Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the rules of engagement are for the armed forces under Operation CABRIT.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I hope that the hon. Gentleman will understand that for operational security reasons I cannot comment on the specific rules of engagement for the Armed Forces under Operation CABRIT.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) troops, (b) tanks and (c) other military vehicles the United Kingdom had in Estonia on 27 March (i) 2025 and (ii) 2021.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Since 2017, the UK has been the Framework Nation to Estonia as part of the NATO construct, enhanced Force Presence (eFP). This construct provides members of the Alliance positioned along the Eastern Flank of NATO (Host Nations) with bilateral guarantees from other NATO members.
The UK’s presence in Estonia has been centred on an Armoured Battle Group, based in Tapa and comprising up to 1,300 Service personnel and high end warfighting capabilities. These capabilities included the Challenger 2 Armoured Tank, numerous Anti-Tank capabilities, armoured infantry and artillery. In addition the Battle Group is supported by Divisional level assets such as Short Range Air Defence and long range strike artillery.
Following the Madrid NATO summit in 2022 and the full invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Alliance increased the level of support to Host Nations, with Framework Nations agreeing to reinforce with up to a Brigade in times of crisis. This was termed Forward Land Forces (FLF). To date, the UK has achieved this through the allocation of 12 Armoured Bde and associated capability. Bilaterally, the UK will reinforce Estonia with the balance of a Brigade. This year, 12 Bde are being replaced by 4 Bde, reinforced with an Aviation Task Force. This transition will be showcased on Ex HEDGEHOG, a Baltic wide demonstration of the FLF construct.
Both 2021 and 2025 saw UK personnel numbers remain stable at around 700 personnel in country.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the United Kingdom is contributing to the NATO Hedgehog Exercises.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has endorsed the deployment of 4 Brigade and four Typhoons to Exercise HEDGEHOG. The UK will provide roughly 2,500 Service personnel towards the exercise, in addition to the Forward Land Forces armoured battle group already deployed in Estonia, comprising circa 800 soldiers. France will also provide support, alongside Finland and the US. This is an excellent demonstration of close cooperation in the name of European security.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a summary of his discussions with his Estonian counterpart that took place on 26 March 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As I am sure the hon. Gentleman will understand, we do not routinely publish readouts after individual bilateral meetings. The Secretary of State had productive discussions with his Estonian counterpart about our bilateral cooperation with Estonia and our cooperation through the JEF and NATO.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evaluation they have made of the ongoing utility of the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention following recent developments in Eastern and Northern Europe.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (also known as the Ottawa Convention) continues to play an important role in protecting civilians from harm caused by anti-personnel landmines. As a State Party to the Ottawa Convention, the UK’s commitment to it remains unwavering. We continue to encourage countries to join the Ottawa Convention, subscribe to its provisions; and discourage States from using anti-personnel landmines.
His Majesty's Government has noted that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have stated their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty. The UK acknowledges and shares concerns about the security environment in the region as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We also acknowledge that it is the sovereign right of those countries to make this decision. The UK will work to mitigate impacts on vital arms control and disarmament norms, while continuing to engage bilaterally on the actions States plan to take.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK's commitment to enhanced NATO air policing patrols.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK remains fully committed to NATO air policing. The RAF has deployed to Poland, Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania and Romania, securing Allied airspace and playing a key role in NATO’s deterrence and defence.
Along with other European Allies, the UK provides our P8 maritime reconnaissance aircraft and Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft to NATO’s BALTIC SENTRY maritime operation throughout the Baltic Sea. The objective of this to detect and understand sabotage against undersea infrastructure, as well play a critical part in deterrence.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on the role of the UK in the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
NATO is the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic security, and the UK’s commitment to the Alliance is unshakeable. The UK is the Framework Nation for the Forward Land Forces Battlegroup in Estonia, with UK forces deterring threats on NATO’s eastern flank. In October 2024 the Defence Secretary reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to scale this force to a brigade if required when the UK and Estonia signed a Defence Roadmap.
The UK contributes a squadron to the US-led Forward Land Forces in Poland.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what size force he intends to send on Exercise Hedgehog in May 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has endorsed the deployment of 4 Brigade and four Typhoons to Exercise HEDGEHOG. The UK will provide roughly 2,500 Service personnel towards the exercise, in addition to the Forward Land Forces armoured battle group already deployed in Estonia, comprising circa 800 soldiers. France will also provide support, alongside Finland and the US.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British service personnel are deployed to (a) Estonia, (b) Latvia, (c) Lithuania and (d) Poland as part of the UK contribution to the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As part of the UK contribution to the NATO Enhanced Forward presence, circa 1,300 British Service personnel are deployed to Estonia and circa 100 to Poland. The UK does not contribute forces to Latvia or Lithuania within the context of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his EU counterparts on streamlining the import process for flowers.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Plant health import requirements are kept under continuous review, through the UK Plant Health Risk Group. Following such a review, most imports of cut flowers into GB from the EU no longer require an accompanying phytosanitary certificate and notification by importers.
Where phytosanitary certificates are still required, we are transitioning to digital certification via the IPPC ePhyto solution, which is a faster, safer and more cost-effective option. Defra has prioritised securing ePhyto agreements with EU countries, with arrangements now agreed for a range of plant products, including cut flowers, from: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. Several other EU countries are due to have the capacity to export using ePhyto rolled out during 2025.
The Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, set up under the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, provides a platform for information sharing and discussion on each of the Parties’ import requirements and processes. It is at this forum that the UK has discussed with the European Union the development of the UK’s IPPC ePhyto solution.
Defra is also seeking to negotiate a SPS agreement to help boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU.
The UK and EU are like-minded partners with similarly high standards. We have been clear that a SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. A SPS agreement could reduce trade friction and deliver significant benefits to the EU and the UK, but delivering new agreements will take time.