Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to promote UK Type 31 frigates to NATO allies considering funding for their fleets.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We are fully supporting industry by promoting the benefits of the Type 31 frigate to our NATO partners and allies whilst being sympathetic to their own capability and indigenous industrial requirements.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of staffing levels administering the War Pension Scheme.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The MOD is currently handling a significant volume of claims. To address this, staffing levels have been evaluated as part of efforts to reduce holdings and improve processing times. Several measures are being implemented, including the recruitment of additional staff for the War Pension Scheme, the introduction of new training programmes and standardised processes, and enhancements to IT systems to optimise and digitise the end to end services we provide to veterans.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help support veterans facing homelessness in each UK nation.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Prime Minister has made clear that ensuring veterans and their families can access support, including for housing, is a priority.
In November 2024, he announced an additional £3.5 million to continue the Reducing Veterans Homelessness Programme, which provides vital supported housing services to veterans across the UK. This programme has awarded grants to organisations in all four UK nations. Further information on grant awards can be found here: https://covenantfund.org.uk/reducing-veterans-homelessness-projects-weve-supported/
This funding also provides continuation of Op FORTITUDE, the single referral pathway providing housing support to veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness across the UK. To date, Op FORTITUDE has taken over 3,800 referrals and supported over 970 veterans into housing.
We have removed the five-year local connection requirement for veterans to access social housing in England. This is in addition to existing regulations which state veterans must be given 'additional priority' status as long as they have an urgent housing need.
In addition, the Veterans’ Capital Housing Fund has awarded and continues to award grants to organisations across the UK to refurbish, expand or enhance veteran accommodation. This programme will ensure there will be a long-term and sustainable supply of high-quality properties with access to wraparound support for veterans. Further information on the grants awarded under this programme can be found here: https://covenantfund.org.uk/2025/05/14/almost-4-5-million-awarded-to-support-veterans-with-a-housing-need/
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on the withdraw funding for Veterans First Point Lothian.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I engage regularly with the Scottish Government and with the Scottish Veterans' Commissioner on issues affecting veterans who live in Scotland. Health is a devolved matter, so it is for the Scottish Government to decide on funding allocations.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of banning of weapons exports to Israel on the training of Israeli Defense Forces personnel in the UK.
Answered by Maria Eagle
Whilst both take into account international humanitarian law considerations, decisions to suspend certain export licences to Israel and the provision of UK training courses to Israel Defence Forces personnel are not directly linked.
There are fewer than five members of the IDF currently enrolled on non-combat academic courses in the UK.
The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields. The Ministry of Defence’s provision of such assistance is currently considered on a case-by-case basis. UK training courses promote British values, including human rights, democracy and compliance with international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the last time was that a member of UK armed forces was trained by Israel Defense Forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The last time a member of the UK Armed Forces was trained by Israel Defence Forces was in Israel on a military academic course in July 2022.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his target sale date is for the Redford Barracks site; whether he plans to have (a) a single sale and (b) sale in parts; if he will publish a plan of the area being considered for disposal; and what discussions he has had with (i) City of Edinburgh Council on the future use of the site and (ii) developers on this matter.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The target sale date for the Redford Barracks site remains 2030.
The Ministry of Defence anticipates selling the whole site in a single sale; however, it is too early in the disposal process to confirm this. A plan of the disposal area will be published as part of routine engagement.
Discussions have taken place with the City of Edinburgh Council as part of the Local Plan process. There have been no discussions with developers at this stage.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Warrior infantry fighting vehicles (a) his Department has and (b) will be surplus to requirements by 2030; and how many of that he plans to provide to Ukraine.
Answered by Maria Eagle
As at 1 June 2025, there are 359 Warrior vehicles in service.
As the Out of Service date for Warrior is 2027, with all vehicles withdrawn from service by the end of the decade, any that remain held by the Department beyond this will be classed as surplus to requirements.
Plans for Warrior beyond its Out of Service Date are yet to be formally agreed.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to extend the Scottish Income Tax Mitigation scheme to reservists.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Only Regular Service personnel who are Scottish taxpayers are eligible to receive a payment under the terms of the Scottish Income Tax Mitigation scheme. This reflects the fact that Regular Service personnel cannot choose where they serve and so cannot choose to work elsewhere to avoid paying higher taxes. For this reason, the Ministry of Defence has no plans to extend the scheme to Reservists.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Service Family Accommodation units were available in Scotland between 2010 and 2014; and how many and what proportion of those were reported to have (a) black mould and (b) damp in the same period.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) acknowledges serious concerns regarding damp and mould in Service Family Accommodation (SFA). A Damp and Mould Taskforce was established in 2023 to address reported cases of damp and mould in SFA and since then, over 9,000 Service personnel and their families have benefitted from the delivery of damp and mould packages of works. The severity of damp and mould cases now being raised, has reduced significantly since the Taskforce was first established, with circa 3% of reported cases now being at the most severe level.
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) will continue with its current approach to ensure cases of damp and mould are addressed on a priority basis.
The table below shows the number of SFA properties available in Scotland, as at 1 April, from 2010 to 2014. This includes occupied and empty SFA available for allocation.
Year | Number of SFA |
April 2010 | 3,237 |
April 2011 | 2,969 |
April 2012 | 2,897 |
April 2013 | 2,981 |
April 2014 | 3,033 |
The number of SFA properties in Scotland between 2010 and 2014 with reported cases of damp and mould, is not held centrally. Information requested prior to April 2022, can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Due to the way in which Defence accommodation is managed, Awaab’s Law cannot be applied directly. However, the MOD has agreed to mirror or exceed any regulations set out in Awaab’s Law, in its own policies and procedures and this will continue to be a priority.
The MOD will continue to move families to alternative accommodation in the most serious cases of damp and mould or if a family member has a known vulnerability.