theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
wrans/answers2025-02-21 conversation_7
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25988 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, how much and what proportion of spend to date on the Chagos Islands negotiations will be borne by the (a) his Department and (b) the Ministry of Defence. \p Stephen Doughty: Costs, including those of staffing, legal counsel, travel and accommodation and other expenses arising from the negotiations have been incorporated into the budgets of those Departments involved in the negotiations. There has been no central aggregation of those costs.

To go back over costs and expenses for the last three years in different parts of FCDO, different finance systems, and data that would have to be manually checked would exceed reasonable costs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will re-establish the Department for International Development. \p Anneliese Dodds: As set out in the 2024 Labour Party manifesto, the Government's plans are to strengthen international development work within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding he plans to provide to Mauritius as part of official development assistance programmes in 2025. \p Anneliese Dodds: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's ODA programme allocations for 2024/25 were published in a Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS421) on Thursday 6 February 2025. We are prioritising predictability and stability after years of turbulence. Ministers will consider ODA allocations for 2025/26 over the coming months, and we will publish them in the Annual Report & Accounts in summer 2025. The second phase of the Spending Review, concluding in late spring 2025, will set departmental ODA budgets for future years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Monica Harding:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help support the expansion of the UN’s operational presence in (a) South Darfur and (b) other conflict-affected areas in Sudan. \p Anneliese Dodds: On 11 February, I met with the ERC, Tom Fletcher, to discuss how the international community can support the UN-led humanitarian response in Sudan through supporting efforts to establish UN presence in areas of greatest need, including Darfur, and South Kordofan. I then chaired a virtual meeting with ten development counterparts and the ERC to discuss how key donors can support this shift in ambition. I also engaged with international counterparts on these issues at the Munich Security Conference. This followed an open session on 6 January 2025, where we called on the warring parties to expand humanitarian access to all civilians in need, whether they live in SAF or RSF-held areas, and called on the Sudanese authorities to authorise further humanitarian hubs, including in Zalingei, Darfur. On 25 November 2024, the Foreign Secretary also chaired a Sudan session during the G7 + Arab Quint Foreign Ministers' meeting to discuss collective action the G7 and Quint could take with the warring parties to press for improved humanitarian access, including by pushing for an increased UN presence in Darfur and other conflict-affected areas.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with (i) the International Committee of the Red Cross and (ii) Chancellor of the Exchequer on the International Committee of the Red Cross's next funding period. \p Anneliese Dodds: For many years the UK Government has funded the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) through provision of core unrestricted funding on a multi-year basis, as well as annual bilateral contributions to particular emergency contexts. In 2024, the UK provided over £192 million to the ICRC, of which £48 million was unrestricted funding. Future UK funding for ICRC will be determined as part of the Spending Review process.

The Foreign Secretary met with the ICRC's President Mirjana Spoljaric in October 2024 at the UN General Assembly. Ministers within the FCDO have also had several direct engagements with ICRC officials in recent months, both in London and in several humanitarian contexts. Officials from the FCDO meet and coordinate regularly with ICRC officials both in London and Geneva, and in conflict affected countries around the world. The UK is also co-chairing the ICRC Donor Support Group from June 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of British International Investment's new investments were 2X qualified in the last financial year; and what proportion of those had (a) 51% women ownership or founded by woman, (b) 30% women in senior leadership, (c) 30-50% women in workforce, (d) product/service disproportionately benefits women and (e) 30% of DFI loan proceeds or portfolio companies meet 2X criteria. \p Anneliese Dodds: The Government has agreed that British International Investment (BII) should ensure that 25% of its commitments between 2022-26 qualify as gender lens investments. In the first two years, 38% of new commitments are 2X qualified.

In 2023, £297 million qualified against 2X. Investments can qualify against more than one dimension of the 2X criteria. The proportion is as follows: A) 9%; B) 79%; C) 78%; D) 22%; E) 65%. Figures for 2024 will be confirmed in July 2025 as part of BII's Annual Review process.

BII publishes its investments, including whether they qualify as 2X qualified investments, on its website (https://www.bii.co.uk/en/our-impact/search-results/).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of British International Investment’s new investments were counted as international climate finance in the last financial year. \p Anneliese Dodds: In 2023, British International Investment (BII) provided £449 million in climate finance, representing 37 per cent of all commitments. This includes supporting the growth of companies providing solar-powered irrigation systems for smallholder farmers, battery-swapping businesses for electric vehicles, and Sierra Leone's first large-scale solar project to be connected to the grid.

BII's 2024 Annual Review will be published in July 2025 and will include its audited climate finance break down for 2024 commitments. BII publishes its investments, including whether they qualify as climate finance on its website (https://www.bii.co.uk/en/our-impact/search-results/) and in its Annual Review.

The Government has agreed that BII should ensure that at least 30 per cent of its commitments between 2022-26 count as climate finance. In the first two years, 42 per cent of commitments have qualified.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Patricia Ferguson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of (a) trends in the level of (i) gold, (ii) coltan and (iii) other conflict minerals being exported from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) the role of external actors in the export of those minerals. \p Anneliese Dodds: We are deeply concerned by reports from the UN Group of Experts that M23 and Rwanda are illegally extracting critical minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and are clear that such activity must stop immediately.

We are committed to addressing risks around conflict minerals and protecting human rights. The UK works through several international mechanisms to deliver on this, including encouraging compliance with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which enables businesses to operate responsibly from conflict-affected areas and the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals which aims to increase the proportion of responsibly sourced minerals in supply chains.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislative proposals to ensure that every line of foreign aid spending must be approved by Parliament. \p Anneliese Dodds: All government spending is approved by Parliament in the Budget. There are no plans to introduce new legislation for ODA spending.

To support effective programme delivery, the publicly available FCDO Programme Operating Framework sets out the mandatory rules and the principles, controls, roles, and responsibilities for programme teams. We ensure delivery represents value for money by measuring and assessing programmes throughout their lifecycle and will work with the Independent Commission for Aid Impact to apply the highest standards to our ODA spend, including robust measures of development effectiveness.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on levels of bovine tuberculosis cases across the UK. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Inter-ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural affairs recognise the importance of working together to tackle bovine TB. Further information about this group and its priorities can be found on GOV.UK at: Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs communiqué: 16 September 2024 - GOV.UK.

Chief Veterinary Officers from all four administrations of the United Kingdom also meet regularly to discuss bovine TB, as do policy officials. These meetings provide an opportunity for each administration to update on policy developments, statistical analysis of TB prevalence in each administration, and to exchange ideas on TB control.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure long-term stability in the agricultural budget. \p Daniel Zeichner: In the October 2024 budget, we committed £5 billion for farming over two years, including £1.8 billion for our environmental land management schemes - the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history. Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes remain at the centre of our offer for farmers and nature, and we have more than half of farmers in an ELM scheme, putting us on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.

Spending on farming in future financial years will be confirmed as part of the next spending review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Andersons' report Andersons Outlook 2025, published on 5 November 2024, whether he has made an assessment of the reasons for the decline in dairy producers between April 2023 and April 2024; and what steps he is taking to support the sustainability of dairy farms. \p Daniel Zeichner: This Government recognises that food security is national security, and that it requires a resilient and healthy food system that works with nature and supports farmers. That is why we are introducing new deals for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen food security.

While the Andersons Outlook 2025 report highlights that dairy producer numbers in Great Britain declined by 5.8% to 7,130 between April 2023 and April 2024, it also shows that UK milk production remained largely unchanged at around 15b litres per annum. Industry consolidation and productivity gains have kept milk production broadly stable despite declining producer numbers.

Ensuring fairness in supply chains is key for UK dairy farmers in supporting the sustainability of the sector. The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 apply to new dairy contracts from 9 July 2024 and all dairy contracts from 9 July 2025. These regulations improve fairness and transparency, requiring clear terms on pricing, termination, and prohibiting unilateral changes.

In addition, the Dairy Export Taskforce, an industry/government partnership, is focused on boosting export growth in the dairy sector. This included the organisation of a successful Government funded dairy showcase for international buyers in the autumn of 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on future trade deals relevant to the (a) food and (b) agriculture sectors. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential. As the Secretary of State has said will uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 19349 on Nature Conservation: EU law, what amendments to assimilated EU law are being considered. \p Mary Creagh: Future plans for the reporting period 24 June to 23 December 2025 will be included in the fourth Assimilated Law Parliamentary Report. Past reports can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/retained-eu-law-reul-parliamentary-report.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has issued guidance on the quantity of residual bin bags used for household waste collections. \p Mary Creagh: No. We recently issued guidance on ensuring good waste collection services from households on gov.uk, which includes guidance on residual waste collection services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Tessa Munt:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is to introduce regulations to remove the T8 waste exemption on used tyres. \p Mary Creagh: Removal of the T8 waste exemption is one measure among a package of possible reforms to the waste exemptions regime. This Government is currently considering priorities for waste and resources and reform of the waste exemptions regime including related to used tyres.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support the enforcement of local planning regulations in Bromsgrove District. \p Matthew Pennycook: It is for local planning authorities, including Bromsgove District Council, to ensure they have the resources in place to carry out their planning enforcement function.

