exist in the Indian Ocean flight information zone and other international flight information zones. The United Kingdom will inform Mauritius about non-United Kingdom and non-United States of America aircraft and vessels through normal diplomatic channels. Notifications are confidential and will not include classified information.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 3(a) of Annex 1 of the UK/Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago (CS Mauritius No.1/2025), what the notification process will be for informing Mauritius about (a) overflight and (b) undersea access to the Chagos Islands beyond Diego Garcia for states operating with the United Kingdom or the United States of America; how his Department defines the term upon notification; whether notification should be provided before permitted vessels and aircrafts enter Diego Garcia; what details will be provided through the notification process; who in the Mauritian government will receive the notification; and whether those notifications will be confidential.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Aircraft accessing the Chagos Archipelago beyond Diego Garcia will maintain standard notification practices for flight information regions, which exist in the Indian Ocean flight information zone and other international flight information zones. The United Kingdom will inform Mauritius about undersea access for states operating with the United Kingdom or the United States of America through normal diplomatic channels. Notifications are confidential and will not include classified information.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the document entitled UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia (CS Mauritius No.1/2025), whether there are (a) restrictions on and (b) processes to facilitate (i) planes under the control of Mauritius (A) entering Diego Garcia airspace (B) landing on Diego Garcia and (ii) vessels under the flag of Mauritius (C) entering the 12 nautical mile zone (D) entering the zone between 12 and 24 nautical miles surrounding Diego Garcia, where Diego Garcia as defined by Article 19 of the Agreement.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Under the terms of the Chagos Archipelago Treaty, the UK controls access of persons and goods to Diego Garcia, which includes the airspace and territorial sea in the 12 nautical mile surrounding zone. In accordance with this control the UK must authorise access to Diego Garcia, including for Mauritian aircraft and vessels.
Additionally, the current three nautical mile territorial sea is to be extended to 12 nautical miles, with the UK controlling the twelve nautical miles surrounding Diego Garcia. Outside of the territorial sea, movements of vessels and aircraft are governed by the rights in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. With the extension of the territorial sea under the treaty, this means that the UK will control nine nautical miles more than is currently the case.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps Veterans UK is taking to support veterans into employment.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
Within Veterans UK our Veterans Welfare and Defence Transition Services can facilitate access to the most appropriate sources of assistance for Veterans seeking employment support which may include active referrals to the MOD’s Career Transition Partnership, the Department of Work and Pensions or an appropriate charity provider.
The Career Transition Partnership, which has helped over 300,000 Service leavers make their move into civilian life, provides up to four years of resettlement and employment support to Service personnel, both pre and post discharge.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what records his Department makes of mental health conditions experienced by (a) serving armed forces personnel and (b) veterans.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) maintains an electronic patient record for serving UK Armed Forces personnel, which has a centralised data warehouse of coded information. From this and data from the MOD's in-patient care contractor, the Government publishes annual statistics on mental health in the Armed Forces. This summarises all initial assessments for a new episode of care of personnel at MOD Specialist Mental Health Services (Departments of Community Mental Health for outpatient care and all admissions to the MOD's in-patient care contractor) by financial year (FY).
The latest bulletin was published in June 2018 and provides Armed Forces mental health statistics for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2018. This can be viewed at:
This shows that in FY 2017-18, the latest period for which figures are available, 3.1% of personnel had a mental health disorder assessed at MOD Specialist Mental Health Services. The bulletin does not include data on patients treated for mental health problems wholly within the primary care setting by their GP or medical officer. Defence Statistics is planning to carry out work in the future to estimate the number of personnel treated in this setting.
Information on all veterans who are currently experiencing mental health problems is not held by the MOD. The provision of veterans' mental healthcare is the responsibility of the NHS in England and the Devolved Administrations. Priority access for veterans with service attributable conditions is provided in England, Scotland and Wales subject to the clinical need of others.
The MOD does hold some information on specific veteran cohorts experiencing mental health problems. As at 31 March 2018 there were 638 veterans in receipt of an ongoing Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme for Mental Disorders. Also, as at 31 March 2018 there were a minimum of 13,452 Disablement pensioners in receipt of an ongoing War Pension to compensate for Service attributable Mental Disorders.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) serving armed forces personnel and (b) veterans who are currently experiencing mental health problems.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) maintains an electronic patient record for serving UK Armed Forces personnel, which has a centralised data warehouse of coded information. From this and data from the MOD's in-patient care contractor, the Government publishes annual statistics on mental health in the Armed Forces. This summarises all initial assessments for a new episode of care of personnel at MOD Specialist Mental Health Services (Departments of Community Mental Health for outpatient care and all admissions to the MOD's in-patient care contractor) by financial year (FY).
The latest bulletin was published in June 2018 and provides Armed Forces mental health statistics for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2018. This can be viewed at:
This shows that in FY 2017-18, the latest period for which figures are available, 3.1% of personnel had a mental health disorder assessed at MOD Specialist Mental Health Services. The bulletin does not include data on patients treated for mental health problems wholly within the primary care setting by their GP or medical officer. Defence Statistics is planning to carry out work in the future to estimate the number of personnel treated in this setting.
Information on all veterans who are currently experiencing mental health problems is not held by the MOD. The provision of veterans' mental healthcare is the responsibility of the NHS in England and the Devolved Administrations. Priority access for veterans with service attributable conditions is provided in England, Scotland and Wales subject to the clinical need of others.
The MOD does hold some information on specific veteran cohorts experiencing mental health problems. As at 31 March 2018 there were 638 veterans in receipt of an ongoing Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme for Mental Disorders. Also, as at 31 March 2018 there were a minimum of 13,452 Disablement pensioners in receipt of an ongoing War Pension to compensate for Service attributable Mental Disorders.