Lord West of Spithead

The Government Property Agency does not hold the Royal Naval Division War Memorial within its property portfolio. It is located outside the Agency’s freehold title.

All Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs) operating in the former Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA) require approval under the Open General Trade Control Licence for Maritime Anti-Piracy (OGTCL MA-P). Once granted by the Export Control Joint Unit, this approval is open-ended for as long as the PMSC remains active in the maritime anti-piracy sector and abides by the terms of the OGTCL MA-P licence.

ECJU would inform His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, which is responsible for the enforcement of the UK export licensing regime, if they became aware of any breaches of licence conditions.

The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is responsible for licensing Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs) which provide armed security guards to protect vessels transiting the Indian Ocean High Risk Area from the threat of piracy. It also licences the vessel-based armouries which PMSCs use to store their weapons.

The licensing process for PMSCs and vessel-based armouries does not require information about where firearms originated, and therefore ECJU has no record of this information.

ECJU does not proactively monitor or record the number of vessels within the Indian Ocean.

This Government is committed to nuclear power. As set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, nuclear will play an important role in delivering clean power by 2030 and beyond, providing clean, stable and reliable power. No decision has yet been taken on whether to pursue a future large-scale project beyond Sizewell C.

As confirmed at the Autum Budget, both the equity and debt raise processes are in their final stages. A final decision on whether to proceed with the project will be made at the Spending Review.

Great British Nuclear is driving forward its small modular reactor competition for UK deployment. Following a period of detailed negotiation, bidders have submitted final tenders, which Great British Nuclear is evaluating. Final decisions will be taken shortly.

Following the Starship 7 failure in January, the Government supported the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands. This support included the development of plans to restore the state of the Turks and Caicos Islands coastal and marine environment to a condition pre-flight 7.

The Government has not conducted a formal environmental impact assessment. Environmental policy is a devolved matter for UK Overseas Territory governments.

The Government continues to support the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands on the local response to the Starship 7 incident.

Whilst a direct assessment has not been made, evidence indicates that badgers are not considered to be a major reason for the decline in hedgehog numbers.

The main activities linked to the decline in hedgehogs are habitat loss, the use of pesticides and road traffic accidents.

The Government currently has no plans to add hedgehogs to Schedule 5 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. While we are concerned about the conservation of hedgehogs, there is no clear evidence to indicate recovery will be supported by protection under the Act as it does not regulate the main activities linked to its decline, namely habitat loss, the use of pesticides and road traffic accidents.

Our Environmental Land Management Schemes provide funding for habitat creation and management for threatened species, including the maintenance and creation of hedgerows, an important habitat for hedgehogs. Additionally, Biodiversity Net Gain and Local Nature Recovery Strategies will drive the creation and restoration of habitats that will benefit a range of species, including hedgehogs.

The UK Government monitors all vessels in UK waters which are of interest to the safety of mariners, the marine environment and the UK’s national security, and has observed suspected Russian shadow fleet vessels transiting through the UK’s territorial sea.

Since October 2024, the Department for Transport’s Voluntary Insurance Reporting Mechanism has challenged over 600 suspected shadow fleet vessels with unknown insurance, a significant portion of the shadow fleet, to provide their insurance as they transit the English Channel.

My Department’s priority is to ensure that UK seafarers and operators have the latest and most secure documents to facilitate their operations and movement. The maritime passport is an interesting concept that we will consider further as we move forward with updating all our documentation requirements.

Funding arrangements for 2026/27 will be confirmed in due course. The Government wants a society where every child receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the important contribution that children and young people’s hospices make in their care and support for babies, children, and young people with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions, as well as to their families.

NHS England has provided £26 million in revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26, through what was, until recently, known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant.

Additionally, we are also supporting both the child and adult hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for 2024/25 and 2025/26, to ensure that eligible hospices throughout England have the best physical environment for care.

In February, the Minister of State for Care met with key palliative care and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, in a roundtable format, with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of the 10-Year Health Plan.

The UK has now sanctioned 545 ships under its Russia sanctions regulations. Russian oil cargoes carried on ships specified by the UK in the first half of 2025 dropped off by an estimated 28 per cent and were worth approximately $4.5 billion less, comparing prior cargoes to the three months post-specification. Establishing a shadow fleet, including replacing capacity lost to UK and partner sanctions has cost Russia at least $14 billion. Russia's oil export revenues are now at their lowest since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. At the start of last month (December 2025), nearly 180 million barrels of Russian oil were sitting in tankers undelivered - up 28 per cent since August 2025.

