Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to make changes to the UK-Morocco security partnership in the context of recent events in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK’s security partnership with Morocco is focused on addressing shared defence and security interests through a programme of bilateral activities, which is developed and agreed on an annual basis. Recent events in the Middle East and North Africa have not altered this approach.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will publish a strategy for increasing UK-Morocco trade.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Announced at the 2025 Strategic Dialogue in June, the UK and Morocco entered into an Enhanced Strategic Partnership, reaffirming a commitment to expand economic ties and deepen collaboration in priority areas, including infrastructure, public procurement, agriculture and unlocking investment opportunities in both the UK and Morocco. The third UK‑Morocco Association Council met in London on 12 November 2025, where both countries agreed to build on the Strategic Dialogue and focus on delivering progress against shared priority areas to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his target is for the value of UK-Morocco bilateral trade in each year to 2030.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We do not set country specific annual targets for bilateral trade, but bilateral trade between the UK and Morocco has been rising and reached £4.8 billion in the 12 months to September 2025, an increase of £0.9 billion in current prices on the previous 12 months. In June 2025, during the Strategic Dialogue, the UK and Morocco entered into an Enhanced Strategic Partnership, where we announced a series of arrangements to deepen collaboration, build business ties and drive further trade growth. The UK and Morocco have an agreed focus on shared priorities areas with a goal of increasing UK-Morocco bilateral trade, including on priority infrastructure projects ahead of Morocco’s co-hosting of the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when will the British Army be provided with body armour designed to fit women.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence remains firmly committed to ensuring that our Service personnel are equipped with appropriate and sufficient protective equipment. As part of this commitment, we are delivering an update to body armour for UK personnel through the Tactical Ballistic Plates (TBP) project.
Anthropometric data was used in the design of TBP. Plates will be available in four sizes, to better fit a broader range of personnel, including women.
A comprehensive range of options will be assessed ahead of the TBP contract award, which is currently scheduled for December 2026. This evaluation will ensure that the new armour achieves the optimal balance between fit and the protection required for all our personnel. In-service dates will be confirmed once the contract has been awarded and the delivery schedule is finalised.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will calculate defence sales by UK companies to the Irish Republic in each year for which records are available.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Data on UK defence exports is published annually by UK Defence and Security Exports (UK DSE), now National Armaments Directorate (NAD). They present export figures only at regional level, with no disaggregated data available for Ireland specifically.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many injuries have been sustained by servicewomen from body armour in the past 10 years.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Medical records do not attribute injuries to specific items of equipment, and therefore the Ministry of Defence is unable to provide the information requested.
The Ministry of Defence remains firmly committed to ensuring that our service personnel are equipped with appropriate and sufficient protective equipment.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department will seek to recoup costs from the Irish government for UK security assets during Ireland's presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK and Ireland work closely together on shared security challenges, but the UK does not provide defence cover for Ireland, nor does it deploy security assets to protect Irish subsea infrastructure. The Ministry of Defence has not received any requests from Ireland for security support during their presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Matters relating to Ireland's defence posture and expenditure rest with the Irish authorities, and any enquiries on those issues should be directed to them.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what fees have been remitted to the UK from the Irish government for the use of UK (a) military (b) naval (c) security assets to safeguard Irish interests in each year for which records exist.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK and Ireland work closely together on shared security challenges, but the UK does not provide defence cover for Ireland, nor does it deploy security assets to protect Irish subsea infrastructure. The Ministry of Defence has not received any requests from Ireland for security support during their presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Matters relating to Ireland's defence posture and expenditure rest with the Irish authorities, and any enquiries on those issues should be directed to them.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether arrangements exist for refunding the cost of UK security assets used to protect Irish subsea infrastructure from Russian attack.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK and Ireland work closely together on shared security challenges, but the UK does not provide defence cover for Ireland, nor does it deploy security assets to protect Irish subsea infrastructure. The Ministry of Defence has not received any requests from Ireland for security support during their presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Matters relating to Ireland's defence posture and expenditure rest with the Irish authorities, and any enquiries on those issues should be directed to them.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the Irish Defence Forces have undertaken training in the UK in each year for which records are available and what arrangements exist for cost recovery.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Since 2017, a total of 158 members of the Irish Defence Forces have undertaken training on UK Ministry of Dfence-run courses. All costs have been fully funded by Ireland, including course fees and associated expenses.