Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the Underwater Acoustic Foundation Model project.

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

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the AI Exploitation for the Digital Targeting Web project.

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

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the Autonomous Mission Execution project.

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

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the Advanced Reasoning for Decision Advantage project.

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

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the AI Enabled Cyber Defence project.

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

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Royal Navy project is working to harness AI through machine-speed, data-centric decision making to improve the decision action cycle.

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

Alongside the development of the Maritime Fighting Web, several Royal Navy initiatives are underway to harness AI to improve the decision action cycle. These include establishing a Royal Navy Targeting organisation to represent the maritime component of the Integrated Force; conducting exercises and training with NATO Allies, Partners, and other Services; and working with the Defence Artificial Intelligence Cell on emerging technologies. These efforts incorporate lessons from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and address current operational risks facing the Royal Navy.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on the policy reasons why his Department commenced negotiations with the Government of Mauritius on the sovereignty of a) Diego Garcia and b) the wider Chagos Archipelago in 2009.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In 2009/10 interactions between the UK and Mauritius focussed on the creation of the Marine Protected Area (MPA), which the UK declared in 2010 and which Mauritius objected to. It was not until 2022, under the previous government, that negotiations regarding sovereignty began.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a Sovereign Frontier Lab.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of building resilience and strategic advantage in frontier AI. While US companies currently provide most frontier model capabilities, our approach is to ensure the UK can access the best global models while safeguarding national interests.

We are expanding sovereign capability where it matters most by scaling onshore compute, supporting emerging national champions, and strengthening the UK talent pipeline. Our focus is on areas of the AI value chain where there is the greatest opportunity for the UK to advance its strategic position.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servant positions within the Ministry of Defence were gapped as at (a) 5 July 2024 and (b) 1 February 2026.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

In line with recommendations from the Strategic Defence Review the Ministry of Defence aims to reduce Civil Service costs by at least 10% by 2030. To achieve this, the Department is employing a range of workforce levers to facilitate a measured and sustainable approach to workforce reductions. As part of this process, all Civil Service vacancies are being reviewed. Until this work is complete, it is not possible to provide specific numbers of posts vacant or not being actively recruited at the dates requested.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants have left the Ministry of Defence via the targeted voluntary exit scheme since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Since 5 July 2024, the Ministry of Defence has instigated one targeted voluntary exit scheme; this was launched on 6 Jan 2026. This scheme is Department-wide but targeted at certain professional cohorts and forms part of our response to workforce planning objectives set out in the Strategic Defence Review. This scheme is ongoing and the number of exits will not be known until later in the year. Since 5 July 2024, there have been 39 voluntary exits which can be attributed to localised workforce change activities and not via a targeted scheme such as that currently in operation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what NATO intelligence functions are based at RAF Wyton.

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

No NATO intelligence functions are based at RAF Wyton.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when will he lift the civil service recruitment controls in his department.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

An initial month-long recruitment pause was introduced in October 2025 across the Department as one of a range of workforce levers to facilitate a measured and sustainable approach to workforce reductions. The pause has been extended and is currently being reviewed. Throughout the pause, business areas have had the flexibility to approve exemptions where there are exceptional pressures.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making thatching existing properties zero-rated for VAT.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Outside of a limited number of VAT reliefs aimed at stimulating the property market, the standard VAT rate of 20 per cent applies to most construction work. This includes thatching.

Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates. In some cases, reliefs do not represent good value for money, as there is no guarantee that savings will be passed on to consumers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to update the apprenticeship levy funding band.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Each apprenticeship standard is allocated to one of 30 funding bands, which range from £1,500 to £27,000. These represent the maximum value that government will contribute towards the training and assessment for each apprenticeship.

All apprenticeship standards are reviewed periodically for both content and funding. Employers can also request an exceptional review where they are able to evidence significant cost changes. Skills England continues to work closely with employers throughout the revision process to ensure current delivery costs are reflected, whilst also delivering value for money.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107819 on Military Intelligence, what was the (a) cost and (b) start date of the existing multi‑year contract with Google for Secret‑level cloud hosting and data services.