The government appreciate that planning departments across the country are experiencing challenges with recruitment, retention, and skills gaps and that in many cases these issues are having a negative impact on service delivery.

At the Budget, the Chanceller announced a £46 million package of investment into the planning system as a one-year settlement for 2025-2026. A proportion of this funding will be used to support capacity and capability in local planning authorities, including the recruitment and training of 300 graduate and apprentice planners and developing the skills needed to implement reforms and unlock housing delivery.

This will be further underpinned by increases in planning fees that will help improve the resourcing of planning application services, so that local planning authorities can fund the skills they need.

More broadly, the Department’s established Planning Capacity and Capability programme is also developing a wider programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector, to ensure that local planning authorities have the skills and capacity they need, both now and in the future, to modernise local plans and speed up decision making, including through innovative use of digital planning data and software.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Darren Paffey:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's planned timetable for abolishing ground rents and implementing broader leasehold reforms is. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

On 31 January 2025, provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to remove the two-year qualifying period in relation to enfranchisement and lease extensions came into force.

On 10 February, we laid regulations in Parliament to implement the reforms contained in the Act concerning the Right to Manage and these will come into force on Monday 3 March.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to promote apprenticeships in the vocational skills required to deliver the Government's target of 1.5m homes during this Parliament. \p Janet Daby: This government has an ambitious plan for re-building Britain, delivering 1.5 million homes in England in this Parliament.

We want to support employers, including in construction, to develop the skills they need to thrive. That is why we are widening the apprenticeships offer into a levy-funded growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at the heart, which will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers in England. As a first step, this will include shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors, helping more people learn new high-quality skills at work, fuelling innovation in businesses across the country, and providing high-quality entry pathways for young people.

In addition, around 5,000 more construction apprenticeship places will be made available per year by the 2027/28 financial year thanks to an £140 million industry investment to get Britain building again.

32 new Homebuilding Skills Hubs will deliver fast-track training in critical areas such as bricklaying, groundwork, and site carpentry, to boost housebuilding and drive forward the government’s growth mission.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Lauren Edwards:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Growth and Skills Levy enables people to retrain in (a) technology and (b) digital skills. \p Janet Daby: The government is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills to break down barriers to opportunity and support employers to develop the skilled workforces they need to help drive economic growth.

Skills England has been established to form a coherent national picture of skills gaps and to help shape the technical education system so that it is responsive to skills needs. It will work closely with the Industrial Strategy Council and the Migration Advisory Committee to achieve this.

The government’s new Industrial Strategy will channel support to eight growth-driving sectors. Digital and Technologies has been identified as one of the eight growth-driving sectors and the department is considering how it supports this sector to develop the skills needed now and in the future.

Additionally, the government is reforming the apprenticeship levy into a new growth and skills levy that will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers in England, aligned with the Industrial Strategy. As a first step, this will include shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors, helping more people learn new high quality skills at work, fuelling innovation in businesses across the country and providing high quality entry pathways for young people.

Skills England was asked to engage with employers and other key partners regarding early priorities for the new growth and skills offer over the autumn. It has spoken to over 700 stakeholders, including representatives in the digital and technology sector, and has shared its findings with the department. Skills England will publish its findings from this engagement process in early 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's contract entitled Refugee Employability Programme - Lot 1 (North West), procurement reference CF-0319600D58000000L5A4EAK, what the total number of service users is, broken down by nationality; and how many service users gained employment through this programme. \p Seema Malhotra: It is important that we support refugees to find work so that they can financially support themselves and their families. This programme was designed and implemented under the previous administration.

Onboarding ended in December 2024 and the programme is due to close in June 2025. An evaluation will be published alongside recommendations for how we work in the future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what services are available for asylum seekers on entry into the UK. \p Dame Angela Eagle: uidance on the asylum support system is publicly available at:

www.gov.uk/government/collections/asylum-support-asylum-instructions
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the long-term impact of (a) early release schemes and (b) other emergency prison measures. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: In July 2024, the Lord Chancellor took decisive action to avoid imminent gridlock across the Criminal Justice System (CJS) by changing the automatic release point for those serving eligible Standard Determinate Sentences (SDS) from 50% to 40%. The measure will be reviewed 18 months after its implementation in September 2024. This allowed us to end the previous Government’s End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme.

