Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the the potential impact of reintroducing a nuclear role for the Royal Air Force on the UK’s commitment to nuclear disarmament under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The nuclear weapons allocated to the NATO dual capable aircraft nuclear mission, to which the United Kingdom (UK) will contribute its F-35A aircraft, are United States (US) nuclear weapons and remain under US custody and control, in full compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
The UK remains fully committed to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons in a transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner and with undiminished security for all.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to encourage the USA and Russia to enter discussions on a new nuclear weapon treaty to replace the NEW START Treaty.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The New START Treaty is a bilateral agreement between the United States and Russian Federation; any replacement treaty is a matter for the US and Russia. The UK regularly raises issues related to strategic risk reduction, including arms control with the USA and Russia through the expert-level P5 process. Genuine and verifiable strategic arms control among the largest Nuclear Weapons States can be a positive step for global security. However, following Russia's decision to suspend participation in New START verification measures in 2023, future approaches need to be based on concrete, and verifiable actions.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has she made on renewing the New START Treaty before its expiration in February 2026.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The New START Treaty is a bilateral agreement between the United States and Russian Federation; any replacement treaty is a matter for the US and Russia. The UK regularly raises issues related to strategic risk reduction, including arms control with the USA and Russia through the expert-level P5 process. Genuine and verifiable strategic arms control among the largest Nuclear Weapons States can be a positive step for global security. However, following Russia's decision to suspend participation in New START verification measures in 2023, future approaches need to be based on concrete, and verifiable actions.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47195 on Environment Protection: Finance, what is the policy of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure in relation to investment in (a) defence and (b) nuclear weapons.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK government formally endorsed the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework in 2021 and has mandated TCFD-aligned disclosure for large entities in the private sector since 2022. The FCA also refers to the TCFD framework in its listing rules and has required TCFD aligned reports since 2021 for listed companies.
The new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards, so called S1 and S2, are designed to replace the TCFD framework. These draft standards, which will be known as UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) were published for consultation in June 2025, closing in September 2025.
Both UK SRS, and the TCFD framework that they will replace, are disclosure standards that ask firms to disclose financially material climate related risks to their business. The objective of these is to provide investors with consistent, comparable and reliable information about companies' sustainability-related risks and opportunities. These standards are designed to enhance transparency and do not dictate how a company should invest. They do not prevent or impose restrictions on investment in specific sectors, including defence or nuclear weapons.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to raise any concerns about the text of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons with the Treaty secretariat.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 18 December 2024 to Question 18645.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken a detailed examination of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 18 December 2024 to Question 18645.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with his European allies on the potential merits of jointly developing (a) aircraft and (b) other defence platforms as an alternative to reliance on US procurement.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Secretary of State has had recent discussions with both US and European Allies regarding joint development and procurement of defence capabilities. The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) sets out our need for a NATO First approach and enhanced cooperation. To this end, the Secretary of State’s recent discussions with the US, the UK’s most important bilateral alliance, have explored how the UK can maximise its industrial and technological collaboration to strengthen collective security and prosperity beyond already unprecedented UK-US industrial and nuclear cooperation. To the same end, the Secretary of State’s recent discussions with European Allies, including through the E5 format, consisting of the UK, France, Germany, Poland and Italy, represent a strong collaboration within the Alliance to develop a collective industrial base and deliver NATO critical warfighting capabilities. These capabilities include Complex Weapons with France, Land systems with Germany, and the Global Combat Air Programme which includes Italy.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 32 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, which Departments are involved in the implementation of the nuclear deterrent.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 September 2025 to Question 70755 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge).
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 34 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what recent progress he has made in determining what the post-Dreadnought nuclear deterrent would be.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is fully committed to the United Kingdom’s independent nuclear deterrent, underpinned by our triple lock commitment to continue to build the four new Dreadnought Class submarines, maintain our continuous at sea deterrent and deliver all the required upgrades, including the replacement warhead.
The Government has accepted all of the Strategic Defence Review’s recommendations, including the need to start to define the requirement for the post-Dreadnought nuclear deterrent within this Parliament, and is currently working to progress this.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 35 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what progress he has made on developing mechanisms for the enhanced parliamentary scrutiny of the UK’s nuclear deterrent spending.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 September 2025 to Question 70759 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge).