Found: 27 August 2025 Dear David, Thank you for copying me into your email of 16 July to Lord Coaker

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve (a) military and (b) other defence cooperation with Luxembourg.

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

The UK continues to strengthen its defence relationship with Luxembourg, both bilaterally and through multilateral frameworks, particularly NATO. Our respective Chiefs of Defence have met in the context of wider NATO engagements to discuss and enhance support for the Alliance’s collective defence and deterrence objectives. These meetings have also contributed to broader efforts to strengthen European defence. Most recently, in September, Luxembourg’s Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, was invited to attend the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition, where she was hosted by Defence Minister Lord Coaker.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 48 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, what progress he has made on reviewing (a) storage and (b) other standards to remove regulations.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the response my noble friend, the Lord Coaker, gave on 24 July to Question HL9399.

I would also like to add that Astra, established in 2020, is the Royal Air Force's (RAF) approach to grassroots innovation. It focuses on adopting and adapting technology to address challenges, questioning restrictive policies and processes, and incrementally improving practices to enhance operational effectiveness. Over the past two years, Astra initiatives have delivered significant benefits, including saving approximately 250,000 workforce hours annually, while improving key areas such as aircraft availability, sustainability, and operational readiness. The Astra team, along with the rest of the RAF, remains fully committed to delivering Recommendation 48 of the Strategic Defence Review.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made in completing the Power Improvement Project refit of the Royal Navy Type 45 fleet.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence (Lord Coaker), on 20 January 2025 to Question number HL3859 in the House of Lords:

Completing the Type 45 Power Improvement Project (PIP) work is dependent on the availability of ships to undertake the upgrade, balanced against the Royal Navy’s (RN) current and future operational commitments.

PIP conversions have been aligned to the routine Class Upkeep cycle, which has been optimised where feasible to accelerate delivery and increase availability. This has enabled an increase in the number of ships undergoing PIP Upkeep in parallel at HM Naval Base Portsmouth, where historically there was only a single Type 45 in Upkeep at any one time. Class availability is now maximised to ensure that the RN has been able to fulfil all its operational commitments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Coaker on 11 June (HL8373), when they now expect to announce the appointment of the National Armaments Director.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer to the previous answer provided by my colleague Lord Coaker. Rupert Pearce was named as the new National Armaments Director on Tuesday 14 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Norway’s decision to purchase Type 26 frigates from BAE Systems on levels of supply chain opportunities for businesses in the North East.

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

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence (Lord Coaker), on 16 September 2025 to Question number HL10176 in the House of Lords.

The Norwegian Government’s announcement on 31 August 2025, that it had selected the UK as a strategic partner for their acquisition of Type 26 warships, will sustain around 4,000 jobs across the UK’s supply chain until well into the 2030s.

This is the largest ever UK warship export deal by value and it is expected to provide a £10 billion boost to the UK economy and support more than 400 British companies across all regions, including the north east of England. It is a huge vote of confidence in the UK’s defence industry and supply chains, which are supported by small and medium enterprises.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the decision of Norway to purchase five Type 26 frigates from BAE Systems on businesses in the North East.

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

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence (Lord Coaker), on 16 September 2025 to Question number HL10176 in the House of Lords.

The Norwegian Government’s announcement on 31 August 2025, that it had selected the UK as a strategic partner for their acquisition of Type 26 warships, will sustain around 4,000 jobs across the UK’s supply chain until well into the 2030s.

This is the largest ever UK warship export deal by value and it is expected to provide a £10 billion boost to the UK economy and support more than 400 British companies across all regions, including the north east of England. It is a huge vote of confidence in the UK’s defence industry and supply chains, which are supported by small and medium enterprises.