Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the decision to issue a licence authorising the release within 90 days of the proceeds from the 2022 sale of Chelsea Football Club for humanitarian support in Ukraine, what the deadline is for the completion of this process.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 17 December 2025, His Majesty's Government issued a licence which permits the transfer of over £2.5 billion proceeds from the club's sale into a new foundation for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine. We would have preferred to take this action with the cooperation of Mr Abramovich and his company, Fordstam Ltd, and we continue to urge him to honour the commitments he made in 2022. But if Mr Abramovich fails to act quickly, this Government is fully prepared to go to court to enforce his previous commitments if necessary.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the full scope of Project Goshawk.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Project GOSHAWK is a Taskforce Kindred project to rapidly develop and trial a low-cost air defence interceptor for Ukraine, to reliably defeat aerial drones, loitering munitions, and missiles at varying speeds, altitudes, and trajectories.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what restrictions, if any, were placed on the remit of the reviewers authoring the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was an external document. It was presented to the Department by the external reviewers, who were working to the Terms of Reference that the review be deliverable and affordable within the fiscal envelope available to Defence
The reviewers of the SDR were able to consider all aspects of Defence, with discretion to examine additional issues that arose during the Review. Their remit included established parameters such as the Government's commitment to the independent nuclear deterrent, NATO as the cornerstone of UK Defence, support for Ukraine, and the need to maintain defence ties with key regions.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of operating in Ukraine and the High North simultaneously on (a) British Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force resources.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Defence continually reviews all current and planned commitments in line with established protocols to ensure they can be fully and appropriately resourced by the single Services. This process includes ongoing dynamic assessment and the allocation of resources as new requirements emerge.
Defence’s planned commitments in relation to Ukraine and the High North have been properly resourced, deconflicted, and present no identified concurrency risks across the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force. Any additional requirements arising from future commitments will be assessed through established processes and resourced accordingly to ensure Defence maintains the highest standards of operational output.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration he has given to amending the NHS Charges to Overseas Visitors Regulations 2015 to remove the exclusion of assisted conception services for Ukrainian nationals who are lawfully resident in the UK under (a) the Homes for Ukraine and (b) Ukraine Permission to Extend visa schemes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Assisted conception services often require long-term treatment, lasting months or years, which does not align with the short-term nature of all visas that are covered by the Immigration Health Surcharge, including the Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Permission Extension Schemes. There are currently no plans to amend the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason assisted conception services are excluded from the exemption from NHS charges for people in the UK under (a) the Homes for Ukraine and (b) Ukraine Permission to Extend visa schemes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Assisted conception services often require long-term treatment, lasting months or years, which does not align with the short-term nature of all visas that are covered by the Immigration Health Surcharge, including the Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Permission Extension Schemes. There are currently no plans to amend the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a joint procurement plan for the nations making up the Coalition of the Willing.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Alongside France, the UK is jointly leading the Coalition of the Willing to support Ukraine's long-term security. The Coalition remains focused on increasing pressure on Russia, sustaining the flow of military assistance to Ukraine, and tightening economic restrictions to degrade Putin's war machine and help create the conditions for a just peace.
No decisions have been made on a joint procurement plan under the Coalition of the Willing.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February to Question 108700 on Strategic Defence Review, whether the £270 billion to be spent on Defence in this Parliament includes funding for Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The £270 billion is the total of the Ministry of Defence's budget from financial year 2025/26 to 2028/29. This was published following the Spending Review last year.
£3 billion in support of Ukraine for each financial is included as part of that settlement.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will convene the pensions forfeiture committee to meet and agree to cease the pensions of ex-UK armed forces personnel who are fighting in support of the Russian Federation's illegal war in Ukraine.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Pension forfeiture for public service pension schemes, including the Armed Forces Pension Scheme, is governed by primary and secondary legislation, notably the Pensions Act 1995 and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc.) Regulations 1997. Under this legislative framework, an Armed Forces pension may only be forfeited following certain serious criminal convictions, except in cases involving a monetary obligation.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is not aware of any successful convictions of active or former Service Personnel for fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine. If the MOD becomes aware of any such convictions, we will consider the implementation of forfeiture policy where relevant.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Resilience and Reconstruction entitled Disinformation, UK Democracy, and Attitudes toward Ukraine & Russia in the UK, published on January 2026; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of social media platform algorithms on the spread of misleading or hostile state-aligned narratives in relation to (a) the war in Ukraine and (b) other matters.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 January to Question 105450. As concerns the algorithms of social media platforms, the Online Safety Act gives Ofcom the power to request information on their design, including as this relates to allegations of illegal mis- and disinformation.