The UK has now sanctioned 545 ships under its Russia sanctions regulations. Russian oil cargoes carried on ships specified by the UK in the first half of 2025 dropped off by an estimated 28 per cent and were worth approximately $4.5 billion less, comparing prior cargoes to the three months post-specification. Establishing a shadow fleet, including replacing capacity lost to UK and partner sanctions has cost Russia at least $14 billion. Russia's oil export revenues are now at their lowest since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. At the start of last month (December 2025), nearly 180 million barrels of Russian oil were sitting in tankers undelivered - up 28 per cent since August 2025.

The UK has now sanctioned 545 ships under its Russia sanctions regulations. Russian oil cargoes carried on ships specified by the UK in the first half of 2025 dropped off by an estimated 28 per cent and were worth approximately $4.5 billion less, comparing prior cargoes to the three months post-specification. Establishing a shadow fleet, including replacing capacity lost to UK and partner sanctions has cost Russia at least $14 billion. Russia's oil export revenues are now at their lowest since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. At the start of last month (December 2025), nearly 180 million barrels of Russian oil were sitting in tankers undelivered - up 28 per cent since August 2025.

The UK is not part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, but closely monitors international events. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's summit resulted in numerous outcomes for participating States. This included the Tianjin Declaration, which does not contain any mention of Russia's war against Ukraine.

We will never shy away from challenging China's political and military backing for Russia. We urge the Chinese government to impress on Putin the need to end the war immediately by withdrawing Russian forces from Ukraine and ceasing his illegal attacks.

More broadly, our approach to China is clear. We will cooperate where we can and we will challenge where we must - never compromising on our national security, and recognising the complexity of the world as it is.

The Treaty explicitly grants all rights and authorities that the United Kingdom requires for the long-term, secure and effective operation of the Base. Mauritius as a sovereign nation has agreements with many countries on a range of issues which have no bearing on the Treaty. We will retain full control over Diego Garcia with robust provisions to keep adversaries out. These include unrestricted access to and use of the base for the UK and US; a buffer zone around Diego Garcia; a comprehensive mechanism to ensure no activity in the other islands threatens base operations; and a ban on the presence of any foreign security forces.

Statistics about the use of animals in live experiments, including beagles and non-human primates, in 2025 will be published later this year.

The Home Office publishes annual statistics on the use of animals in science which contain information on the number of procedures conducted, including breakdowns by species of animals and beagles specifically. This data is reported to the Home Office as an annual total and so monthly or quarterly breakdowns are not available. Animals may be used more than once in certain circumstances. The statistics report both the total number of procedures conducted and the number of animals used for the first time in a given year.

The Home Office also publishes non-technical summaries for every project licence granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The non-technical summaries include the species and number of animals expected to be used over the lifetime of the project licence.

The use of animals in scientific procedures is only authorised by the Home Office Regulator where the expected benefits to human and animal health, and the environment, are assessed as justifying the harms. The Regulator assures that the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement are fully implemented for all programmes of work involving animals. This means that non-animal methods must be used wherever practicably possible, the number of animals used must be minimised, and the most refined techniques must be employed to minimise harm.

The 117 personnel deployed to the United States of America as part of the Royal Air Force Aerobatics Team were transported through a mix of military support aircraft, primarily A400M, and civilian aircraft. No other aircraft were deployed for the duration of the tour.

The Royal Navy will continue to deploy warships globally in support of the United Kingdom’s defence, security and international engagement objectives. Royal Navy vessels routinely exercise their navigational rights in accordance with international law, including the right of innocent passage where applicable, and undertake port visits and defence engagement activities with allies and partners around the world.

Recent examples of Royal Navy global deployments include HMS Medway operating in the South Atlantic, HMS Trent conducting security and defence engagement activity in the United States and the Caribbean, HMS Spey and HMS Tamar maintaining the United Kingdom's persistent Indo-Pacific presence, and the UK Carrier Strike Group led by HMS Prince of Wales undertaking operations with NATO Allies in the North Atlantic and High North. These activities demonstrate the routine global nature of Royal Navy deployments in support of defence, security and international engagement objectives.

The Ministry of Defence is aware of increases in global tungsten prices and continues to monitor developments in critical mineral markets. Tungsten is used in a range of defence and industrial applications, including specialist components, advanced materials and manufacturing tooling. The Ministry of Defence is working with the Department for Business and Trade along with other departments to improve understanding of demand for critical minerals, including tungsten and assess the implications of international market developments.

Eleven Hawk T Mk 1 aircraft and 117 personnel have been deployed to the United States of America as part of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team (the Red Arrows).

The cost of the tour is currently estimated at £1.6 million. This cost will be met primarily from the Red Arrows' existing flying hours allocation for the Financial Year 2026-27. A proportion of these costs would have been incurred irrespective of the US tour, as the Red Arrows would have continued to meet their display commitments in the UK.

The United States Government has not contributed funding towards the tour.