Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department are working on issues of non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament as of 9 December 2021.

The Counter Proliferation and Arms Control Centre (CPACC), a joint unit drawing on expertise from the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, leads on the UK approach to issues of non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. Five MOD officials work on nuclear disarmament and counter proliferation issues within CPACC. Within the Defence Nuclear Organisation and Atomic Weapons Establishment, a further 44 officials work on research into arms control verification and monitoring for nuclear tests. These full-time roles are supported by nuclear policy officials, geographic and thematic policy advisors, intelligence analysts and technical experts from the wider MOD and across Government.