When implementing the SDS measure, we took every possible step to mitigate risk including an 8-week implementation period, clear offence exclusions, and collaboration with partners across the CJS. We are committed to publishing transparency data on the number of SDS40-affected releases. We have already published data for day one of Tranches 1 and 2 on 7 November 2024 and are considering how routinely publishing SDS40 data best fits with our regular Accredited Official Statistics.

Whilst the SDS change provided the intended medium-term relief to the system, this was never expected to be a silver bullet. To put prison capacity on a sustainable footing in the long-term, the Lord Chancellor announced the Independent Review into Sentencing, alongside a series of prison capacity measures to ensure we have sufficient capacity in the lead-up to the Review’s recommendations. This included reforming our recall practices to target the unsustainable growth in the recall population since the pandemic and an extension of the maximum period offenders can spend on Home Detention Curfew from 6 – 12 months. MoJ remains dedicated to working with its agencies and stakeholders to continuously evaluate and where necessary improve the HDC scheme.

We will continue to monitor the longer-term impacts as they develop.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-21)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with businesses on the potential impact of the rise of employer national insurance contributions on projects they fund or sponsor, by individual business since July 2024. \p Feryal Clark: In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. To support growth, we want business to invest in R&D and innovation and regularly discuss with them how we can optimise the R&D system to ensure it is working effectively for businesses of all sizes that want to innovate and grow.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 26 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on developing an understanding of the armed forces among young people in schools since 2 June 2025. \p Al Carns: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the importance of the Department for Education (DfE) in increasing understanding and appreciation of our Armed Forces in young people. Ministers and officials from the MOD have met with colleagues in the DfE and discussed how a formal curriculum could be part of their ongoing curriculum review. Both departments have also discussed the vital work of Cadet Forces in schools, membership of which is proven to help develop self-confidence, teamwork, leadership and resilience in young people. Our ongoing discussions with the DfE are crucial to implementing the Cadet ‘30 in 30’ scheme under which this Government is investing £70 million to add 40,000 new Cadets across the UK by 2030.

The Strategic Defence Review is clear on the need for a whole of society approach to defence and the ongoing relationship between the MOD and the DfE is a key component of that plan. The Armed Forces enjoy good relationships with schools, primarily in terms of engagement to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) curriculum areas but this also extends to careers engagement. The Armed Forces only visit when they have been invited by a school to support activities and such visits cover a range of activities such as career events, citizenship talks, science and maths challenges and exercises.

Regarding the recruitment of young people, it is important to note that the Armed Forces do not target recruitment activity at under-16s, and no visits to schools by the Armed Forces are directly linked to recruitment, other than specific Careers/Jobs Fairs which generally involve a range of employers. While presentations may be given highlighting the careers available in the Armed Forces, no pupil is ever signed up or able to make a commitment to become a recruit in the Armed Forces during the course of a visit.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 15 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, how many recommendations he plans to make by October 2025 to help tackle (a) structural, (b) behavioural and (c) leadership barriers to the creation of a more (i) representative and (ii) meritocratic workforce by June 2026. \p Al Carns: Raising our Standards has been established by Defence to address structural, behavioural, and leadership barriers. This work is key to operational delivery, recruitment, retention and driving forward an inclusive and safe culture. Raising our Standards has planned initiatives under five pillars: communications and influencing behaviour change, data and analytics, 100% action when tackling unacceptable behaviours, streamlined education and training, and developing world-class leaders.

In response to recommendation 15 of the Strategic Defence Review regarding independent oversight of implementation, Raising our Standards is working to implement a refreshed External Challenge Panel by October 2025.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 23 on page 19 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what the expected total cost to the public purse is of his Department's plans to develop the understanding of the Armed Forces among young people in schools. \p Al Carns: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the importance of the Department for Education (DfE) in increasing understanding and appreciation of our Armed Forces in young people. Ministers and officials from the MOD have met with colleagues in the DfE and discussed how a formal curriculum could be part of their ongoing curriculum review. Both departments have also discussed the vital work of Cadet Forces in schools, membership of which is proven to help develop self-confidence, teamwork, leadership and resilience in young people. Our ongoing discussions with the DfE are crucial to implementing the Cadet ‘30 in 30’ scheme under which this Government is investing £70 million to add 40,000 new Cadets across the UK by 2030.