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

The Ministry of Defence awarded the £400 million Secret Community Cloud (SCC) contract to Google Cloud on 8 September 2025, and work began in early October.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the full scope of Project Upham.

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

Project UPHAM is the name given to pre-concept work undertaken with a view to the future procurement of digital sighting systems for small arms. Given its pre-concept status, the scope and specification of this project have not been defined.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, how many people have been prosecuted for flying a drone in a Restricted Fly Zone around (a) closed prisons and (b) young offender institutions since January 2024.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the full scope of Project Lily.

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

The full scope of Project Lily was to include the procurement of a single, contractor supported, commercial off-the-shelf uncrewed surface vessel and a remote operations centre for year-round, global, open ocean operations. The uncrewed surface vessel was for military data gathering and was to include a two-year period of Government owned, commercially operated support before transitioning to a Government owned, Government operated solution with commercial support.

This project was cancelled following a decision to consider alternative internal options to meet this requirement. Should any future procurement be required, details of the opportunity will be published in the usual way via the Defence Sourcing Portal.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many MOD sites used by Cadets have been closed under the Future Defence Infrastructure Services programme.

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

No Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites used by Cadets were closed under Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) programme.

FDIS is a programme within the MOD that focuses on the delivery of facilities management and infrastructure services across the Defence estate. The FDIS Accommodation Contracts came into service on 1 April 2022 and replaced the previous National Housing Prime and Regional Prime contracts.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which MOD sites are in scope to be sold under the Defence Estates Optimisation Plan.

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

A list of all Ministry of Defence sites that are planned to be disposed of as part of the Defence Estate Optimisation Plan can be found on the House of Commons Defence Disposal Database.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disposal-database-house-of-commons-report

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the full scope of Project Troubler.

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

Project TROUBLER is currently in the concept phase. As part of this phase, performance, interoperability and complexity are some of the characteristics under consideration. Due to the current phase of the project and commercial sensitivities I am unable to provide further detail at this stage.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the full scope of Project Goldweed.

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

Project Goldweed is currently in the delivery phase. Due to operational and commercial sensitivities I am unable to provide any further detail.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made plans for potential uses of the Isambard supercomputer.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This government is committed to harnessing the power of compute to enable innovations that will deliver growth and opportunity and for people across the UK.

The AI Research Resource (AIRR) is now live and is free to use for the UK’s scientists, public sector organisations, and start-ups and SMEs. It is made up of two supercomputers: Dawn at Cambridge, and Isambard-AI in Bristol – one of the world’s top 10 public supercomputers and the 4^th greenest in the world. As of last month, more than 350 projects are actively running on the Isambard-AI supercomputer.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Atlantic series deployments on deterring Russia’s Northern Fleet from deploying.

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

Through the First Sea Lords’ Warfighting Ready Plan, the Royal Navy is transforming to a Hybrid Navy, where crewed, uncrewed and autonomous capabilities are operating together to enhance our warfighting readiness. The Hybrid Navy is our response to maintaining comparative operational advantage over our adversaries.

Atlantic Bastion is our concept for assuring our nuclear deterrent, protecting our critical underwater infrastructure and denying sea control to our adversaries. Atlantic Shield will deal with adversarial threats, followed by Atlantic Strike, which will take the fight to the enemy by sea, air or land.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107813 on Army, what new capabilities )a) have and (b) are in the process of being fielded to the Army via Task Force Rapstone.

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

RAPSTONE is an Army initiative to accelerate the fielding of new capabilities into the British Army. These include:

- Tactical uncrewed airborne systems (UAS) – short and medium range tactical drones.

- Systems to detect, track and counter UAS at the tactical level.

- Medium range loitering munitions.

- Uncrewed ground vehicles for last-mile resupply of tactical units.

- Electronic warfare (EW) systems for specialist and generalist users.

- Dispersed digital sensor systems to enhance the intelligence capability of tactical units.

- Enhanced counter UAS protection for vehicles.

- Utility vehicles for tactical units (4x4 pick-ups and vans).

- Hybrid power supplies for tactical headquarters and deployed teams.

- Personal individual power packs.

- Digital tools for tactical logistic planning and enhanced deployed maintenance.

- Enhanced digital tools for fire control.

- Increased satellite communications capabilities for mobile tactical units.

- Develop dried blood plasma technology into a deployable medical capability.

I am unable to provide greater detail on the individual capabilities listed due to Operational sensitivities.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what requirements changes have the Army made to the Early Capability Demonstrator platform as part of the Mobile Fires Platform programme.

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

The Early Capability Demonstrator platform provides the common design baseline and technical specification for both the UK and Germany. The UK has not added any additional requirements changes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the potential benefit of establishing a joint Public order, firearms and tactics training centre in Cambridgeshire.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The use of police resources and the provision of training within police forces is a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, who are operationally independent of government.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which occupations have been (a) added and (b) removed from the shortage occupation list since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government's Immigration White Paper set out how we will phase out the Immigration Salary List (ISL, formerly the Shortage Occupation List), and introduce a new Temporary Shortage List (TSL) , where entries will be genuinely temporary and linked to workforce plans to tackle the root causes of workforce shortages.

As interim measures, we applied end dates to the ISL and added two occupations (“1232 Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors” and “6131 Nursing auxiliaries and assistants”) on 22 July 2025. We also introduced the interim TSL at this time.

The ISL can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/skilled-worker-visa-immigration-salary-list/skilled-worker-visa-immigration-salary-list

The interim TSL can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/skilled-worker-visa-temporary-shortage-list/skilled-worker-visa-temporary-shortage-list

The Migration Advisory Committee are currently reviewing the TSL and are due to report in July this year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 10 of the Police reform white paper From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), by what date will the independent review of police force structures report its findings.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Police Reform White Paper, published on 26 January 2026, set out an ambitious package of reform, including an ambition to significantly reduce the number of police forces across England and Wales by the end of next Parliament.

We will shortly launch an Independent Review of Police Force Structures, which will make recommendations on the optimum number and configuration of forces. It will be led by an independent Chair and will consider a wide range of evidence in making its recommendations by Summer.

We will announce the Chair and publish the full Terms of Reference for the Review shortly.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has she made in procuring a new firearm to replace the Heckler and Koch G36 for Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not procure or proscribe services to Police forces. It is a matter for each Force to assess and procure services proportionate to its needs to provide effective policing for their area as they are best placed to understand local needs and priorities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 9 of the Police reform white paper From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), what Artificial Intelligence powered a) tools and b) software to automate manual processes will she roll-out.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is determined to ramp up the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence across policing. We have already begun to support policing to adopt AI responsibly, with over £50 million invested to date in priority areas such as facial recognition technologies, AI enabled audio visual file redaction, and robotic process automation. These technologies are already helping to catch more criminals and make policing more efficient. We will continue progressing this work in the coming years.

We recently announced over £115 million over the next three years to support the rapid and responsible development, testing and rollout of AI tools across all 43 police forces in England and Wales.

This will be spearheaded by the creation of Police.AI, a new National Centre for AI in Policing. Whilst specific use cases and tools are still being investigated and developed, in its first year, Police.AI is expected to focus on some of the biggest administrative pressures facing policing. This includes developing and supporting tools to automate tasks such as disclosure, the analysis of CCTV footage, production of case files, crime recording and classification, and the translation and transcription of documents. These tools are expected to save around six million policing hours a year, while improving the speed and quality of service provided to victims and witnesses.

Police.AI will support forces to adopt AI tools and software by testing and assuring AI models, helping with scaling implementation, and providing public facing transparency through a registry of AI tools in use by policing.

This announcement reflects the Government’s commitment to supporting policing to use AI in an evidence based and transparent way to catch more criminals, speed up investigations and free up officers for frontline duties.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 9 of her Department's White Paper, entitled From Local to National: A New Model for Policing, published on 26 January 2026, CP1489, what steps she is planning to take to remove bureaucratic barriers linked to crime and incident recording standards.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to a proportionate approach to the recording of crime and incidents that ensures the police focus on the crimes that matter to local communities.

The College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council have been commissioned to undertake a comprehensive review of the recording of Non-Crime Hate Incidents (NCHIs).

This will examine and make recommendations about when such incidents should be recorded and how best to balance public safety with freedom of expression. The findings of this review will also inform consideration of standards, especially around the recording of online crime.

The Government has committed to update Parliament once the findings are published and will consider any changes required to the statutory Code of Practice on NCHIs introduced in 2023.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of operating in Ukraine and the High North simultaneously on (a) British Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force resources.

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

Defence continually reviews all current and planned commitments in line with established protocols to ensure they can be fully and appropriately resourced by the single Services. This process includes ongoing dynamic assessment and the allocation of resources as new requirements emerge.

Defence’s planned commitments in relation to Ukraine and the High North have been properly resourced, deconflicted, and present no identified concurrency risks across the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force. Any additional requirements arising from future commitments will be assessed through established processes and resourced accordingly to ensure Defence maintains the highest standards of operational output.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the remit of the Wildcat Maritime Force Operational Advantage Group.

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

The Wildcat Maritime Force Operational Advantage Group was set up in 2023 to maximise the lethality of the Royal Navy’s Wildcat Maritime Attack Helicopter. Using rapid development principles, it focuses on development of capability, tactics, and procedures to enhance warfighting capability.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 9 of her Department's White Paper, entitled From Local to National: A New Model for Policing, published on 26 January 2026, CP1489, what is her planned timetable to take legislative steps to modernise the Public Order Act 1986.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October 2025.

The review will address whether the existing legislation, including the Public Order Act 1986, is effective and proportionate, whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate and whether it strikes a fair and sustainable balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.

To lead this vital work, the Home Secretary has appointed Lord Ken Macdonald of River Glaven KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions and one of the UK’s most respected legal authorities. His independence and expertise will ensure a rigorous and impartial review.

The review is underway and will report its findings to the Home Secretary by spring 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 9 of her Department's White Paper entitled From Local to National: A New Model for Policing, published on 26 January 2026, CP1489, if she will publish a list of the legislation she intends to modernise.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October 2025.

The review will address whether the existing legislation, including the Public Order Act 1986, is effective and proportionate, whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate and whether it strikes a fair and sustainable balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.

To lead this vital work, the Home Secretary has appointed Lord Ken Macdonald of River Glaven KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions and one of the UK’s most respected legal authorities. His independence and expertise will ensure a rigorous and impartial review.

The review is underway and will report its findings to the Home Secretary by spring 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the need to introduce a legal requirement to consider access to hospital helipads in any planning application in the vicinity of a hospital.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.

The proposed new Framework gives substantial weight to the benefits of providing new or improved public service infrastructure, including healthcare facilities of all types.

The consultation also sets out updated policy to make clear that public services should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on their current or permitted operation as a result of development being approved after they were established. This means that development proposals should be capable of being integrated effectively with existing public service activities and infrastructure in their vicinity.

The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the remit of the fleet experimental squadron.

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

Information on the remit of fleet experimental squadron can be found here: https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2025/april/29/20250430-creation-of-dcto.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to update the Air Navigation Order 2016 to support the use of beyond-line-of-sight drones by police forces.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The are currently no plans to update the Air Navigation Order 2016 in relation to police drone operations because non-military state drone operations such as those undertaken by police forces and performed in the public interest are already exempt from the Basic Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/1139). They still must adhere to some key provisions of the ANO to maintain aviation safety for other air users and the public.

The Future of Flight programme prioritises the early adoption of drones for the delivery of public services such as the police, health, and fire and rescue.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the number of domestic thatch growers on the future of the industry.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

There are approximately 25,000 listed thatched buildings in England, many more are unlisted. These buildings are a quintessential part of some of our best loved rural landscapes.

