Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of vacancies for welders within the defence industry.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The demand for craft skills, including welders, is recognised across the defence sector and is a particular area of interest for the joint Government and industry Shipbuilding Skills Delivery Group. Meeting this demand is also recognised as a challenge across the economy and not solely as an issue for defence. As part of the ongoing Defence Industrial Strategy work, the Ministry of Defence is closely engaged with the Department for Education to identify additional opportunities and approaches to meet the future demand.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to reduce the duration of submarine patrols.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Royal Navy has successfully maintained Operation RELENTLESS – the Continuous At Sea Deterrent – without interruption for over 56 years. We do not disclose details of the operation, including the duration of time spent at sea, as such information could be used to undermine the security and capability of the mission and our personnel.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to expand (a) apprenticeship schemes and (b) skills training to meet demand for welders within the defence industry.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is working closely with Skills England and the Department for Education to ensure the boost in defence spending supports the training and development of new generations of defence sector workers required to support critical capabilities. The demand for craft skills, including welders, is a recognised challenge across the economy and is not solely an issue for defence.
The MOD is one of the largest providers of apprenticeships in the UK with over 25,000 apprenticeships across the Armed Forces and Civil Service in 2024. Within industry, the defence trade association ADS estimated that there were around 8,100 apprentices in the UK defence sector in 2024. The future skills requirement for defence is being assessed as part of the ongoing development of the Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK's explosive ordnance removal capabilities in (a) the UK and (b) internationally.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has a world leading Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search capability, providing critical support to military operations and UK resilience.
Additionally, Defence recognises the importance of Explosive Ordnance Clearance (EOC) capabilities delivered both internally and to external stakeholders. As we look ahead, Defence spending is being prioritised to face the threats and challenges of the twenty-first century. To meet the demand for EOC services, we currently have a framework through the Counter Explosive Ordnance Defence Engagement office, and in conjunction with the FCDO, to deliver EOC capability through a contracted solution, assured by Defence.
Future capability decisions will be subject to the outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with charities that provide assistance to veterans who have (a) conducted and (b) assisted with Explosive Ordnance Disposal duties.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government works closely with the Armed Forces charity sector, who play a vital part in the wider support system for veterans; I meet regularly with representatives of Armed Forces charities to discuss the support available and how we can work effectively together. I am actively exploring ways of simplifying and coordinating access to Government support, which includes working in partnership with the charity sector to harness and cohere that support.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with his (a) French, (b) Italian and (c) other EU nations' counterparts on accelerating the transfer of (i) ammunition and (ii) other armaments to Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We are in frequent contact with partner nations to discuss how to collectively accelerate the transfer of ammunition and other armaments to Ukraine. As co-leaders of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group the UK is taking a leading role in ensuring coordination and coherence of international support to Ukraine.
With European partners, we are also members of the artillery capability coalition and co-leads of the maritime and drone capability coalitions, which deliver immediate support to Ukraine and also have a long-term plan to support Ukraine's ambitions for a NATO interoperable future force.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of US steel tariffs on UK military shipbuilding.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The potential impact of US steel tariffs on UK military shipbuilding is still being explored. The UK benefits from a strong and balanced trade relationship with the US and we continue to share a longstanding, close relationship on all defence issues.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) proportion and (b) value was of steel from the (i) US and (ii) EU used in UK military shipbuilding in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) contributes to the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) steel public procurement return. The information is published annually and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/steel-public-procurement
The data available from the information published includes steel purchased for MOD shipbuilding projects. The response to this question assumes that UK military shipbuilding relates solely to the building of surface warships, and does not include submarine construction.
The tables below set out a summary of the details available, for each of the last five years. Data for Financial Year (FY) 2023-24 has not yet been published. The data gathered and subsequently published by DBT has matured and become more detailed since the start of publishing steel data for FY 2017-18 in January 2019. Therefore, the origin of the steel is only available for FY 2022-23.
Financial Year 2022-23
Project | Steel product type | EU / UK / US | Countries of origin | Value of steel £ |
Type 31 | Flat rolled, Plate, Sections & shapes | EU | Finland, Spain | £41,850,500 |
| Sections & shapes, Tubes/Pipes/Hollow sections | UK | UK | £1,311,790 |
| ||||
Type 26 | Plate, Sections & shapes | EU | Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain | £3,162,171 |
| Plate, Sections & shapes | UK | UK | £1,537,996 |
Financial Year 2021-22
Project | Steel product type | Countries of origin | Value of steel £ |
Type 31 | Plate, Bulb bar, Sections | Not detailed | £43,600,000 |
Type 26 | Plate | Not detailed | £465,498 |
Financial Year 2020-21
Project | Steel product type | Countries of origin | Value of steel £ |
Type 31 | Structural steel, Sections | Not detailed | £391,949 |
Type 26 | Plate, Sections, Sheet, Non-ship | Not detailed | £3,758,269 |
Financial Year 2019-20
Project | Steel product type | Countries of origin | Value of steel £ |
Type 26 | Various grades | Not detailed | £3,401,994 |
Financial Year 2018-19
No steel was recorded as having been purchased in FY 2018-19 for any UK shipbuilding projects.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, columns 631 to 634, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the announcements on defence spending on the publication timescale for the new Defence Industrial Strategy.
Answered by Maria Eagle
This Government recognises the vital role the UK defence industry plays not only in our national security but also to the economic prosperity and growth of the UK.
Raising defence expenditure to 2.5% of GDP has the potential to enhance the security and economic prosperity of the entire UK. The announcement of increased defence spending does not affect the schedule for the Defence Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of Royal Air Force fighter pilots.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continually assesses pilot numbers to appropriately resource the Combat Air Force and are comfortable with the number of Royal Air Force fighter pilots against extant Defence Tasks. The MOD has a range of governance measures in place to analyse UK Military Flying Training System throughput to ensure pilot numbers meet the demand for Defence both now and in the future.
The MOD will continue to provide quarterly statistics to the Hon Gentleman’s select committee on pilot training as agreed in the last Parliament.