The Strategic Defence Review is clear on the need for a whole of society approach to defence and the ongoing relationship between the MOD and the DfE is a key component of that plan. The Armed Forces enjoy good relationships with schools, primarily in terms of engagement to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) curriculum areas but this also extends to careers engagement. The Armed Forces only visit when they have been invited by a school to support activities and such visits cover a range of activities such as career events, citizenship talks, science and maths challenges and exercises.

Regarding the recruitment of young people, it is important to note that the Armed Forces do not target recruitment activity at under-16s, and no visits to schools by the Armed Forces are directly linked to recruitment, other than specific Careers/Jobs Fairs which generally involve a range of employers. While presentations may be given highlighting the careers available in the Armed Forces, no pupil is ever signed up or able to make a commitment to become a recruit in the Armed Forces during the course of a visit.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 48 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, where the Digital Warfighter group will be based. \p Luke Pollard: Our planning assumption is that the Digital Warfighter Group will be federated with the military commands. Hence the Group would be formed of multiple operational units, distributed across the UK.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 48 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, how many new staff will be employed as part of the Digital Warfighter group. \p Luke Pollard: The Digital Warfighter Group remains at internal planning and design stages, with options presented to Defence but not yet endorsed by Military Strategic Headquarters. Initially, it is anticipated to be a re-brigading of elements from the Armed Forces, who already operate in this space, into a coherent construct. Design and implementation planning is underway to define the exact military groupings that will be cohered to form the core of this Group. However, we expect this to be a whole force construct, with regular military, reservists and civilian staff, in partnership with Industry and Academia. This work is still in its early stages, which includes consideration as to whether any new staff are required.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 29 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what proportion of the new Digital Warfighter group will be staffed by (a) military and (b) civilian personnel. \p Luke Pollard: The work to define the construct of the Digital Warfighting Group is currently in its early stages. This will be a deployable organisation, however the exact proportion of military and civilian personnel is yet to be finalised.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_7

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 47 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what assessment he has made of the risk of cyber attacks on legacy systems currently in use by his Department. \p Luke Pollard: After years of underfunding and hollowing out under the previous administration, we recognise there is a need to invest more to bring our systems up to date.

Defence routinely completes assessments of its digital systems. Understanding these risks is critical to Defence’s ability to defend against cyber-attacks.

Based on these assessments, Defence continually implements security improvements to mitigate risks, addressing known vulnerabilities and the expansion of our Detect & Respond capabilities to identify and block threats. The greater attention to the cyber and Electro Magnetic domain promised in the Strategic Defence Review will strengthen our ability to deliver our critical outputs.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_8
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_8

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 89 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, whether he has met with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology to discuss the impact of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill on defence. \p Luke Pollard: The Secretary of State for Defence has met with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and discussed a range of issues. Officials from the Ministry of Defence have worked closely with DSIT and other Government colleagues throughout the development of this important Bill.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_9
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_9

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 122 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, when he plans to establish the Spectrum Coordination Office as part of CyberEM Command. \p Luke Pollard: A Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Organisation has been designed as part of the 2* Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Force Headquarters. Scope, scale, basing options and timetable are dependent on the outcome of the Defence Investment Plan.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_10
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_10

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 29 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what proportion of the new CyberEM Command will be staffed by (a) military and (b) civilian personnel. \p Luke Pollard: As stated by recommendation 51 of the Strategic Defence Review, the Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Force “must be a ‘whole force’ endeavour, with its structure largely filled by a mixture of civilians and Reserves, given that greater expertise exists in the civilian sector.” Resourcing and military to civilian proportions of the Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Force Headquarters are dependent on the outcome of the Defence Investment Plan. Submissions into the Defence capability investment governance process are ongoing and under discussion.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_11
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_11

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 31 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, where the CyberEM Command will be based. \p Luke Pollard: The 2* Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Force will be headquartered in Corsham.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_12
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_12

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 31 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what recent progress he has made on establishing the new CyberEM Command. \p Luke Pollard: Design and implementation planning is well underway. The 4* Cyber and Specialist Operations Command has been launched as of 1 September 2025 and within it the 2* Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Force is on schedule to be launched by the end of the year.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_13
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_13

