Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when security and defence arrangements were last assessed for each of the overseas territories.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK maintains credible contingency plans for the Overseas Territories, and has strategically located bases in Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, Ascension Island, the Sovereign Base Areas on the island of Cyprus, and the joint UK/US base on Diego Garcia. These plans are kept under review to ensure they are commensurate to the threat.
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 27 November 2025 to Question 93964 on Defence: Contracts, what the 177 contracts valued between £100 million and £500 million are for.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department confirms that there were only twenty-six contracts valued between £100 million and £500 million. Details of these contracts are provided below.
The Department is withholding information on six of these contracts for the purposes of safeguarding national security.
1. SODEXO LTD - OPC Cyprus Soft Facilities Management. The OPC SFM contract refers to the UK Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Soft Facilities Management (SFM) services on an overseas estate.
2. RHEINMETALL BAE SYSTEMS LAND LIMITED - Heavy Armour Post Design Services (Land Common Pillar.)
3. BRIGGS MARINE CONTRACTORS LIMITED - DMS Supply and Maintenance of Authority Moorings, Markers and Targets. The Contract covers the following services: the maintenance of moorings, target moorings and navigation marks owned by the Authority, the replacement of moorings and navigation marks and the sourcing, storage and supply of moorings and navigation mark components.
4. SERCO LIMITED – Defence Marine Services Offshore Support to Military Training and Exercises. The contract will provide discrete Defence services for Offshore Support to Military Training and Exercises in UK waters and select overseas territories.
5. GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. - Protector Availability Support Solution (PASS.) The provision of spares and logistics support to the Protector Air Vehicle
6. BAE SYSTEMS SURFACE SHIPS LIMITED - In Service Support for Combat Management Systems (CMS) SI and Networks. This Contract provides In Service Support (ISS) of CMS, BAES Shared Infrastructure (SI) & Networks for Royal Navy platforms, Land-Based Test Sites & training sites as well as the installation of SI Version 3 on Type 45 Destroyers. The full Contract Award Notice can be found at the link below and provides full details: RECODE - In Service Support for Combat Management Systems (CMS), Shared Infrastructure (SI) and Networks - Contract Awarded - Contracts Finder.
7. THALES UK LIMITED – Maritime Communication Capability Support.
8. ROKE MANOR RESEARCH LTD - Science & Technology Oriented Research & development in Missile defence (STORM)
9. FR AVIATION LIMITED – IMSORTS. The provision of IMSORTS includes medium/fast speed Operational Readiness Training, simulating an enemy airborne threat, principally for the Combat Air Force part of Next Generation Operational Training (NGOT) and RN (FOST).
10. GENERAL DYNAMICS UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED - Design Services Contract 2 (DSC2)
11. HONEYBEERECRUITMENT.COM LTD - Provision of Temporary Healthcare Workers for Ministry of Defence
12. BOVIS CONSTRUCTION (EUROPE) LIMITED - DEO Kendrew Barracks & Bulwell ARC Design & Build. for Infrastructure Design & Build works at Kendrew Barracks and Bulwell ARC.
13. THALES UK LIMITED - Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM)
14. IBM UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED - Defence Equipment Engineering Asset Management System (DEEAMS)
15. KIER CONSTRUCTION LTD - DEO Rock Barracks Design & Build. For Infrastructure Design & Build works at Rock Barracks.
16. KIER CONSTRUCTION LTD - Keogh Design & Build. Design & Build for Infrastructure works at Keogh Barracks.
17. CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT (NORTH) LIMITED – Hotel accommodation and assisted travel costs.
18. VITOL AVIATION UK LTD - A-Supply of Fuel to Singapore F-76 Marine Fuel VITOL (2025 to 2029)
19. BOXXE LIMITED - Microsoft Enterprise Agreement 2025 to 2028. The Contracting Authority (Defence Digital) has a requirement to contract with a supplier who can support with the renewal and running of Microsoft Enterprise Agreement.
20. AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE LIMITED - Project OBERON - Design, build and Launch SAR LEO Cluster of Satellites. Project OBERON is a multi-year Contract that will be for the full design, build, integration, Launch and first year of mission operations for a LEO Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellite.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much each country has paid back for healthcare use by their citizens in the UK within the same year in the latest year for which figures are available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS care is provided free at the point of use to people who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, including people who were born abroad if they are not subject to immigration controls. Where the person is not ordinarily resident, the National Health Service recovers costs for healthcare provided in the UK through the immigration health surcharge (IHS), directly charging individuals for care provided and charging countries responsible for their healthcare costs through reciprocal healthcare agreements.
