Oral Answers to Questions

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Monday 19th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to page 11 of “The Defence Investment Plan”. I also urge him to understand why, after the catastrophic misconduct of the Government of Liz Truss, we take a rather more prudent approach to the management of the public finances, and do not set out spending commitments without showing how we will pay for them.

[Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)]

The north-east has the highest rate of NEETs—those not in education, employment or training—and remains the region with the lowest level of Government defence investment. As the defence youth participation and employment pledge is signed by primes, and the north-east defence industry is largely based on small and medium-sized enterprises, can my right hon. Friend assure me that we will see some tangible support from that pledge for our region?

[Wes Streeting]

I can give my hon. Friend that commitment. Indeed, in front of the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee last week, I highlighted my dissatisfaction with investment in the north-east. The Government have already taken steps since the general election to increase defence spending in the north-east, as the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry reported, but we can and will do more, including through the employment pledge.

Defence Investment Plan

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s question, not least because it provides the opportunity to pay tribute to those who serve in our reserves. I am in awe of their ability to balance their commitment to our nation with their professional occupations and their family life. It is a commitment that is hugely valued by this Government, as I know it was by the previous one. I am advised that there is a reference to reserves on page 62 of the people section. Essentially, we will maintain the vision set out in the SDR. We will do everything we can to ensure that those people who want to step forward and serve in the reserves have an opportunity to do so.

[Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement, but I worry that scrapping the Type 83s that were due to replace our Type 45 destroyers, and were to be the backbone of our fleet, in favour of a hybrid, uncrewed, autonomous Navy is a gamble. Unmanned service vessels of that size are untested, especially in the High North. I recognise the immense potential for the new hybrid Navy fleet to persistently monitor the Russian threat, but can the Secretary of State assure me that unmanned and disaggregated replacements for our Type 45 destroyers will be as effective in providing not just strike capabilities, but the deterring presence needed?

[Dan Jarvis]

We need to learn the lessons from Ukraine and elsewhere for the capability that we field. There was not a budget line attached to the specific capability that my hon. Friend references, so as part of the transition to a hybrid Navy, the First Sea Lord has set out an alternative vision of how we will field that kind of capability. Hopefully my hon. Friend will see, from the investment and commitment that we have made through the defence investment plan, that we are absolutely committed to ensuring, as an island nation, that we retain the Royal Navy capabilities that we need, now and in the future. They are vital to the defence of our nation, and we will always ensure that we have the right kit, in the right place, at the right time.

Middle East: Defence

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

As I said to the House in my statement, all the decisions we have taken and all actions in the face of the current conflict have been defensive in nature and legally well based. That gives a sound foundation for Ministers’ decisions and it gives forces personnel the fullest confidence in the actions they are taking. That is true of those we have deployed in the region and it will be true of those we have embedded, I am proud to say, in the US forces around the world. I am proud that our US-UK relationship remains deep and close, and that we continue to do things together that no other nations will do.

[Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State is right that our armed forces are the very best of us. Australian and British media are reporting that HMS Anson has departed western Australia ahead of schedule. Can my right hon. Friend indicate whether HMS Anson will play a role in defending British interests in the region on her voyage home?

[John Healey]

There are certain things that I will not and cannot disclose publicly. The operations of our submarines fall into that category. My hon. Friend is a long-standing member of the Defence Committee. I know she will understand the sensitivity and the potency of our submarine fleet. She asks the question, but she cannot realistically and reasonably expect an answer; I know that she knows that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Monday 2nd February 2026 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

The hon. Gentleman will recognise that, for the first time, we have in place a security and defence partnership agreement with the European Union. That is part of our stepping up our willingness to work with the European Union. He knows that the SAFE negotiations did not come to a successful conclusion. That was quite simply because it was not in the interests of the British taxpayer and the British defence industry. We will do a great deal more to support the wider security of the European Union and European nations through NATO.

[Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)]

Intensifying security competition in the Arctic necessitates enhanced co-operation with our regional allies. Can my right hon. Friend say whether the Government intend to invite Canada to join the Joint Expeditionary Force?