Historic England, the government’s statutory advisor on heritage, carried out research into the thatching industry and domestic supply of material for thatching historic buildings. A 2024 report estimates that 80% of cereal straw grown for thatching in England is produced by around 25 English growers. In Historic England’s view, it is not necessarily the number of domestic growers that impacts the future of the industry, but their wider challenges such as mechanisation, climate and the wider supply chain.

In response to their research, Historic England updated their guidance on the conservation of traditional thatch in 2025 enabling a change of thatch materials in times of shortage and in cases in urgent need of repair. This update aims to provide confidence to decision makers to grant listed building consent whilst helping to maintain support for the straw-growing sector. To disseminate its latest guidance, Historic England is holding a free workshop for thatching-straw growers in April 2026 with further research into mechanisation solutions for growers planned later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2026 to answer 107227 on Challenger Tanks: Exports, what progress he has made in exploring export opportunities for Challenger 3 and its capabilities.

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

The Department continues to explore opportunities for the export of Challenger 3 capabilities with significant progress made to date. Providing further detail at this time would compromise commercial sensitivities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pre-existing foodbanks have been brought into official statistics each year since 2010.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold data on the number of pre-existing foodbanks that have been brought into official statistics.

Statistics on food bank use are published annually in the Households Below Average Income statistics report and are only available from 2021/22 onwards. The most recent publication is available here: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the UK’s contribution to the NATO special operations force.

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

Following the recent successful validation by NATO during Exercise Hyperion Storm, the UK is set to command NATO’s Allied Reaction Force 26 Special Operations Component Command from July 2026 to June 2027. This will involve units from the Army’s Ranger Regiment, UK Commando Force, and the Royal Air Force, forming the Joint Special Operations Headquarters for NATO, as well as the land, maritime and air Special Operations Tasks Groups under its command.

Detailed planning is classified, as is the UK’s contribution to broader NATO SOF structures and activity.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to start the Ajax’s Capability Drop 4 standard Reliability Growth Trials.

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

It would not be appropriate to release a complete list of criteria as it could, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces. Additionally, I will await the findings of the current investigations before making a further decision the future of Ajax.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what additional capabilities will be included in Ajax Capability Drop 4 over Drop 3.

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

It would not be appropriate to release a complete list of criteria as it could, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces. Additionally, I will await the findings of the current investigations before making a further decision the future of Ajax.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the Ajax Programme is within the scope of the Defence Growth Deal for Wales announced in September 2025.

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

No, the AJAX Programme is outside the scope of the Defence Growth Deal for Wales.

The aim of the Defence Growth Deal is to drive growth in Wales through connection, resilience, and collaboration. Centred around Autonomy, evolving a skilled workforce, enhancing sovereign capability, connecting companies to the defence sector across the rest of the UK and the world.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason has he cancelled the contract with NP Aerospace to provide x-ray scanners for Army bomb disposal units.

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

The contract was terminated following careful consideration and agreement from key internal stakeholders as the best value for money way forward for the Army. The termination does not create a capability gap as an interim solution is already in place.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 12 of the Police reform white paper entitled From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” (CP1489), what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals for vetting standards to allow police forces to retrospectively suspend police officers under investigation for (a) domestic abuse and (b) sexual offences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The recently published police reform White Paper sets out the Government’s plans to further strengthen the police vetting and misconduct systems

These reforms will, for the first time, place police vetting standards into legislation. These new regulations will include robust measures which will enable forces to exclude individuals from policing who have a caution or conviction for relevant violence against women and girls offences, and will be subject to consultation with the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales (PABEW)

Police forces have existing powers to suspend police officers who are subject to an allegation, but must first consider temporary redeployment to alternative duties or location. We will therefore strengthen these arrangements, placing greater requirements on police forces to suspend officers who are under investigation for crimes such as domestic abuse or sexual offences.

Subject to the statutory consultation process, we intend to make these changes this summer.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of adopting the .338 calibre for Project Cairns.

