Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the condition of roads in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local road network. Data on the condition of local roads is published annually and is available on gov.uk.
Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes Council are the local highway authorities for their respective areas and are therefore responsible for the condition and maintenance of their local road networks.
At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced an extra £500 million for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year. Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes Council will receive around £20.7 million and £10.7 million respectively from this Department during 2025/26 to help them carry out their local highway maintenance responsibilities. In each case this represents an uplift of over 35% compared to the current financial year. These totals are subject to both councils meeting new reporting requirements that the Government has introduced. Councils that comply with these new requirements will receive their full funding uplifts, helping to deliver the manifesto commitment to fill a million extra potholes a year as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding UK-based (a) maintenance and (b) upgrading facilities for defence assets.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
No recent assessments have been conducted on expanding UK based maintenance for Ministry of Defence (MOD) built assets.
The MOD is investing in upgraded facilities to improve living, working and training environments in UK sites.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of foreign direct investment screening mechanisms on UK economic sovereignty.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK balances an open investment environment to facilitate growth while protecting the areas of our economy that are the most sensitive to national security. The National Security and Investment Act supports our economic sovereignty by giving us power to intervene where we need to, while allowing the vast majority of inward investment to proceed.
The NSI Act was inspired by, and brought the UK’s approach to investment screening in line with, many other countries, including our close allies. The Act is a product of close international cooperation to ensure the UK’s investment screening regime draws on global best practice.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to promote exports from (a) defence and (b) aerospace manufacturers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DBT works with defence and aerospace companies to open markets, tackle trade disputes, provide SME support, and connect business to export opportunities.
Through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and Aerospace Technology Institute programme we support industry to increase supply chain productivity, competitiveness, innovation and exports. In defence, we work with industry to develop campaigns which pursue a ten-year pipeline of global opportunities. In 2023 the UK won £14.5bn defence orders; and in 2024 exported £23bn of domestically produced aerospace goods.
The Industrial Strategy will set out our further support for these sectors.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of domestic industrial capacity to support defence supply chains.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is bringing forward a Defence Industrial Strategy that will ensure a strong Defence sector and resilient supply chains across the whole of the UK.
The Statement of Intent for the Defence Industrial Strategy, published in December 2024, set out a commitment to prioritising UK businesses for investment and boosting sovereign capacity. Through the Defence Industrial Strategy and the Strategic Defence Review, the Ministry of Defence is currently undertaking a review and reconfirmation of sovereign capabilities required onshore.
The Department is also actively improving the capabilities of the UK’s Defence sector through initiatives such as the Defence Supplier Capability Development Programme and the new support hub for small and medium enterprises that the Prime Minister announced on 3 March 2025.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of foreign investment on the UK defence industrial base.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK’s defence industry plays a vital role not only in our national security but also to the economic prosperity and growth of the UK. We want to boost investment in our defence industry, including from overseas, and the Defence Industrial Strategy will align our security and economic priorities to boost the prosperity of our people across the country, provide resilience for the UK, and ensure the credibility of our deterrence.
The investment in defence announced by the Prime Minister on 25 February 2025 will protect UK citizens from threats and create a secure and stable environment in which businesses of all sizes can thrive. Alongside this, the Defence Industrial Strategy will consider how best to create the conditions needed for the private sector to invest more. We will maximise opportunities of dual-use technology and sectors to bring in investment that supports the broader industrial strategy as well as benefiting Defence.
Equally this Government recognises that foreign investment can bring threats and risks as well as opportunity. The National Security and Investment Act is part of a robust system for scrutinising and where necessary intervening to protect national security, while providing businesses and investors with the certainty and transparency they need to do business in the UK.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of skilled workers for the defence manufacturing sector.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government recognises the critical importance of supporting the defence sector in order to benefit from the skilled workforce needed to sustain a vibrant, innovative and competitive defence industrial base.
Defence supports Defence Industry apprenticeships and graduate opportunities, including national apprenticeship awards, National Apprenticeship Week, the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, and university careers fairs.
There is also ongoing engagement between defence and industry to address sector-wide issues, including recruitment and retention challenges. A dedicated joint MOD-industry working group is collaborating to identify and address skills gaps, including around UK defence sector STEM challenges.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) apprenticeships and (b) skills development in the defence manufacturing sector.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government recognises the critical importance of supporting the defence sector in order to benefit from the skilled workforce needed to sustain a vibrant, innovative and competitive defence industrial base.
Defence supports Defence Industry apprenticeships and graduate opportunities, including national apprenticeship awards, National Apprenticeship Week, the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, and university careers fairs.
There is also ongoing engagement between defence and industry to address sector-wide issues, including recruitment and retention challenges. A dedicated joint MOD-industry working group is collaborating to identify and address skills gaps, including around UK defence sector STEM challenges.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support the growth of UK-base defence (a) start-ups and (b) small businesses.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), including start-ups, make a vital contribution to economic growth and are a valuable source of technical innovation in defence. This is recognised in the Defence Industrial Strategy Statement of Intent, as well as the Department’s Social Value policies. We work with our largest suppliers through a network of their SME Champions, trade associations and SME representatives to ensure that SMEs have fair access to opportunities in our supply chain and that our prime contractors are adopting policies, such as fair payment practices, that support small businesses working in defence.
We have announced the launch of a new hub to provide SMEs with better access to the defence supply chain and have committed to set direct SME spending targets for the Ministry of Defence by June this year, ensuring that thousands of small businesses in the UK will benefit from the decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. This is a chance for small, often family-owned, firms to bring their innovations, agility and their expert workforce to the task of strengthening Britain’s defences.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to expand UK-based production of critical components for defence equipment.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is committed to supporting UK based manufacturers, including producers of the vital components used within our defence programmes, and will bring forward a new Defence Industrial Strategy later this year to align the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy.
The Government has been clear that it will use the additional investment in defence announced by the Prime Minister on 25 February 2025 to maximise jobs, growth, skills and innovation in the UK. This investment in defence will protect UK citizens from threats and also create a secure and stable environment in which businesses can thrive, supporting the Government’s number one mission to deliver economic growth.