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 123 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, updated on 8 July 2025, what proportion of the MOD policy teams formed as part of the CyberEM command will be staffed by (a) military and (b) civilian personnel. \p Luke Pollard: The Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Force (DCEMF) remains in internal planning and design stages, with options presented to Defence but not yet endorsed by Military Strategic Headquarters. Resource and capability decisions are subject to the Defence annual planning cycle and the Defence Investment Plan, which will ultimately shape the design of the DCEMF and the speed, scale, and nature of implementation. I hope that the Hon. Gentleman will understand that until these processes are complete, details such as basing, costs, and workforce mix remain undecided and would be speculative.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_14
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_14

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) immediate and (b) short-term threat posed to Taiwan by recent Chinese military activity in the region. \p Luke Pollard: The Ministry of Defence pays close and persistent attention to Chinese military activity and its implications. The UK considers the Taiwan issue one that should be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion. We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo. This includes increased Chinese assertiveness towards Taiwan.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_15
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_15

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what balance of (a) airmanship, (b) handling aptitude and (c) capacity his Department will use to stream pilots for Protector as opposed to fast-jet, rotary or multi-engine. \p Luke Pollard: Airmanship, handling aptitude and capacity has been interpreted to be characteristics of an individual pilot.

There is no specific set balance regarding airmanship, handling aptitude, and capacity used when streaming pilots for Protector as opposed to fast jet, rotary wing or multi engine aircraft. This is owing to the number of other factors that the Streaming Boards also need to consider, such as previous experience, performance during each training element, personal preference and the ongoing needs of the Service.

After completion of Elementary Flying Training - a 26:30 flying hour syllabus containing formative and summative assessments in airmanship, handling and capacity - individual trainee performances and military qualities are summarised in their end of course report. The report will also capture attributes such as learning rate, attitude to instruction, previous experience and character. All trainees are reviewed by a Streaming Board – a panel of experienced instructors and professional aviators - to determine the most appropriate pipeline for the next stage of training. This Streaming Board, with representatives from each pipeline (fast-jet, rotary, multi-engine and RPAS), takes into account trainees’ performance during Elementary Flying Training, to make a professional judgement on their suitability for each of the pipelines, including Protector. Having taken account of suitability, the Board will ensure Service needs are met in terms of filling priority training slots from the cohort, while aiming to support personal preference wherever possible.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_16
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_16

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Russian use of (a) Kinzhal and (b) Zircon missiles. \p Luke Pollard: The Department is aware of and continues to monitor the impact of the Russian use of these and other missile types.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_17
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_17

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 54 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, updated on 8 July 2025, who will command the Military Intelligence Services. \p Luke Pollard: The Military Intelligence Services will have functional leadership provided by Defence Intelligence (DI). The Chief of Defence Intelligence will lead the Military Intelligence Services and the Intelligence Function across defence. The Command structure for MIS has yet to be finalised, and no decision has been made on who will be the Commander.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_18
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_18

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 55 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, update on 8 July 2025, whether he has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) officials from other departments to discuss the possibility of a Government-wide review of handling processes for intelligence material. \p Luke Pollard: Defence continues to work with the Cabinet Office and partners across government on the future of intelligence handling material as part of several continuing workstreams. This remains a key component of delivering the SDR vision.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_19
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_19

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 54 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, updated on 8 July 2025, when he plans to publish the new Defence Intelligence Charter. \p Luke Pollard: Work on the Defence Intelligence Charter is ongoing. Defence is aiming to publish the Charter as soon as possible to underpin the Military Intelligence Services, however it’s publication will be coordinated with a broad range of activity around Defence Reform and Strategic Defence Review delivery.
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_20
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_20

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference paragraph 31 on page 21 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, which Department will lead the Cabinet sub-Committee on space. \p Luke Pollard: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 July 2025 to Question 68516 to the right hon. Member for Solihull West and Shirley (Dr Neil Shastri -Hurst), where I stated ‘I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s interest in space. The Ministry of Defence along with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and other departments, is coordinating space activities across government. Ministers from across government met on the 22 April to discuss space and, since the publication of the Strategic Defence Review, Ministers met on 7 July to follow up on our approach to space. We remain committed to establishing and evolving the right space governance structure to ensure that activities are effectively coordinated across all relevant Departments.’
wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_21
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-06 conversation_21

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the composition is of the UK ISTAR Force. \p Luke Pollard: The current RAF UK ISTAR Force is listed below:

Poseidon MRA1

RC-135W Rivet Joint

Reaper (MQ-9A)

Protector RG Mk1 (MQ-9B)

Shadow R1

Wedgetail AEW Mk1