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

Project CAIRNS is currently a pre-concept project and as such formal consideration of systems and specifications, including calibre, has not yet taken place.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by when will all current Ajax-family vehicles be brought up to Drop 3 standard.

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

All current Ajax-family vehicles will be at CD3 standard by October 2028.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 12 of the Police reform white paper entitled From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), what assessment she has made of the potential merits of decoupling the police allocation formula from overall police officer numbers for each force.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. An effective, well-supported police service is central to achieving this. That is why forces should have the right resources to tackle crime and keep communities safe.

As announced in the police funding settlement and Police Reform White Paper, we are abolishing arbitrary officer headcounts from 2026-27, and are instead prioritising the introduction of a neighbourhood policing grant. This will ensure that forces are putting uniformed officers out into the community, where people want to see them, fighting crime on our streets.

For 2026-27, the police funding settlement announced that a total of up to £363 million will be available to forces through the neighbourhood policing grant, to support the delivery of an additional 1,750 neighbourhood policing personnel by 31 March 2027.

The Police Reform White Paper also set out our plans for a new Police Workforce Strategy, which will provide the structure and direction needed to modernise the policing workforce at a national level and build a profession fit for the future, while ensuring forces retain the flexibility to meet the specific needs of their local communities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions her Department held with the Mauritian Government on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in (a) January 2009 and (b) July 2009.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The then government explained to Parliament in 2009 that the purpose of the meetings in 2009 was to establish a dialogue between the UK and Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory. Officials set out their respective views on the issue of sovereignty at that time. There were discussions on other issues, including fishing rights, environmental concerns, and future visits to the territory by members of the Chagossian community.

It was not until 2022, under the immediately preceding government, that negotiations regarding sovereignty began. That government then undertook 11 rounds of negotiations on sovereignty and related matters, with the last public update on progress being issued on 29 April 2024.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of growing water reed for the purposes of thatching materials within the Great Fen project.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra, Natural England, and Environment Agency are working closely with our Great Fen partners to look at the benefits of paludiculture (wetter farming) and trialling a range of diversification options. This is vital to enable thriving and sustainable rural businesses, protection of our precious lowland peat resources, and enhance biodiversity. The Great Fen provides opportunity to act to test these principles, and will be looking at the benefits of growing reed and a host of other crop types for food and fibre.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the scope of the Royal Navy’s Eagles Eye trials in relation to the development of a naval aviation hybrid air wing.

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

The Eagles Eye Trial is an iterative programme designed to develop the Royal Navy concept of hybrid air wings delivered under the Maritime Aviation Transformation programme.

The Trial focuses on the development of crewed and uncrewed collaboration through the live control of Uncrewed Aerial Systems from a Wildcat Maritime Attack Helicopter.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 22 of the Police reform white paper, From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), by when will she design new standards so that neighbourhood officers are not routinely abstracted to other areas.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Visible and responsive local policing is essential to restoring public confidence. The Government is committed to rebuilding neighbourhood policing and restoring the vital link between police forces and the communities they serve.

As part of our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are working with forces to develop national abstraction standards for delivery by the end of this Parliament. These will protect the additional 13,000 neighbourhood officers from being routinely abstracted so they can focus on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhoods.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 22 of the Police reform white paper, From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), how can local residents find out who their named, contactable officer is.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee is ensuring a more consistent standard of neighbourhood policing across England and Wales. Every neighbourhood has named, and contactable officers dedicated to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour locally, with forces increasing patrols in town centres and other hotspots based on local demand and intelligence.

Details of all named, contactable officers can be found on force websites, where the public are able to type in their postcode to find out about their neighbourhood policing team and area, local policing priorities and how to contact their neighbourhood teams.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 22 of the Police reform white paper, From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), by when will every neighbourhood police officer and Police Community Support Officer have completed enhanced additional training.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee (NPG) commitments were met in July 2025, including the start of the national roll out of the College of Policing’s Neighbourhood Policing Programme – Career Pathway (NPP), providing specialist training to police officers and PCSOs.

