Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether BAE Systems will run two building streams of Type 26 frigates to ensure that Royal Navy and Norwegian Navy delivery dates are met.

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

The recent announcement by the Norwegian Government to select the UK as a strategic partner for the acquisition of Type (T26) warships is expected to provide a £10 billion boost to the UK economy and support more than 400 British companies.

Both the Royal Navy and Norwegian Navy T26 frigates will be built simultaneously by BAE Systems on the Clyde, benefitting from investments already made, such as the Janet Harvey Shipbuilding Hall in Govan. The new Shipbuilding Hall will improve schedule performance and the pace of delivery, reducing the time between future ship deliveries for both the UK and Norway.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the countries that have signed up to the Type 26 frigate programme.

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

The Type 26 frigate programme is a UK programme. The recent announcement that Norway has selected the UK as their preferred strategic partner for Frigate procurement signals their intention to order Type 26 ships.

The Type 26 is already the reference design for the Australian Hunter Class Frigate Programme and the Canadian River Class Destroyer Programme.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tianjin.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

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.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to bring forward the in-service date of the first multi-role strike ship; and what steps they will take to increase the build rate of the five remaining multi-role strike ships.

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

The Multi-Role Strike Ship (MRSS) programme is progressing through the Concept Phase and remains on target for the first of class to be delivered in the early 2030s.

The Royal Navy and Defence Equipment and Support are conducting detailed work on key user requirements, conceptual designs, affordability, and exportability assessments. Alongside other shipbuilding programmes, they are maintaining engagement with all leading UK shipbuilding entities and the National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) on the best commercial approach to deliver for the Navy and the Nation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have sufficient Poseidon aircraft to meet anti-submarine needs and to fly missions along the borders of Belarus and Ukraine.

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

The RAF P-8 Poseidon fleet procurement is complete, and all purchased aircraft are in service. Poseidon is therefore resourced to deliver against Defence tasking as directed and aircraft are tasked according to Defence priorities. For reasons of operational security, specific details about operational areas and missions are not publicly disclosed.

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 His Majesty's Government when the refit of HMS Victorious will be completed and when will it re-join the nuclear submarine fleet.

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

I am withholding details of when HMS VICTORIOUS will complete her refit and re-join the Fleet as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to facilitate the return of the anchor of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales to the United Kingdom to be placed in the National Memorial Arboretum.

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

The Ministry of Defence are currently exploring various options regarding the anchor from HMS Prince of Wales, but no final decisions have yet been made. The Malaysian authorities continue to have primacy over the investigation into the illegal salvage of the ship.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, of making a dry dock in Gibraltar available for use by Royal Navy nuclear submarines.

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

Analysis of docking capacity for the maintenance of Submarines and Warships is the subject of ongoing analysis as part of the Royal Navy’s planning process - the Naval Support Integrated Global Network (NSIGN) Programme is an integral part of this.

There are no current plans to mandate the use of Gibraltar for Submarine Dry Docking.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to identify and honour the remains of Royal Naval sailors lost with the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse.

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

Investigations into the illegal salvage are still ongoing. The Ministry of Defence is unable to provide a response regarding the presence of human remains until these investigations have concluded.

Should any remains of British Service personnel be identified, the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) will ensure that they are afforded a dignified military funeral and final resting place.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many men and women entered the submarine service in each of the past 10 years and how many departed in each of those years.

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

I cannot provide specific detail for the numbers of men and women who entered the submarine service as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.