The UK’s reciprocal healthcare agreements with the European Union, European Free Trade Association states and Switzerland allow for the reimbursement of costs at a country level. The UK pays for healthcare costs of eligible people visiting or living in these countries under these agreements. For other countries, the UK does not fund overseas treatment and NHS costs incurred are recovered through the IHS or directly charging the individual.
The following table shows the Department’s income and expenditure on overseas healthcare from the United Kingdom’s reciprocal healthcare agreements for 2023/24, the latest year for which figures are available:
Country | 2023/24 income (£) | 2023/24 expenditure (£) |
Austria | 327,322.25 | 3,360,423.14 |
Belgium | 3,474,379.36 | 3,822,245.19 |
Bulgaria | 81,739.18 | 1,212,566.29 |
Croatia | 36,473.40 | 365,199.00 |
Cyprus | 482,172.64 | 56,367,818.62 |
Czech Republic | (148,293.65) | 758,458.60 |
Denmark | - | - |
Estonia | - | - |
Finland | 109,284.40 | 7,213.62 |
France | 11,051,032.23 | 186,694,473.76 |
Germany | 3,559,100.19 | 10,919,120.07 |
Greece | 553,518.12 | 5,335,540.50 |
Hungary | - | 4,961.18 |
Iceland | (6,342.41) | 239,528.19 |
Ireland | (17,810,150.56) | 225,245,716.37 |
Italy | 2,208,886.74 | 172,132.80 |
Latvia | (762,470.36) | 26,357.08 |
Liechtenstein | 1,915.64 | 176.43 |
Lithuania | 75,266.54 | 242,985.85 |
Luxembourg | (265,645.79) | 575,414.85 |
Malta | 798,235.85 | - |
Netherlands | 2,981,546.13 | 1,485,724.03 |
Norway | - | (863.95) |
Poland | 7,123,224.03 | 386,044.52 |
Portugal | 1,871,249.74 | (356,506.41) |
Romania | 2,999,264.69 | 28,944.82 |
Slovakia | 782,608.15 | 557,904.39 |
Slovenia | 24,181.42 | 279,420.15 |
Spain | 6,775,123.13 | 441,009,133.86 |
Sweden | 2,580,816.63 | 2,960,047.61 |
Switzerland | 670,476.95 | 7,255,687.60 |
Total | 29,574,914.65 | 948,955,868.18 |
The figures in the table above relate to all reciprocal healthcare agreements where costs are exchanged between the UK and other countries. These figures are not directly comparable to the figures quoted in the Department’s accounts, which are not broken down by country and include accounting treatment and aggregation of other costs. Negative values in the table above reflect adjustments to prior year forecasts compared to actual receipts/payments received from member states.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on overseas healthcare in the latest year for which figures are available, broken down by country.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS care is provided free at the point of use to people who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, including people who were born abroad if they are not subject to immigration controls. Where the person is not ordinarily resident, the National Health Service recovers costs for healthcare provided in the UK through the immigration health surcharge (IHS), directly charging individuals for care provided and charging countries responsible for their healthcare costs through reciprocal healthcare agreements.
The UK’s reciprocal healthcare agreements with the European Union, European Free Trade Association states and Switzerland allow for the reimbursement of costs at a country level. The UK pays for healthcare costs of eligible people visiting or living in these countries under these agreements. For other countries, the UK does not fund overseas treatment and NHS costs incurred are recovered through the IHS or directly charging the individual.