[John Healey]

The 10 JEF nations, led by the UK—JEF was established by the previous Government—have stepped up their leadership, with support from Members on both sides of the House. JEF is an important part of NATO and allows us to act ahead of unanimity in NATO. From critical infrastructure to exercising in the High North, JEF has led the way and will continue to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

We are doing exactly what my hon. Friend urges me to do. He, like me, will be proud of the fact that the Labour Government have produced a strategic defence review—a landmark shift in defence to make us more warfighting-ready—a defence industrial strategy that will make defence an engine for growth in this country, and a housing strategy that puts an end to the worst ever Tory privatisation and pumps £9 billion into a generational renewal of our forces’ military housing, which has already started. This Labour Government are delivering for defence, and delivering for Britain.

[Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)]

Allies rightly agreed that up to 1.5% of GDP would go towards civil preparedness and resilience measures, but public support for our current commitments—let alone for mobilisation in a crisis—does not meet Government assumptions. Will my right hon. Friend say how he plans to address that, so that we fully meet our article 3 obligations?

[John Healey]

I will. My hon. Friend, who serves on the Defence Committee and did in the previous Parliament, will remember that total spending on defence in the last year of the last Government was just under £54 billion. She will know that this year and next year, it is set to be over £65 billion. She will see the increase in defence spending, she will recognise the importance of making that commitment, and she will recognise the value of the strategic defence review in setting the vision for transforming our forces, so that they are more ready to warfight, and better able to deter.

Oral Answers to Questions

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Monday 3rd November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Louise Sandher-Jones]

I thank the hon. Member for raising the case of her constituent. If she writes to me with the details, I will look into exactly why it has taken that long.

[Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)]

North-east industry has always supported our nation’s defence, yet we now have the lowest MOD spend out of every single region, leaving our potential untapped. Will my hon. Friend meet me and the North East Regional Defence and Security Cluster to redress that?

[Luke Pollard]

Yes, I am very happy to do so. I am meeting north-east colleagues about how we can drive more jobs and opportunity. As we look at establishing not just growth zones but defence technical excellence colleges and the six new munitions and energetics factories, there is a strong case for the north-east to receive some of that defence investment.

Strategic Defence Review

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Monday 2nd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

The hon. Gentleman is right. In many ways, defence is a special case; we need to take many decisions now to secure the future of subsequent generations, and to develop and secure the capabilities that we will need to do that in 10, 20 and 30 years’ time.

The hon. Gentleman is also right that it is the people who are at the heart of this. He will recognise the 14 years of failure leading to the recruitment and retention crisis that we were left with last summer. He will know that I have removed over 100 of the rules that prevented some people from applying to join the forces. He will know that I have introduced direct entry for those with cyber talent to join and contribute to our defences. He will also recognise that we are looking to retain those who are valuable to us by paying better, by looking to upgrade the housing and, where needed, through special retention payments.

This is going to take time. We are closing the gap and I am determined that we will reverse that long-term decline. For the first time, this is a Government who want to increase, not further cut, the size of our Army.

[Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)]

The review is welcome. Where the last Government hollowed out our armed forces, we are rebuilding. Russia’s northern fleet and China’s polar silk road ambitions have seen both countries focus and co-operate in the High North. As the framework nation for the joint expeditionary force, the UK has limited surface fleet capable of operating in the polar ice. Can my right hon. Friend confirm whether the new hybrid Navy will see that capability scaled up?

[John Healey]

I can. My hon. Friend plays an important part in debates in this House, including on the Defence Committee. She recognises that, as we can see from Ukraine, it is the nations that are able to bring together the rapid innovation in new technology with the hardware of established weaponry and platforms that will have the combat edge in the future. I am determined that Britain will be at the leading edge of innovation in NATO, that our forces will be better equipped in the future, and that we will reform and rebuild our British industry to equip them for exactly that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

I will indeed. In the four months that this Government have been in office we have stepped up support for Ukraine and speeded up delivery of the military aid promised. This is a Government now spending more on military aid than ever before on behalf of the UK. I pay tribute to the Conservative party for the fact that the UK is and remains united for Ukraine.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

6. What progress he has made on establishing an independent armed forces commissioner.

[Mrs Sarah Russell (Congleton) (Lab)]

11. What progress he has made on establishing an independent armed forces commissioner.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Luke Pollard)]

The Armed Forces Commissioner Bill is a landmark piece of legislation and a major step taken by this Government to renew the contract between the nation and those who serve. Second Reading of the Bill will be later today and the commissioner will be a strong independent champion for our armed forces and their families, improving parliamentary oversight and getting to grips with the welfare issues faced by our armed forces.

