Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of the capability requirements that Ajax-family Capability Drop 4 vehicles will fully comply with.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It would not be appropriate to release a complete list of capability criteria, or any amendments to them, as doing so could prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of the original capability requirements specified for the Ajax-family vehicles have been relaxed or amended due to an inability of the vehicles to meet the original requirements.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It would not be appropriate to release a complete list of capability criteria, or any amendments to them, as doing so could prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of the capability requirements have Ajax-family Capability Drop 3 vehicles been verified to fully comply with.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It would not be appropriate to release a complete list of capability criteria, or any amendments to them, as doing so could prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that an expanded Armed Forces Covenant Duty will be backed by (1) measures of success, (2) methods for monitoring the impact of the Covenant Duty, and (3) regular reporting of the findings of such monitoring.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Officials are currently working on refining the Covenant Annual Report, leveraging this established mechanism to assess the impact of the Covenant and measure its success. This report is a key tool for ensuring transparency and accountability, as it is subject to parliamentary scrutiny. The Secretary of State for Defence is legally required to report annually to Parliament on progress in delivering the Covenant across the UK.
As part of this work, officials are exploring ways to improve data collection and develop more robust methods for measuring the impact and success of the Legal Duty. These efforts aim to provide a clearer understanding of how the Covenant is being delivered, ultimately driving improvements in support for the Armed Forces community. The team will continue to identify opportunities to enhance data collection processes, ensuring that the information gathered is comprehensive, accurate, and reflective of the needs of the Armed Forces community.
Additionally, the Covenant Team actively monitor trends through the Covenant website and a dedicated mailbox to identify areas of disadvantage.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for Veterans on 23 April 2025 (HC47398), what further progress they have made on the rollout of Programme Cortisone.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The vision for Programme CORTISONE is to deliver a sustainable, integrated, cohesive and enduring information capability to support the delivery of evidence-based medical and dental health and healthcare outputs.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded a £7.8 million contract to Leeds software company, The Phoenix Partnership to provide a modern electronic healthcare records system called SystmOne for the Armed Forces. This will digitalise military medical records and integrate MOD systems with the NHS.
Scheduled to begin its roll out in 2027, SystmOne is fully secure and compatible with the NHS, meaning that Service personnel will receive quick and seamless care between Defence and civilian health systems, including both new recruits and Service leavers transitioning in and out of the military.
It will replace outdated time-consuming processes for transfers of information between the NHS and the Defence Medical services, be more user-friendly and increase time to care for patients by improving clinical productivity and reducing the admin burden with a modern IT system.
The contract award aligns with the Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 which outlines a commitment to increase MOD spending with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to dentistry services for (a) veterans and (b) people suffering with long-term illnesses.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the challenges faced by many in accessing a National Health Service dentist, including people suffering with long-term illnesses, and valued members of the Armed Forces community, such as our respected veterans who have spent their careers defending our country.
We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available since April 2025.
ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on the quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with the greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available at the following link:
Free NHS dental care is available to people who meet the following criteria:
under 18 years old, or under 19 years old and in full-time education;
pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months;
being treated in an NHS hospital and the treatment is carried out by the hospital dentist, although patients may have to pay for any dentures or bridges;
receiving low-income benefits, or under 20 years old and a dependant of someone receiving low-income benefits; and
receiving War Pension Scheme payments, or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments and the treatment is for your accepted disability.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of dental care given to (a) veterans and (b) those suffering with long-term illnesses.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the challenges faced by many in accessing a National Health Service dentist, including people suffering with long-term illnesses, and valued members of the Armed Forces community, such as our respected veterans who have spent their careers defending our country.
We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available since April 2025.
ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on the quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with the greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available at the following link:
Free NHS dental care is available to people who meet the following criteria:
under 18 years old, or under 19 years old and in full-time education;
pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months;
being treated in an NHS hospital and the treatment is carried out by the hospital dentist, although patients may have to pay for any dentures or bridges;
receiving low-income benefits, or under 20 years old and a dependant of someone receiving low-income benefits; and
receiving War Pension Scheme payments, or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments and the treatment is for your accepted disability.
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: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January to Question 107733 on Unmanned Air Systems: Procurement, if he will provide the reason that the Protector RG MK1 did not declare Initial Operating Capability.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I am withholding the definition and specific criteria for achieving Initial Operational Capability as it would harm the security and capability of the Armed Forces. The milestone is clearly defined and the Ministry of Defence is working to ensure the necessary supporting requirements are in place so that it can be met at the earliest opportunity.
However, in general terms, the air vehicles are but one part of the air system and therefore milestones will be achieved when requirements are met across a number of areas including; personnel force growth, infrastructure and support contracts, crew training and competence in role, and interoperability.
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 22 January to Question 107733 on Unmanned Air Systems: Procurement, how many Protector RG MK1s need to be in use in order to declare Initial Operating Capability.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I am withholding the definition and specific criteria for achieving Initial Operational Capability as it would harm the security and capability of the Armed Forces. The milestone is clearly defined and the Ministry of Defence is working to ensure the necessary supporting requirements are in place so that it can be met at the earliest opportunity.
However, in general terms, the air vehicles are but one part of the air system and therefore milestones will be achieved when requirements are met across a number of areas including; personnel force growth, infrastructure and support contracts, crew training and competence in role, and interoperability.