Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Germany’s decision to provide Ukraine with RCH 155 will have an impact on his Department’s approach to certifying RCH 155 for use by the British Army.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Mobile Fires Platform project will deliver the Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm (RCH 155) Calibre Wheeled Artillery System through a jointly led collaborative procurement between the UK and Germany.

The project does not anticipate any direct impact to RCH certification following Germany’s decision to provide Ukraine with RCH 155.

Underpinning the collaborative approach of the UK and Germany is the commitment to exchange project related information that may afford a deeper understanding of the capability, to inform wider integration considerations. This may include an assessment of any potential lessons from the training and use of RCH 155 by Ukraine.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential lessons that could be learned from the use of RCH 155 by Ukraine.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Mobile Fires Platform project will deliver the Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm (RCH 155) Calibre Wheeled Artillery System through a jointly led collaborative procurement between the UK and Germany.

The project does not anticipate any direct impact to RCH certification following Germany’s decision to provide Ukraine with RCH 155.

Underpinning the collaborative approach of the UK and Germany is the commitment to exchange project related information that may afford a deeper understanding of the capability, to inform wider integration considerations. This may include an assessment of any potential lessons from the training and use of RCH 155 by Ukraine.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 23156 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases, on what dates each meeting took place; which Ministers in his Department were present at each meeting; and whether the (a) Diego Garcia military base and (b) terms of the proposed Chagos settlement were discussed with people representing the incoming US Administration.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Government looks forward to working with the incoming US Administration in the months and years ahead. The Senate confirmation process is ongoing for members of President Trump's cabinet.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2024 to Question 22961 on Defence: Expenditure, whether the future fiscal event will take place before June 2025.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government does not comment on speculation about decisions outside of fiscal events.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans that the RCH 155 will reach minimum deployable capability.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 December 2024 to Question 16467 to the right hon. Member for Raleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois).

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to transfer the management of RAF Odiham from the Army to the Royal Air Force.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There is a joint Army and Royal Air Force (RAF) proposal to adopt an Air Base/Air Wing operating model at Benson and Odiham airbases. This would see the RAF take responsibility for running the Airbases, with helicopters from the Army’s Joint Aviation Command (JAC) continuing to operate from both sites. This will have no effect on operational outputs.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the defence industry of lost output arising from protests at (a) Glasgow Govan shipyard, (b) Glasgow Scotsoun and (c) Samlesbury aerospace factory in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 September 2024 to Question 4231.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to offer early diagnosis to people suspected of suffering from osteoporosis.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne

On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. Further information on the Elective Reform Plan is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/reforming-elective-care-for-patients/

Part of the plan sets out funding to boost bone density scanning capacity, to support improvements in early diagnosis and bone health conditions such as osteoporosis. This will provide an estimated 29,000 extra scans per year.

As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) Musculoskeletal (MSK) Community Delivery Programme. With a £3.5 million funding boost, GIRFT teams will deploy their proven Further Faster model to work with integrated care board leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with osteoporosis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the children of US military families based in the UK are exempt from paying VAT on independent school fees.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Since 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by private schools in the UK for a charge have been subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent.

Entitled individuals in US Forces have always been able to benefit from the VAT free purchase scheme, providing relief on goods and services in the UK. Private school fees fall into the category of services for these purposes.

The Government greatly values the contribution of our serving military personnel. The Ministry of Defence has increased the funding allocated to the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to account for the impact of any private school fee increases on the proportion of fees covered by the CEA in line with how the allowance normally operates.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the children of EU nationals serving in the armed forces in the UK are exempt from VAT on school fees.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Since 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by private schools in the UK for a charge have been subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. There is not an exemption for the children of EU nationals serving in the armed forces in the UK.

The Government greatly values the contribution of our serving military personnel. The Ministry of Defence has increased the funding allocated to the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to account for the impact of any private school fee increases on the proportion of fees covered by the CEA in line with how the allowance normally operates.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with US counterparts regarding the Chagos Islands since President Trump took office.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Senate confirmation process is still ongoing for members of President Trump's Administration cabinet. The Government looks forward to working with US Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth following his confirmation by the Senate and the Administration in the months and years ahead once all relevant officials are in place.