The following table shows the Department’s income and expenditure on overseas healthcare from the United Kingdom’s reciprocal healthcare agreements for 2023/24, the latest year for which figures are available:
Country | 2023/24 income (£) | 2023/24 expenditure (£) |
Austria | 327,322.25 | 3,360,423.14 |
Belgium | 3,474,379.36 | 3,822,245.19 |
Bulgaria | 81,739.18 | 1,212,566.29 |
Croatia | 36,473.40 | 365,199.00 |
Cyprus | 482,172.64 | 56,367,818.62 |
Czech Republic | (148,293.65) | 758,458.60 |
Denmark | - | - |
Estonia | - | - |
Finland | 109,284.40 | 7,213.62 |
France | 11,051,032.23 | 186,694,473.76 |
Germany | 3,559,100.19 | 10,919,120.07 |
Greece | 553,518.12 | 5,335,540.50 |
Hungary | - | 4,961.18 |
Iceland | (6,342.41) | 239,528.19 |
Ireland | (17,810,150.56) | 225,245,716.37 |
Italy | 2,208,886.74 | 172,132.80 |
Latvia | (762,470.36) | 26,357.08 |
Liechtenstein | 1,915.64 | 176.43 |
Lithuania | 75,266.54 | 242,985.85 |
Luxembourg | (265,645.79) | 575,414.85 |
Malta | 798,235.85 | - |
Netherlands | 2,981,546.13 | 1,485,724.03 |
Norway | - | (863.95) |
Poland | 7,123,224.03 | 386,044.52 |
Portugal | 1,871,249.74 | (356,506.41) |
Romania | 2,999,264.69 | 28,944.82 |
Slovakia | 782,608.15 | 557,904.39 |
Slovenia | 24,181.42 | 279,420.15 |
Spain | 6,775,123.13 | 441,009,133.86 |
Sweden | 2,580,816.63 | 2,960,047.61 |
Switzerland | 670,476.95 | 7,255,687.60 |
Total | 29,574,914.65 | 948,955,868.18 |
The figures in the table above relate to all reciprocal healthcare agreements where costs are exchanged between the UK and other countries. These figures are not directly comparable to the figures quoted in the Department’s accounts, which are not broken down by country and include accounting treatment and aggregation of other costs. Negative values in the table above reflect adjustments to prior year forecasts compared to actual receipts/payments received from member states.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question UIN 43405, whether he or Ministers in his Department have visited the Old British Cemetery in Girne, Northern Cyprus; and whether he plans to do so.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Whilst the Ministry of Defence continues to recognise and value the sacrifice of the 371 UK Service personnel who gave their lives during the ‘Cyprus Emergency’, Parliamentary and Ministerial commitments mean there are no plans to visit the memorial at The Old British Cemetery at Girne (Kyrenia).
Whilst the cemetery is located in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is not recognised by this Government, the British High Commission in Nicosia regularly honours those Service personnel who died, including through the annual laying of a wreath at the official Remembrance Day Service at the Nicosia War Cemetery where British soldiers are buried.
Asked by: John Whittingdale (Conservative - Maldon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of whether the recent presidential election in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was conducted in a free and fair manner.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state.
We respect the right of the Turkish Cypriot community to choose their representatives in the UN-led settlement process, and we engage with Turkish Cypriot representatives under our non-recognition policy to support the UN-led settlement process. I will meet Mr Erhürman at the next informal UN-led talks to support momentum towards a just and lasting settlement. We followed his recent leadership election and are not aware of any evidence of irregularities.
Asked by: John Whittingdale (Conservative - Maldon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to meet the newly elected President of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state.
We respect the right of the Turkish Cypriot community to choose their representatives in the UN-led settlement process, and we engage with Turkish Cypriot representatives under our non-recognition policy to support the UN-led settlement process. I will meet Mr Erhürman at the next informal UN-led talks to support momentum towards a just and lasting settlement. We followed his recent leadership election and are not aware of any evidence of irregularities.
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of foreign investment in the UK comes from countries situated in (1) the European Union, (2) the Commonwealth and (3) the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership area.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
Darren Tierney | Permanent Secretary
The Lord Risby
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
25 November 2025
Dear Lord Risby,
As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question to asking what proportion of foreign investment in the UK comes from countries situated in (1) the European Union, (2) the Commonwealth and (3) the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership area (HL12070).
Our statistics for inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) positions measure the investment held by UK-resident companies that have foreign immediate parent companies. These are essentially the stock of investment held at a point in time. Table 3.1 of our annual Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward statistics shows that the stock of inward direct investment from the European Union was £758,137 million at the end of 2023[1]. This was equivalent to 34.8% of the UK total inward FDI position.
We do not publish a total value for inward FDI with the Commonwealth. However, we have published FDI statistics for all countries. Table 1 below includes the FDI inward FDI position values and percentage of the UK total FDI position accounted for by each Commonwealth country in 2023.
We also do not routinely publish a total value for inward FDI with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) countries. However, we have published FDI statistics for all countries. Table 2 below includes the FDI inward position values and percentage of the UK total accounted for by each member of the CPTPP in 2023.
Yours sincerely,
Darren Tierney
Table 1: Inward foreign direct investment positions with Commonwealth countries at the end of 2023, £ million and as a percentage of the UK total inward FDI position[2],[3],[4],[5],[6]
Economy | Value (£ million) | Percentage of UK total |
Antigua and Barbuda | 2 | 0.0 |
Australia | 20,781 | 1.0 |
The Bahamas | c | z |
Bangladesh | 1,060 | 0.0 |
Barbados | 19,190 | 0.9 |
Belize | 44 | 0.0 |
Botswana | 16 | 0.0 |
Brunei Darussalam | 6 | 0.0 |
Cameroon | 3 | 0.0 |
Canada | 29,513 | 1.4 |
Cyprus | 6,065 | 0.3 |
Dominica | 6 | 0.0 |
Eswatini | low | 0.0 |
Fiji | 8 | 0.0 |
Gabon | 1 | 0.0 |
The Gambia | 4 | 0.0 |
Ghana | 674 | 0.0 |
Grenada | low | 0.0 |
Guyana | 1 | 0.0 |
India | 12,419 | 0.6 |
Jamaica | 37 | 0.0 |
Kenya | 24 | 0.0 |
Kiribati | low | 0.0 |
Lesotho | low | 0.0 |
Malawi | 4 | 0.0 |
Malaysia | 1,679 | 0.1 |
Maldives | low | 0.0 |
Malta | 6,554 | 0.3 |
Mauritius | 689 | 0.0 |
Mozambique | low | 0.0 |
Namibia | 3 | 0.0 |
Nauru | low | 0.0 |
New Zealand | 908 | 0.0 |
Nigeria | 489 | 0.0 |
Pakistan | 90 | 0.0 |
Papua New Guinea | 2 | 0.0 |
Rwanda | 671 | 0.0 |
St Kitts and Nevis | 31 | 0.0 |
Saint Lucia | 7 | 0.0 |
St Vincent and the Grenadines | 19 | 0.0 |
Samoa | 219 | 0.0 |
Seychelles | 152 | 0.0 |
Sierra Leone | 2 | 0.0 |
Singapore | 19,107 | 0.9 |
Solomon Islands | low | 0.0 |
South Africa | 3,641 | 0.2 |
Sri Lanka | 13,124 | 0.6 |
Tanzania | 2 | 0.0 |
Togo | low | 0.0 |
Tonga | low | 0.0 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 0.0 |
Tuvalu | low | 0.0 |
Uganda | 5 | 0.0 |
Vanuatu | 8 | 0.0 |
Zambia | 3 | 0.0 |
Table 2: Inward foreign direct investment positions with Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership countries at the end of 2023,
£ million and as a percentage of the UK total 3,5,6,[7]
Economy | Value (£ million) | Percentage of UK total |
Australia | 20,781 | 1.0 |
Brunei Darussalam | 6 | 0.0 |
Canada | 29,513 | 1.4 |
Chile | c | z |
Japan | 78,424 | 3.6 |
Malaysia | 1,679 | 0.1 |
Mexico | c | z |
New Zealand | 908 | 0.0 |
Peru | 7 | 0.0 |
Singapore | 19,107 | 0.9 |
Vietnam | 9 | 0.0 |
[2] There were 55 other members of the Commonwealth plus the UK as of 21 November 2025 according to the Commonwealth Secretariat: https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries
[3] “c” denotes value suppressed to protect confidentiality so that individual companies cannot be identified.
[4] “low” denotes a value below £0.5 million.
[5] “z” is used where the country value is suppressed, and the percentage of the UK total will not be available.
[7] CPTPP membership was taken from gov.uk, and includes the members that had ratified the UK’s accession and those that had yet to ratify as of 21 November 2025
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the dates of each occasion that (a) ministers and (b) officials engaged with Tufan Erhurman in the previous 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I met Tufan Erhurman on 7 March and spoke to him by phone on 25 June this year, as set out in the department's quarterly transparency data, in relation to Cyprus settlement and the UN 5+1 talks.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the European Court of Human Rights’ recognition of the Immovable Property Commission as an effective legal remedy for property disputes in Cyprus.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The European Court of Human Rights has issued several key judgments regarding the effectiveness of the Immovable Property Commission (IPC), including most recently in June 2025 where it judged the IPC to remain a valid legal remedy to domestic property disputes in Cyprus, although also noted procedural delays. The Government monitors closely the continued effectiveness of the IPC, including through the Committee of Ministers for Human Rights at the Council of Europe.