Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost in (a) time and (b) resource to (i) the Army and (ii) his Department of dealing with problems with the Ajax vehicle.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On 22 November, during a routine training exercise, around 30 soldiers operating in Ajax reported being affected by noise and vibration exposure.
Out of an abundance of caution, and in line with our safety protocols, the exercise was halted within 30 minutes so that those affected could receive appropriate medical care.
Importantly, none of the symptoms were severe enough to require hospitalisation.
As a result, I directed the Army to pause all use of Ajax for training and exercising, while a safety investigation is carried out into the events. Those investigations are ongoing and I will update the House at an appropriate point.
Furthermore, I am putting in place a Ministerial led review into the Ajax programme, which will assess how effective the department has been at implementing the actions of previous reviews, and seeking anything further that is required regarding safety.
It will be conducted by experts who are not part of the AJAX programme, including Malcolm Chalmers, to provide a more independent view. It will be overseen by me and report to the Defence Secretary.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, What times scale he has been given for the noise and vibration issues with the Ajax vehicle to be resolved.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On 22 November, during a routine training exercise, around 30 soldiers operating in Ajax reported being affected by noise and vibration exposure.
As a result, I directed the Army to pause all use of Ajax for training and exercising, while a safety investigation is carried out into the events. Those investigations are ongoing and I will update the House at an appropriate point.
I am putting in place a Ministerial led review into the Ajax programme, which will assess how effective the Department has been at implementing the actions of previous reviews, and seeking anything further that is required regarding safety.
It will be conducted by experts who are not part of the AJAX programme, including Malcolm Chalmers, to provide a more independent view. It will be overseen by me and report to the Defence Secretary. It will be conducted at pace, but it will not be rushed. We will have the Terms of Reference before Christmas.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where were the Army's MAN Logistic Support Vehicle built; and what is the age of the vehicles.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The vehicles were manufactured under the responsibility of MAN Truck & Bus UK (MTB UK). The base was produced at MAN’s facilities in Germany and Austria, with UK-specific modifications integrated by MTB UK and specialist subcontractors within the UK. The age of the vehicles is approximately 18 years, entering service in 2007/8.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his estimate is for carrying out the necessary repairs for the fleet of MAN Logistic Support Vehicles; and how long will it be before the whole fleet is back in service.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Repair analysis is ongoing; however, initial estimates indicate that all vehicles will be returned to full use by early 2026 in accordance with formation priorities.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what amount of financial savings the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army, and (c) Royal Air Force have been asked to make in financial years (i) 2025-26 and (ii) 2026-27.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided to him in response to his Question 93654 of 24 November 2025.
The Ministry of Defence applies in-year controls across the Department to manage performance against the Defence budget and these controls are subject to continuous review.
This approach is part of normal good financial management and ensures that resources are allocated effectively to meet operational priorities.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what amount of financial savings the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army, and (c) Royal Air Force have been asked to make in (i) 2025-26 and (ii) 2026-27.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence applies in-year controls across the Department to manage performance against the Defence budget and these controls are subject to continuous review.
This approach is part of normal good financial management and ensures that resources are allocated effectively to meet operational priorities.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what date he expects to have a full fleet of Ajax armoured vehicles.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On current plans, Full Operating Capability for the Armoured Cavalry Programme is expected to be achieved by the end of 2029.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58934 on Armed Forces: Vacancies, what the ranks of the unfilled posts are; and how long they have been unfilled.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has one of the highest post fill rates in NATO. As of 1 April 2025, the UK’s post allocation was 1,053, of which 82 were unfilled. While 8% of our posts were gapped in April 2025, this was predominantly for a period of less than 10 months. The majority of gaps were at OF-3, OF-4, and OR-6 level, which corresponds to the most in demand ranks of the personnel we provide. The full data for this period is as follows:
Ranks (and corresponding Army rank) | Number of gaps per rank |
OF-2 (Captain) | 8 |
OF-3 (Major) | 15 |
OF-4 (Lieutenant Col) | 15 |
OF-5 (Colonel) | 1 |
OR-2 (Private) | 1 |
OR-3 (Lance Corporal) | 2 |
OR-4 (Corporal) | 10 |
OR-6 (Sergeant) | 17 |
OR-7 (Staff Sergeant) | 8 |
OR-8 (Warrant Officer Class 2) | 2 |
OR-9 (Warrant Officer Class 1) | 1 |
Gapped period |
|
0-10 months | 35 |
11-20 months | 10 |
20-30 months | 4 |
31-40 months | 5 |
41-50 months | 8 |
50-60 months | 3 |
60+ months | 15 |
| 80 |
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military posts allocated for British Armed Forces personnel within NATO remain unfilled as of 1 April 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK is one of the largest contributors of personnel to NATO, underlining our commitment to deterrence and defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area, with personnel deployed in over twenty-one countries.
The UK consistently has one of the highest post fill rates in NATO. As of 1 April 2025, the UK’s post allocation was 1,053, of which 8% were unfilled. This is due to new long-lead posts recently being included in data, as well as normal churn.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the expected change in cost for Defence Nuclear Enterprise until 2033.
Answered by Maria Eagle
As stated in an update to the Public Accounts Committee in December 2023, the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) forecast an equipment plan spend of £117.8 billion over the period 2023-33. Over the same period to 2033, the current forecast for DNE equipment plan spend has increased by about £10 billion.