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 tackle financial scams committed by online firms.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Supporting law enforcement in combatting online fraud and other economic crimes, my Department, through its sponsored bodies, plays a critical role in supplying data on UK registered commercial entities to assist investigations and prosecutions.

Companies House and the Insolvency Service work closely with the National Economic Crime Centre and similar agencies to identify threats and trends to facilitate UK law enforcement in preventing and closing down such scams at the earliest opportunity.

Through the Consumer Protection Partnership, we raise awareness about how to spot, avoid and report scams. The Scams Awareness Campaign recently run by Citizens Advice had particular focus on the top financial scams: fake debt advice; friend in need scams; investment scams; pension scams; and parking QR code scams

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the application of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The consumer rights framework is kept under review to ensure it continues to provide effective consumer protection.

For example, the department is implementing the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 which strengthens enforcement of this framework by giving the CMA new direct enforcement powers and the CMA and court enforcers the ability to impose significant monetary penalties where necessary.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will improve the training estate to support Operation Interflex.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence works continuously to improve the Defence Training Estate on a capability and training needs basis. Work addressing areas of improvement highlighted by Operation Interflex, which stands to benefit the Defence Land Environment Training Function, is underway.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the out-of-service date of the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 January 2024 to Question 25025 to the hon. Member for North Devon (Ian Roome).

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has discussed the proposed payment to leaseback the military base on Diego Garcia with the Office for Value for Money.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

We continue to work closely with HM Treasury on the agreement with Mauritius and will take this forward into the Spending Review. The Office for Value for Money has not been involved in these discussions to date.

Details of the Treaty agreed between the UK and Mauritius will come before Parliament for scrutiny in the usual manner following its signature.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to implement all the recommendations in the Haythornthwaite Review into Armed Forces Incentivisation.

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

The Government is committed to renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve. We have already taken action including delivering the largest pay rise for our Armed Forces in over 20 years, expanding wraparound childcare support for Service families deployed overseas and introducing legislation to establish an independent Armed Forces Commissioner.

We welcome the Haythornthwaite Report, which was published under the previous Government and have engaged with Rick Haythornthwaite to discuss our plans to deliver widespread improvements to service personnel life. This activity is being coordinated through a portfolio approach and includes numerous programmes and projects that directly address the report’s recommendations. Implementation will be incremental, with targeted improvements evaluated and then potentially scaled up to the wider workforce. Several longer-term programmes are also underway to drive the culture change needed to embrace a total reward approach.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the total revenue to be raised from applying VAT to independent schools in South Suffolk constituency in the next financial year.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government does not have an estimate of the revenue from this measure specifically from the South Suffolk constituency.

At the Autumn Budget the Government published a detailed response to the consultation conducted between July and September. Annexed to this is the costing methodology used to calculate the total revenue generated by this policy. Included is a breakdown of the exchequer impact by year, including 2025/26. This was published online and can be found here: Government_Response_to_the_Technical_Note_on_Applying_VAT_to_Private_School_Fees_and_Removing_the_Business_Rates_Charitable_Rate_Relief.pdf

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will estimate the revenue expected to be raised from applying business rates to independent schools in South Suffolk constituency in the next financial year.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government reconfirmed that it is removing private schools’ eligibility for charitable rate relief under business rates in England from April 2025. This intervention will raise around £140 million per year.

Business rates retention means that local authorities retain a proportion of all business rates revenue. As such, the increase in rates receipts due to the reduction in charitable rate relief for private schools will be shared between central and local government.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Office for Value for Money will assess the proposed Chagos settlement.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Chagos agreement, as an international treaty, falls outside the remit of the OVfM, which is focused on removing inefficiency, scrutinising investment proposals and provide advice on system reforms.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an estimate of the number of farms affected by changes to (a) Inheritance Tax, (b) Agricultural Property Relief and (c) Business Property Relief in South Suffolk constituency.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Assessing the impact of the new Inheritance Tax policy, which comes into force from 6 April 2026, relies on a number of factors such as ownership structure and debt levels. Without such information, which the Government does not hold at that level, area level assessments cannot be made.

