Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of not providing Gurkha veterans with equal pension benefits to those of other British Army veterans on those veterans.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government greatly values the exceptional and longstanding contribution made by Gurkha soldiers to the United Kingdom. Since 2007, Gurkhas have received the same pension under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as the rest of the UK Armed Forces. For those who served prior to 2007, for the large majority, the 1948 Gurkha Pension Scheme provides a pension at least as good, and in many cases better, than that given to their British counterparts with identical periods of service.
We continue to work closely with Gurkha representatives and the Government of Nepal on a range of veteran issues and remain committed to ensuring Gurkha veterans are treated with fairness and respect.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to bring forward proposals to provide Gurkha veterans with pension benefits equivalent to those of their British Army counterparts.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government greatly values the exceptional and longstanding contribution made by Gurkha soldiers to the United Kingdom. Since 2007, Gurkhas have received the same pension under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as the rest of the UK Armed Forces. For those who served prior to 2007, for the large majority, the 1948 Gurkha Pension Scheme provides a pension at least as good, and in many cases better, than that given to their British counterparts with identical periods of service.
We continue to work closely with Gurkha representatives and the Government of Nepal on a range of veteran issues and remain committed to ensuring Gurkha veterans are treated with fairness and respect.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what conversations he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential for sending UK troops to Greenland.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Defence Secretary speaks to his colleagues on a range of issues affecting our national and international security, including the High North.
As noted by the Defence Secretary last week, one UK military officer joined a reconnaissance visit to Greenland, in an observational capacity, at the request of the Danish Government. This was not a deployment of forces to Greenland, but a military recce ahead of future Danish-led exercise activity. They have now returned to Copenhagen, where they are based, following conclusion of the recce.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will consider the potential merits of a dedicated Cadet Forces Day within Armed Forces Week to recognise the cadet force and to provide a national focal point to celebrate achievements and promote volunteering.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The contribution the Cadet Forces make to our communities is significant and being a cadet provides immense value to young people through the numerous benefits that the ‘cadet experience’ offers.
The Government is committed to expanding the Cadet Forces and we are very pleased that the Strategic Defence Review recommended a growth in cadet numbers by 30% by 2030. This exciting initiative is backed with an initial investment of £70 million and work is currently underway to establish how and where the 30% increase will be realised.
Although the Ministry of Defence Cadet Forces are not technically part of the Armed Forces, they are a part of the wider ‘Defence Family’. Cadets and adult volunteers form a key link with wider society and recognising the Cadet Forces is, therefore, an appealing idea.
Cadets already contribute to Armed Forces Week, typically through locally organised activities, and this is something we continue to encourage. Given the aim of significantly increasing the number of cadets and adult volunteers we also see clear merit in raising awareness of the Cadet Forces at a national level and, like my predecessor, I am also supportive of your proposal.
We are actively considering how the concept of a Cadet Forces Day can be developed, although I do not have any specific updates to share with you at this time.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 73379 on Armed Forces: Vehicles, if his Department will centrally record data on the length of time that military assets are not (a) deployed and (b) operational.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Yes. The British Army uses an application called JAMES (Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solutions) to centrally track and manage all equipment.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the longest continuous period was during which a commissioned (a) vessel and (b) aircraft was not (i) deployed and (ii) operational.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As the hon. Member's question is unbounded and the information is not held centrally, an answer could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
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 offering Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre surplus capacity to Ukrainian veterans.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work with our Ukrainian partners to contribute to Project RENOVATOR, to support the development of increased rehabilitation capacity and capability within Ukraine to help deal with the thousands of injured military personnel.
Project RENOVATOR supports the building of infrastructure and the provision of equipment and delivery of training and education, including specialist physiotherapy and prosthetic capabilities.
The granting of any support to Ukraine is made in response to official requests made by the Ukrainian Government. I hope the hon. Gentleman will understand that we will not speculate on specific capabilities.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department will stop training Israeli Defence Force personnel following the British Government’s decision to sanction members of the Israeli Government.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence keeps under careful consideration its policies on training courses. We currently provide non-combat academic courses to fewer than five IDF personnel.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) troops, (b) tanks and (c) other military vehicles the United Kingdom had in Estonia on 27 March (i) 2025 and (ii) 2021.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Since 2017, the UK has been the Framework Nation to Estonia as part of the NATO construct, enhanced Force Presence (eFP). This construct provides members of the Alliance positioned along the Eastern Flank of NATO (Host Nations) with bilateral guarantees from other NATO members.
The UK’s presence in Estonia has been centred on an Armoured Battle Group, based in Tapa and comprising up to 1,300 Service personnel and high end warfighting capabilities. These capabilities included the Challenger 2 Armoured Tank, numerous Anti-Tank capabilities, armoured infantry and artillery. In addition the Battle Group is supported by Divisional level assets such as Short Range Air Defence and long range strike artillery.
Following the Madrid NATO summit in 2022 and the full invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Alliance increased the level of support to Host Nations, with Framework Nations agreeing to reinforce with up to a Brigade in times of crisis. This was termed Forward Land Forces (FLF). To date, the UK has achieved this through the allocation of 12 Armoured Bde and associated capability. Bilaterally, the UK will reinforce Estonia with the balance of a Brigade. This year, 12 Bde are being replaced by 4 Bde, reinforced with an Aviation Task Force. This transition will be showcased on Ex HEDGEHOG, a Baltic wide demonstration of the FLF construct.
Both 2021 and 2025 saw UK personnel numbers remain stable at around 700 personnel in country.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the United Kingdom is contributing to the NATO Hedgehog Exercises.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has endorsed the deployment of 4 Brigade and four Typhoons to Exercise HEDGEHOG. The UK will provide roughly 2,500 Service personnel towards the exercise, in addition to the Forward Land Forces armoured battle group already deployed in Estonia, comprising circa 800 soldiers. France will also provide support, alongside Finland and the US. This is an excellent demonstration of close cooperation in the name of European security.