Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 26 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 631, on what his Department plans to spend the increase in defence spending.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Full details will be set out in the Strategic Defence Review to be published in spring 2025.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, whether payments to Mauritius for the continued lease of the Diego Garcia military base will be included in the announced increase in defence spending.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The terms of the treaty are still being finalised, once the treaty is finalised it will be put before Parliament for scrutiny in the usual way.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the total cost to the public purse for the provision of diversity, equality and inclusion courses for staff in his Department in 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence remains committed to making the step changes required to create a more inclusive environment, enabling everyone, irrespective of background, to deliver our Defence outputs, enhance our operational effectiveness, and better defend and represent the nation we serve. The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions for financial year 2025-26.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There is no additional cost to the Ministry of Defence.
The Government will be supporting departments with the cost of additional employer national insurance contributions. This is in line with the Government’s usual approach to supporting the public sector, as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy. The allocation for the Ministry of Defence, along with all other departments, will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department were hired via positive action schemes in the last financial year.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence has not hired any permanent civil servants using a positive action scheme in the last financial year.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of deploying naval assets to the English Channel to help tackle small boats crossing.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Home Office is the lead Government Department responsible for border security and migration.
It has recently established the Border Security Command to strengthen global partnerships and enhance the UK’s efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute people smugglers profiting from the dangerous movement of people across the channel.
Defence assets are procured for Defence tasks and are therefore not optimised for the issue the hon. Member raises. These assets play a critical part in preserving UK maritime security through shadowing and monitoring warships transiting the UK Exclusive Economic Zone or territorial waters. In 2024 alone, Royal Navy assets have responded to over 25 such transits.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of equipment purchased by his Department and in use by his Department was manufactured (a) in and (b) outside the UK.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For the Financial Year 2023-24, the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) total global expenditure with industry and commerce, including Foreign Military Sales and direct payments to Foreign Governments, was £34.6 billion of which £5.5 billion (16%) related to work that took place outside of 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-202324
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many international (a) air miles and (b) flights have been completed by (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in their Department since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Information about use of international flights for official overseas Ministerial and senior officials travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website.
Data from 5 July 2024 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what equipment produced in China his Department has bought at what cost to the public purse in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) welcomes foreign trade where it allows us to provide our Armed Forces with the equipment they require, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements and does not compromise our national security. Defence utilises Chinese manufactured goods throughout its supply chain, however the Department’s direct spend for goods manufactured in China for the last five years is as follows:
Year | Spend (rounded to nearest £100,000) |
2023-24 | £4.6 million |
2022-23 | £3.6 million |
2021-22 | £3 million |
2020-21 | £2.6 million |
2019-20 | £3.7 million |
We are unable to provide details of the specific items purchased as this spend data is captured by the MOD to monitor contractual spend. Statistical analysis and reporting is a secondary function.
Transactions continue to be monitored where there are potential national security concerns from any country, and the Department will investigate and apply appropriate mitigations where required.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of homeless veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am working across Government and with civil society to ensure veterans across the UK have access to the support they need with regard to housing, as well as health, employment and other areas.
According to data collected by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), in 2023-24, there were 2,270 households in England where someone that had served in the Armed Forces were assessed as being owed a homelessness prevention or relief duty. This represents 0.7% of all households in England who were assessed as being owed a prevention or relief duty, a similar proportion to previous years.
To ensure veterans have access to housing support, the Government has committed a further £3.5 million to the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme. This includes Op FORTITUDE, the single referral pathway for veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
Veterans represent the very best of our country. The government is committed to honouring their sacrifices and ensuring homes will be there for heroes across the UK.