Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish the list of invitees to the Lancaster House conference taking place on 12 March 2026 to establish an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Unfortunately, the conference has had to be postponed due to current events and travel restrictions affecting attendees from the Middle East. We will confirm further details of the rearranged conference in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will re-publish online the report entitled Value for Money: Investment in People-to-People Programming in Israel and Palestine, originally commissioned by the Department for International Development and published in 2021.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer he received on 9 January to Question 111418. Additionally, the document requested is currently available online.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which stakeholders the Department engaged in the development of the forthcoming Action Plan on Acquired Brain Injury, including any (a) sports governing bodies, (b) football organisations, and (c) relevant charities, in relation to football-related chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the number of (a) women and (b) men employed by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary by seafarer grade.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Official statistical information regarding all civilians employed within the Ministry of Defence is released biannually. The last release was on 1 October 2025 and included the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. More information can be found at: Supplementary_tables_to_MOD_biannual_civilian_personnel_report_-_October_2025.ods. Grade specific data for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is not publicly released.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary continually monitors its workforce levels to ensure it can meet operational requirements.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many vacancies currently exist in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary by seafarer grade.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Official statistical information regarding all civilians employed within the Ministry of Defence is released biannually. The last release was on 1 October 2025 and included the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. More information can be found at: Supplementary_tables_to_MOD_biannual_civilian_personnel_report_-_October_2025.ods. Grade specific data for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is not publicly released.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary continually monitors its workforce levels to ensure it can meet operational requirements.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what the proportion of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s work has been outsourced to (a) commercial contractors and (b) international allies since January 2015 to date.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) routinely uses a blend of inhouse capability and contracted support to deliver marine engineering, logistics, and operational services in line with longstanding Defence Maritime Support policy. This work is commissioned on a vessel-by-vessel basis and varies from year-to-year depending on the RFA’s operational programme and maintenance cycles. The majority of RFA core operational activity is carried out directly by RFA civilian-crewed vessels.
No RFA operational output has been outsourced to international allies. On occasion, allied naval tankers have provided replenishment-at-sea services to UK vessels under standard NATO interoperability arrangements, and UK RFA tankers have provided the same service in return. These reciprocal arrangements are routine across NATO navies.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the names of the vessels on the UK Defence Shipping Register.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Shipping Register is a record of all vessels currently in service in the Ministry of Defence. Release of the list of vessels names would provide a complete picture of the size and capability of the service and allow individual vessel’s type, movements and locations to be traced using easily accessible public shipping trackers; I hope the hon. Member understands that it would therefore be inappropriate to release this information into the public domain.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Royal Fleet Auxiliary and (b) recognised trade unions on the Strategic Defence Review’s recommendations on the operational role of the RFA.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence maintains regular engagement with appropriate stakeholders concerning matters affecting the operational roles and capabilities of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Transport and (b) Department for Transport agencies on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s adherence to applicable Merchant Shipping Regulations.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Ministry of Defence Ships) order 1989 [Order in Council No 1991], the Royal Fleet Auxillary (RFA) was exempted from many aspects of the UK Merchant Shipping Acts in respect of registered vessels of the RFA. Although the RFA is exempt from a number of provisions within the Merchant Shipping Acts, it remains the Department’s policy to comply voluntarily. With the non‑mandatory elements, wherever practicable, the RFA will comply except where this would conflict with operational requirements.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to reports of the sale of the former Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels Wave Ruler and Wave Knight to Inocea Group, what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues, (b) shipping industry representatives, (c) NATO allies and (d) trade unions on the record of Inocea subsidiaries in delivering naval auxiliary support services for NATO allies, including the Royal Canadian Navy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The two ships in question had been tied up for some time under the last Government and we inherited a position where neither ship were planned to go to sea again. Disposal of former Royal Fleet Auxiliary assets is conducted in accordance with established Ministry of Defence (MOD) and wider His Majesty's Government policies. Officials engage with colleagues across Government and shipping industry representatives as required to ensure compliance with applicable defence, export control, and national‑security considerations during disposal activity. The MOD maintains regular dialogue with NATO Allies on operational, capability and interoperability matters. These discussions do not extend to the performance of commercial service providers contracted by other nations, which remain the responsibility of those nations.