Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time permanent MOD staff have worked on coordinating Operation Interflex in each year since 2002.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The table below is based on those who have been involved in co-ordinating Operation INTERFLEX for each of the six Tranches, which to date have delivered more than 51,000 trained Ukrainians. The table includes those assigned to INTERFLEX HQ, the training delivery units and the logistic support element.
Please note the UK delivers Op INTERFLEX in conjunction with our partners. Canada, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Lithuania, Australia, Romania, Netherlands, Kosovo, and Estonia are all supporting the training programme. Albania will also be joining from the end of February, so UK personnel numbers alone do not represent output of total personnel.
Tranche | Dates from | No of UK Personnel |
1 | Jun-22 | 1,389 |
2 | Jan-23 | 1,270 |
3 | Jul-23 | 1,270 |
4 | Jan-24 | 388 |
5 | Jul-24 | 428 |
6 | Jan-25 | 369 |
Asked by: Johanna Baxter (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on the Protector programme.
Answered by Maria Eagle
Protector training has now transferred to the UK having completed four aircrew basic qualification courses in the United States. Further, four Protector Air Vehicles have now been delivered to RAF Waddington, where they are being maintained by 31 Squadron engineers. The required Test and Evaluation activity and UK training is underway, ahead of the planned platform in-service declaration later in 2025.
From a broader perspective, the UK is leading the MQ-9 International Cooperation Support Partnership which now has seven participant members (UK, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain) and five observer nations (Greece, Lithuania, Norway, Qatar, Sweden), with an expectation of further growth. The UK is working closely with the NATO Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Force to scope options to provide Protector in support of operations in the Northern Atlantic and Arctic regions. Opportunities for NATO investment in RAF Waddington to support growth are also progressing.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
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 discussion with his counterparts in (a) France, (b) Germany and (c) Sweden to learn on steps to reduce plastic waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials have had discussions with their counterparts in other countries to learn lessons on tackling waste, including plastic waste. For instance, officials have had discussions with the German Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) administrator to assist in developing the DRS in the UK.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his (a) planned timetable and (b) key milestones for success are for the DIAMOND initiative.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In October the UK signed a letter of intent on DIAMOND (Delivering Integrated Air and Missile Operational Networked Defences) alongside six Allies: France, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Poland and Sweden. We are working with these countries to agree the timetable for actions. A priority for the UK is making greater use of training and exercises opportunities, such as Exercise Formidable Shield in May 2025.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) France, (b) Germany and (c) Sweden on reducing plastic waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has not held discussions on plastic waste with his counterparts in France, Germany, and Sweden. However, officials have had discussions with their counterparts in other countries to learn lessons on tackling waste, including plastic waste. For instance, officials have had discussions with the German Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) administrator to assist in developing the DRS in the UK.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people eligible for Winter Fuel Payments live overseas, broken down by country.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
For winter 2024/25, to be paid Winter Fuel Payments abroad, customers must be in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement and equivalent agreements with the EEA-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states and Switzerland, and the 2019 Convention with Ireland. Customers must also be in receipt of a benefit equivalent to Pension Credit or another qualifying benefit and be able to show that they have a Genuine and Sufficient Link to the UK. A Genuine and Sufficient Link to the UK can include having lived or worked in the UK and having family in the UK. Statistics for winter 2024/25 do not yet have a confirmed date for release.
Annual statistics on the number of Winter Fuel Payments made to individuals and households are publicly available via GOV.UK. The latest statistics cover winter 2023 to 2024. The table below shows the number of Winter Fuel Payments paid to eligible customers living in the European Economic Area and Switzerland by country, for winter 2023 to 2024. Please note that we do not hold or publish statistics on the underlying numbers who may be eligible, only on recipients.
Country | Total payments |
Ireland | 26,226 |
Germany | 2,185 |
Italy | 1,632 |
Bulgaria | 778 |
Netherlands | 586 |
Switzerland | 497 |
Poland | 381 |
Belgium | 312 |
Austria | 309 |
Sweden | 309 |
Hungary | 191 |
Denmark | 156 |
Norway | 129 |
The Czech Republic | 123 |
Finland | 113 |
Luxembourg | 69 |
Republic of Latvia | 62 |
Romania | 52 |
Republic of Lithuania | 49 |
The Slovak Republic | 47 |
Republic of Slovenia | 36 |
Republic of Estonia | 29 |
Croatia | 25 |
Iceland | 8 |
Liechtenstein | [low] |
Total | 34,307 |
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support exports of small modular reactor technologies to Sweden.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has established strong civil nuclear relationships with Czechia, Sweden and Poland, and is working closely to coordinate and drive collaboration, including on critical enabling policy such as regulation, financing, operator capabilities, fuels, supply chains, and waste management. We want the UK to be a clean energy superpower, delivering net zero and industrial decarbonisation at home and overseas, so we are pleased to support the nuclear supply chain, including UK Small Modular Reactor (SMR) vendors, seeking to export to responsible nuclear nations, including across Europe.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support exports of small modular reactor technologies to Poland.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has established strong civil nuclear relationships with Czechia, Sweden and Poland, and is working closely to coordinate and drive collaboration, including on critical enabling policy such as regulation, financing, operator capabilities, fuels, supply chains, and waste management. We want the UK to be a clean energy superpower, delivering net zero and industrial decarbonisation at home and overseas, so we are pleased to support the nuclear supply chain, including UK Small Modular Reactor (SMR) vendors, seeking to export to responsible nuclear nations, including across Europe.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support exports of small modular reactor technologies to Czechia.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has established strong civil nuclear relationships with Czechia, Sweden and Poland, and is working closely to coordinate and drive collaboration, including on critical enabling policy such as regulation, financing, operator capabilities, fuels, supply chains, and waste management. We want the UK to be a clean energy superpower, delivering net zero and industrial decarbonisation at home and overseas, so we are pleased to support the nuclear supply chain, including UK Small Modular Reactor (SMR) vendors, seeking to export to responsible nuclear nations, including across Europe.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Europe.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government will reset relations with our European friends and strengthen ties to boost economic growth, enhance our security through an ambitious UK-EU security pact and tackle shared challenges.
The European Political Community Summit at Blenheim Palace on 18 July brought together 46 European leaders to advance this reset. To take forward this work, the Foreign Secretary travelled to Germany, Poland and Sweden in his first weekend in the role and I conducted my first visit to Greece.