Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled 20,000 UK jobs secured as Türkiye buys 20 Typhoon jets in biggest fighter jet deal in a generation, published on 27 October 2025, when he plans to place a contract for a Phase 4 Enhancement electronics upgrade.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Phase 4 Enhancement capability package (P4E) is an essential enabler for the implementation of the next generation radar enhancement for the UK's Typhoon fleet.
The System Definition Contract for P4E was signed in June 2024 and since then the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy have been working closely alongside NETMA and our industry partners to agree on the final P4E capability package, which will then move into the Design, Development and Demonstration phase.
Additionally, the Core Nations have agreed to begin early design work on long lead activities, ensuring that critical path activities for P4E capability are protected. The delivery of the P4E package is planned to take place by the end of this decade.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will publish an updated list of the countries with which the UK has negotiated arrangements allowing British citizens to use automated border e-gates.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Approximately 54 ports currently provide UK nationals with access to eGates in countries including France, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Greece. Access arrangements within the Schengen Area may vary for day-to-day operational reasons, so this estimate is subject to change.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the (a) manufacturing and (b) assembly for the 20 Typhoons to be exported to Turkiye will be carried out in Turkiye.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Manufacturing for the Typhoons for Türkiye will be done by the Eurofighter partner nations (Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK), with 37% of the workshare and final assembly done in the UK.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's contract with Goaco Group Ltd, notice identifier 2025/S 000-063254, published on 8 October 2025, if he will list the countries in which subcontractor resources are now located.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This notice relates to the development of the Central Digital Platform for procurement. Goaco Group Ltd sought permission from the Cabinet Office to engage the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) to undertake independent data quality analysis, so that the continuous improvement of the Platform is supported by the highest level of expertise available. OCP is an independent non-profit charity and has a presence in Spain and Canada. All development work related to this contract remains onshore in the UK.
As is the long-standing practice, the Cabinet Office as the contracting authority has given notice of amendment to the Goaco Contract to facilitate this work.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the restrictions on British military aircrafts (a) arriving at and (b) departing from Gibraltar on (i) military operations and (ii) financial costs to his Department.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
UK military aircraft travelling to and from RAF Gibraltar are routed so as to avoid Spanish territorial airspace, in accordance with Spanish restrictions on UK military overflights. RAF Gibraltar continues to operate as a sovereign UK military airfield, and the current overflight ban by Spain does not impede our operational freedom with respect to aircraft movements. No assessment has been conducted regarding the financial costs associated with routing UK military aircraft through the global network of Flight Information Regions.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what nations form the European Carrier Group Initiative.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The European Carrier Group Interoperability Initiative comprises the UK, France, Italy and Spain (Carrier Nations), alongside the non-Carrier members of Portugal, Greece, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78691 on Railways: Concessions, whether Great British Railways plans to use ticket pricing to (a) manage demand and (b) reduce crowding on trains.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Great British Railways (GBR) will be empowered to deliver industry-wide modernisation and fares reform, including considering the most effective ways to manage issues such as crowding.
We are already making progress in considering options to address this, including through supporting LNER in trialling easier to understand fares on their long-distance network between the London area and Edinburgh and the North East. This aims to address the inefficient and unacceptable situation where some ‘peak’ trains run nearly empty while some ‘off-peak’ trains are crowded. We are doing this by moving towards more flexible, demand-based pricing – a model commonly used for long-distance rail in countries such as France, Italy, and Spain. The results of this trial will be carefully considered before any decisions on next steps are taken.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the capability of the Harland and Wolff shipyard to construct Royal Navy defence warships before the contract for that project was awarded.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Building on the success of the Type 31 Frigate competition, one of the main aims of the programme was to see British shipbuilders play a key role in the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship competition and for companies, including British firms, to tender for the design and build of the FSS ships. The competition sought to maximise the economic and social contribution shipbuilding can make in the UK, including encouraging investment in domestic shipyards, whilst balancing the need to deliver value for money and an overall compliant solution to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s needs.
The FSS ship contract was awarded to Navantia UK (NUK), with Harland & Wolff (H&W) as a strategic subcontractor and part of the winning consortium. The build strategy was, and remains, that all three ships will be assembled from blocks manufactured in H&W’s shipyards in the UK and Navantia's shipyards in Spain. Final assembly, systems integration and testing of the ships is planned to take place in Belfast.
In order to deliver this build strategy, the contract required an investment of approximately £100 million in Belfast for recapitalisation of production facilities and investment in skills transfer, knowledge and technology.
Throughout the FSS ship’s competition procurement process all bidders were subject to economic and financial standing tests consistent with the relevant UK public procurement legislation and rules. On contract award, the Ministry of Defence’s assessment was that H&W were able to deliver their part of the programme. NUK are responsible for managing their subcontractors, including H&W, with protections ensured through the prime contractual arrangements.
Following H&W’s insolvency and NUK’s acquisition of the four H&W yards in January 2025, the works to recapitalise the Belfast shipyard have restarted; this investment will further strengthen UK capability, modernising the shipbuilding facilities in Belfast and leading to increased productivity and capacity.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help enhance UK defence capabilities.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The National Security Strategy is clear on the requirement to collaborate with others to develop next-generation defence capabilities and that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) global network underpins the UK's ability to act as a credible global partner. FCDO Ministers and the network are active in engaging international partners in support of defence capability collaborations, including major UK programmes such as the AUKUS Partnership with Australia and the United States, the Global Combat Air Programme with Italy and Japan, the Eurofighter Typhoon Consortium with Germany, Italy and Spain, our work in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), and in the new UK-EU security and defence partnership as well as our crucial work as a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question HL9397 on Typhoon Aircraft: Factories, what elements of the Typhoons ordered by Spain will be manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency who set the industrial sub-system production and workshare agreements across the partner nations. Through partner nation agreement, NETMA have set United Kingdom industrial workshare as 37%. Eurofighter GMBH manage its sub-system and component manufacturing orders from across the industrial base of each partner nation, in line with that workshare agreement percentage. Some of the major components that UK leads on the manufacturing include the front and rear fuselage, windscreen and canopy, fin and rudder, engine bay doors, foreplane and a range of major avionics systems.