[Mrs Lewell-Buck]

I thank the Minister for all he is doing to improve the lives of our armed forces communities. He will be aware of the deeply distressing accounts of rape and sexual assault from the Defence Committee’s report on women in the armed forces. Will he please revisit our recommendations and those of the Lyons review, so that those serious cases can be heard in civilian, not service courts?

[Luke Pollard]

My hon. Friend is exactly right to raise this very serious issue. In opposition we made a commitment that murder, manslaughter and rape cases would be tried in civilian, rather than military courts. I encourage her to keep asking questions as we get closer to the armed forces Bill, which will be an opportunity to put that right.

Ukraine

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

In fairness to the Conservatives when they were in government, and to the hon. Lady’s party before the election, we were all united in the efforts to get the interest drawn down from the frozen Russian assets put into Ukrainian hands. The UK Government, before the last election and since, have been leading this work.

These are practical steps that we can take now. Whatever declaratory position the hon. Lady wants to adopt about seizing Russian assets, this is valuable additional funding that, from the new year, will be in the hands of the Ukrainian Government to spend on, in the UK’s case, the military aid that they need. That comes in addition to all the other increases that we have put in place since the election. I hope that despite the hon. Lady’s calls for going very much further, she will recognise how significant this move is and recognise that the UK is among the first of the nations to move on this. I hope she will give this House her full support when we introduce the primary legislation that will seek the parliamentary spending authority to provide this financial assistance in pursuance of a bilateral agreement that we will strike with Ukraine over how to do it.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

When this Government said that our support for Ukraine was absolute, we meant it. My right hon. Friend referred to the recently signed defence export treaty between the UK and Ukraine, which will support Ukraine’s defence industrial base while helping to replenish our own stockpiles. As far as he is able, will he update the House on the treaty’s progress?

[John Healey]

I was proud to sign that treaty, which means that Ukraine can draw down the export credit cover and contract with UK companies. It is also a framework that, like some other frameworks the UK has put in place, other nations and their companies can use to deal with the difficulties that many face in contracting with Ukraine. The Ukrainians will use it for contracting and procuring munitions and ammunition. It will allow us to step up not just the provision but the production of essential military aid to Ukraine.

Oral Answers to Questions

Emma Lewell Excerpts

Monday 14th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

I will indeed. My hon. Friend will know that our party went into the election committed to building on commitments the previous Government made on the Indo-Pacific. I want the strategic defence review to be not just the Government’s defence review, but Britain’s defence review. We are consulting military veterans, industry, academic experts and all parties in this House. I trust that, like me, he will welcome that all-party approach, particularly as he now chairs the Select Committee, and will work with us.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

The SDR is welcome and needed. The previous Conservative Government left our armed forces personnel, capabilities and funding depleted. Can the Secretary of State—[Interruption.] Hang fire. Can the Secretary of State assure me that the experts conducting our review will have an ongoing focus on our sovereign defence industrial base, and ensure that regions such as the north-east are pivotal in that?

[John Healey]

They will indeed. This is the way we can reinforce the UK’s security and economy. And yes, we can build, through the SDR, on the work that the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge) did when he was Minister for defence procurement. Like my hon. Friend the Member for South Shields (Mrs Lewell-Buck), I am really angry about the state of defence after the last Government: there are billion-pound black holes in defence plans; service morale is at record lows; and Army numbers are set to fall below 70,000 next year. We will work night and day to make our forces more fit to fight, and to make Britain more secure at home and stronger abroad.