Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have banned Israeli students from attending the Royal College of Defence Studies because they consider Israel to have committed war crimes in Gaza.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

UK military educational courses have long been open to personnel from a wide range of countries, with all UK military courses emphasising compliance with international humanitarian law.

However, the Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong. There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. We have therefore paused future Israeli participation in UK-run courses.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments by Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, that there is a likely future scenario where the oceans are “effectively transparent and submarines are no longer allowed to hide”.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

We recognise that there are increasing threats to maritime security, including the underwater battlespace, from technological change and the proliferation of advanced capabilities. Assessments of these threats directly inform how we pursue technological advancements across all domains, including in the way we design, build and operate our submarines, to ensure the effectiveness of our capabilities in complex and challenging environments.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the Royal College of Defence Studies about its decision to ban Israeli soldiers next year.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

UK military educational courses have long been open to personnel from a wide range of countries, with all UK military courses emphasising compliance with international humanitarian law.

However, the Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong. There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanisation aid to the people of Gaza. We have therefore paused future Israeli participation in UK-run courses.

The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) is a constituent part of the Ministry of Defence, and as such implements Government policy and decisions. All relevant teams across the Department, including RCDS, were informed of the decision to pause the future allocation of places on UK training and education courses to Israel.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much the continuity of education allowance has increased since January and whether they plan to increase it further.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) helps Service families to provide stability in their children’s schooling where mobility might otherwise cause disruption. The Ministry of Defence engages with Service families through the Families Federations, the chain of command and Pay Colonel teams, who ensure that their views are represented in policy discussions.

With regards to allowance calculations, I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given by the then Minister for Veterans on 9 July 2025 to question 66168.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Armed Forces families and representatives since January regarding the continuity of education allowance.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) helps Service families to provide stability in their children’s schooling where mobility might otherwise cause disruption. The Ministry of Defence engages with Service families through the Families Federations, the chain of command and Pay Colonel teams, who ensure that their views are represented in policy discussions.

With regards to allowance calculations, I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given by the then Minister for Veterans on 9 July 2025 to question 66168.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department receives a share of funds from every F-35 sold to (a) foreign military sales customers and (b) Israel.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

A key part of the overall funding approach for the F-35 is that all F-35 partners who contributed to development costs for the platform are able to recoup elements of the that original expenditure from foreign military sales, relative to their level of investment in programme development.

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.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government why military personnel from (1) China, and (2) Qatar, are not banned from attending the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The provision of professional military education or training to a foreign military is dependent on a number of factors, including the nature of our partnerships and course availability, and is kept under regular review. Any decision is made on a case-by-case basis and is underpinned by a robust assessment as to the benefits, risks, and compliance with international human rights law.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 66652 on Military Aircraft: Ministers, whether the RAF Command Support Air Transport fleets include (a) Airbus A321 G-GBNI, (b) Airbus A330 ZZ336, (c) Dassault Falcon 900LX Envoy IV G-ZAHS and G-ZABH.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

No, the RAF Command Support Air Transport (CSAT) fleet comprises of two Envoy IV Dassault Falcon 900LX aircraft, G-ZAHS and G-ZABH.

The Voyager aircraft, ZZ336, is operated alongside the main fleet of RAF Voyagers, on behalf of the RAF by AirTanker. It has a secondary role and can be tasked under Op VESPINA for the use of Head of State or Head of Government on State business only.

The Airbus A321 (G-GBNI) is not a military aircraft. It is tasked by the Cabinet Travel Office under Government contract.

CSAT is a military function, delivered to aid operational effectiveness including senior military leader partner engagements, crisis early entry, and the movement of operational information. It is separate to wider Government and Royal VIP passenger movement, delivered through the Ministerial Air Transport Contract and Royal Transport Office respectively.

Military tasking of CSAT remains the priority throughout.

This Government is committed to securing value for money for taxpayers. We cancelled the VIP helicopter contract which wasted millions under the previous Government. The money saved from cancelling this contract will be returned to Defence’s core budget- an estimated £40 million.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 42299 on Defence Growth Board, whether the Defence Growth Board has met since 3 April 2025.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The purpose of the Defence Growth Board is to maximise Defence’s contribution to the government’s Growth Mission.