The NPG confirms by the end of this Parliament, every neighbourhood police officer and PCSO will complete enhanced additional training under the NPP, covering themes such as community engagement, problem solving and tackling ASB.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 13 of the Police reform white paper “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” (CP1489), what will be the location of the new National Centre for AI in Policing.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is determined to ramp up the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence across policing. We recently announced over £115 million over the next three years to support the rapid and responsible development, testing and rollout of AI tools across all 43 police forces in England and Wales.

This will be spearheaded by the creation of Police.AI, a new National Centre for AI in Policing. The Home Office is now working closely with the NPCC AI portfolio to establish Police.AI. This includes securing a host organisation and establishing and agreeing an estates strategy. Police.AI will transition into the National Police Service when it is appropriate to do so.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 13 of the Police reform white paper “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” (CP1489), by when will she publish her new Fraud Strategy.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s Manifesto set a clear commitment to deliver a new Fraud Strategy. This commitment will be delivered in early 2026.

The Strategy has been developed in close collaboration with stakeholders from industry, law enforcement and non profit organisations. It will set out how we will disrupt fraud, safeguard individuals and businesses and respond to fraud with support and justice for victims.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 16 of the Police reform white paper, From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), by when will the Police Efficiency and Collaboration Programme be fully operational.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Police Efficiency and Collaboration Programme (PECP) was announced in November 2024 as part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to set a up a programme to drive down costs in policing.

The programme is operational and already making savings. Some examples of the work already underway includes signing 39 forces up to a new commercial energy strategy and piloting central purchasing within policing. These savings will be fully validated and assured after the conclusion of the financial year.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information does her Department hold on the number of occasions that Ministers from her Department met with representatives from MBR Acres since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department has held three Ministerial meetings with MBR since 5 July 2024. All meetings were attended by Minister Vallance. The first took place on 18 July 2025 as part of a wider meeting with Contract Research Organisations (CROs). Further meetings were held on 17 September 2025 and also on 2 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the potential negative impact of removing parachute infantry deployment as a capability.

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

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) considered all aspects of Defence, including military parachuting capabilities. The SDR recommended that airborne parachute capability and capacity should remain focused on specialists and a single battalion group. The Government accepted the recommendations of the SDR in full and will publish the Defence Investment Plan as soon as possible to set out the plan for its implementation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2026, to question 108369 on Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement, on what date was the project cancelled.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 108369 on 3 February 2026 which remains extant. The stop notice of December 2023 denotes the point that the project was cancelled.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the full scope of Project Goshawk.

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

Project GOSHAWK is a Taskforce Kindred project to rapidly develop and trial a low-cost air defence interceptor for Ukraine, to reliably defeat aerial drones, loitering munitions, and missiles at varying speeds, altitudes, and trajectories.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his proposed timetable is for producing the first Ajax-family vehicles at Capability Drop 4 standard.

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

Capability drop 4 standard vehicles will only be delivered once any changes from reliability trials have been agreed. As these trials have not yet concluded, it is not appropriate to state what this timetable is. However, based on the current findings, all 589 vehicles will be delivered to Capability Drop 4 standard by September 2029 as contracted.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 16 of the Police reform white paper “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” (CP1489), by when will she establish a new Performance Unit in the Home Office.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

A new Police Performance Unit was established in May 2025 with a temporary head appointed on a part time basis. The permanent head, a retired Deputy Chief Constable, has occupied the post since January 2026.

This Unit will assess police force’s performance to identify areas of high and poor performance, driving sustained and sustainable improvements where necessary, to ensure the public is effectively protected.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what aircraft do the RAF operate that are capable of deploying airborne parachute infantry at a) company, b) battalion and c) all arms battlegroup scale.

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

All twenty-two Atlas C1 aircrafts can be fitted with the Static Line delivery system for deploying parachute infantry at scale in a low-level static line configuration. They can also employ specialist military freefall parachuting and air dispatch of associated equipment.