Around 500 claims for Agricultural Property Relief will be affected. Our figures are based on the latest available information from HMRC on actual claims for Agricultural Property Relief, which show that 73% of claims are expected to be unaffected by the changes: Summary of reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief - GOV.UK

This Government is aware that each farm is different, and so we encourage farmers to speak to their tax advisors and agents to understand how these changes may impact their specific situation and how to plan for the future.

As an outcome of the recent Spending Review, we have committed £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years – the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in this country’s history. This enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his formal target to procure RCH 155 within the 5-year limit for hardware platforms.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 December 2024 to Question 16467 to the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mark Francois). I explained that whilst the Mobile Fires Platform aims to achieve Minimum Deployable Capability (MDC) within this decade, a timeline or definition of MDC is yet to be determined, both of which will be guided by the outcome of the Strategic Defence Review.

Whilst the MDC is not yet defined, the target for delivery of the RCH 155 is in line with the Defence Command Paper and the Integrated Procurement Model’s five-year target.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December to Question 18985 on Army, whether the Departmental priority to double the lethality of the British Army by 2027 includes the acceleration beyond current plans of any current armoured vehicle programmes as a metric of measuring whether that target has been achieved.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The ambition set by the Chief of the General Staff to double the fighting power of the British Army by 2027 and treble it by 2030 exists within the Army as a principle to guide Army modernisation. It is not tied to specific programmes or procurements, but will incorporate the outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December to Question 18985 on Army, whether the Departmental priority to double the lethality of the British Army by 2027 includes the procurement of the precision strike missile system as a metric of measuring whether that target has been achieved.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The ambition set by the Chief of the General Staff to double the fighting power of the British Army by 2027 and treble it by 2030 exists within the Army as a principle to guide Army modernisation. It is not tied to specific programmes or procurements, but will incorporate the outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December to Question 20237 on Ministry of Defence: Employers’ Contributions, when his Department plans to publish the details of the funding set aside to cover the increased cost of National Insurance contributions.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government will be supporting Departments with the cost of additional employer national insurance contributions. This is in line with the Government's usual approach to supporting the public sector, as was the case with the previous Government's Health and Social Care Levy. The allocation for the Ministry of Defence, along with all other Departments, will be set out in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of medically unfit personnel are non-deployable for reasons of dental health in the (a) RAF, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army.

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

This information is not held in the format requested.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) in-year savings measures and (b) stockpile depletion on the delivery of live fire training in the Army.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

There have been no specific in-year financial constraints imposed on the consumption of ammunition and therefore no impact on the delivery of live fire training.

As the hon. Member will understand from his time in the Ministry of Defence, for reasons of operational security, details of replenishment and stockpiles are highly classified, and I am withholding this information.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December to Question 20237 on Ministry of Defence: Employers’ Contributions, whether the additional money provided to cover the cost of increased employer National Insurance Contributions will be included in the figure the Department uses to confirm the percentage of UK GDP spent on Defence.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

HM Treasury has confirmed they will provide funding for the increased cost of National Insurance Contributions for the department. GDP percentage spent on defence will be calculated in the usual way.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with the Prime Minister on sending British troops to Ukraine in peacekeeping roles.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Secretary has regular discussions with the Prime Minister about UK support to Ukraine.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on speculation about the future. Our focus is on putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position in 2025 and supporting Ukraine's defence against Putin’s full scale invasion. It would be inappropriate to speculate about the content of those discussions. However, the Prime Minister remains committed to putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position through 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department made a formal response to the Treasury's consultation on reforms to (a) inheritance tax and (b) the application of inheritance tax on Death in Service payments for armed forces personnel.

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

The Ministry of Defence has not made a formal response to HM Revenue and Customs’ technical consultation. The Ministry of Defence regularly engages with the Treasury on a range of matters, it is not practice to make a formal response to public consultations from other Government Departments.

Armed Forces personnel whose death is attributable to active Service are exempt from inheritance tax.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the contractual end date is for the principle members of the Strategic Defence Review team.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Reviewers will make their final report to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Defence Secretary in the Spring of 2025. The Defence Secretary will then publish a version of that report to Parliament. It will then be implemented by the Department.

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