The Chancellor and Secretary of State for Defence meet regularly, including with representatives of the defence industry and financial sector, to ensure that this government is delivering for defence. The Board has met to build on this work.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for the UK's defence and intelligence capabilities of their not inviting Israeli officials to the 2025 Defence and Security Equipment International event.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence carefully assessed the implications of not inviting Israeli officials to the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) UK 2025 conference. We do not comment publicly on operational matters. The Government of Israel's decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong, and, as a result, no Israeli government delegation was invited to attend DSEI UK 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many members of the Israel Defence Forces and Mossad have attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in the past 25 years.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

28 places have been taken up by Israeli Defence Forces on the Royal College of Defence Studies since 2000. These places are offered to the Israel Defence Forces.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which elements of the Global Combat air programme are included within the scope of the Industrial Strategy partnership with the Japanese government agreed in March 2025.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The UK and Japan are pioneering an Industrial Strategy Partnership (ISP) focusing on green and digital transformation, economic security and inclusive regional growth. The ISP aims to deepen UK-Japan industrial and technology collaboration through programmes such as GCAP.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 2 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what recent progress he has made on establishing a roadmap for delivering deeper interoperability with NATO allies by January 2026.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Strategic Defence Review is clear that our defence policy is 'NATO First'. The Armed Forces must be capable of operating as part of a NATO force by design. We are taking this forward with and through NATO, which will produce an Interoperability Plan for the Alliance by the end of the year. The Military Strategic Headquarters has appointed an interoperability champion to support the implementation of this plan.

The UK's own roadmap for delivering deeper interoperability with NATO allies will be developed alongside our Integrated Force Design. Officials within the Department meet regularly to discuss both initiatives, however, information regarding the total number of meetings is not held in the format requested.

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Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any potential environmental impact in Scotland, whether its ministers have been informed of, endorsed or approved any Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Ministry of Defence memoranda of understanding and associated business cases relating to proposals on nuclear liability transfers.

Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy

Scottish Government has been informed of a memorandum of understanding and initial business case between the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) to carry out technical work to evaluate the potential transfer of the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment, near to Caithness, from the MOD to the NDA when the site reaches the end of its operational life. As this relates to initial work to consider the viability of a potential transfer, Scottish Ministers are not required to endorse or approve this.

Under the terms of the Energy Act 2004 any proposal to give the NDA additional responsibilities, including any defence liabilities, in Scotland requires agreement from Scottish Ministers and a Designation Direction under the Energy Act 2004 would require to be laid at the Scottish Parliament so Scottish Ministers agreement would be required for any transfer. We expect that Vulcan will continue operations until at least April 2027.

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any potential environmental impact in Scotland, whether it (a) can give and (b) has given the (i) Ministry of Defence and (ii) Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) any mandate to transfer defence nuclear liabilities, including Vulcan, into the civil sector in Scotland.

Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy

A) Under the terms of the Energy Act 2004 any proposal to give the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) additional responsibilities in Scotland, including defence liabilities, requires agreement from Scottish Ministers and a Designation Direction under the Energy Act 2004 would require to be laid at the Scottish Parliament.

B) Scottish Ministers have not agreed any transfer of defence liabilities in Scotland from the Ministry of Defence to the NDA as no formal proposal to transfer any such liabilities has been presented to us.

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out any risk assessments, regarding any potential environmental and financial impact in Scotland, of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Ministry of Defence civil defence nuclear cooperation programme and any proposals to transfer defence nuclear liabilities, including Vulcan, into the civil sector in Scotland.

Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy

The Scottish Government has not carried out any formal risk assessment regarding Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil defence co-operation and the proposal to transfer any defence liabilities to the civil sector as no formal proposal to transfer any such liabilities has been presented to us.

We are aware of technical work being conducted by NDA and MOD to evaluate the potential transfer of the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment, near to Caithness, to the NDA when the site reaches the end of its operational life, not expected to be before April 2027, and we will consider the results of this in due course. Under the terms of the Energy Act 2004 any proposal to give the NDA additional responsibilities, including defence liabilities, in Scotland requires agreement from Scottish Ministers and a Designation Direction under the Energy Act 2004 would require to be to be laid in the Scottish Parliament.

Any transfer of Vulcan to the NDA would also require the relevant authorisation under the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 issued by SEPA and so would be subject to robust independent scrutiny.

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any potential environmental impact in Scotland, whether it will propose the scheduling of time for a parliamentary debate on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s draft strategy and any proposals to transfer major defence nuclear liabilities, including Vulcan, into the civil nuclear sector in Scotland, in light of the concerns expressed in the Parliament on 11 March 2014 by the then Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment regarding a culture of secrecy at the Ministry of Defence and Vulcan.

Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy

The NDAs are currently updating their 5 year strategy to cover the period 2026 to 2031. This is a routine exercise and so we do not intend to propose a parliamentary debate on this issue.

We will consider the requirement for a parliamentary debate on any proposals to transfer major nuclear defence liabilities, including the potential transfer of the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment, near to Caithness, to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) if and when any such formal proposal is received.