Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the Digital Targeting Web will remain cyber secure, including against quantum cyber innovation.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Digital Targeting Web (DTW) is being delivered through a multi-disciplinary team approach, including with our partners across government. This will include cyber and quantum experts, and the DTW will be fully compliant with the Government Cyber Action Plan (Government Cyber Action Plan - GOV.UK). The DTW will continually evolve to respond to emerging threats and opportunities, including quantum and cyber.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the hearing of the Defence Committee on 7 July 2026, HC 530, what plans his Department has to accelerate the delivery of the Digital Targeting Web.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty) on 5 February 2026 to Question 109315, which referred him to the answer provided to him to Question 96241 on 10 December 2025. The Digital Targeting Web is a continually evolving ecosystem and not a capability in the traditional sense. As such, its development will be an ongoing, iterative process, therefore pace of delivery will be a natural function of contemporary requirements or demands supported by resource.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure sovereign UK capabilities remain a priority for weapons integration, including F-35As.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The details of the F-35A procurement, including weapons embodiment, are yet to be defined.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to ensure that weapons integration of F-35As will duplicate the procurement model of F-35Bs.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The details of the F-35A procurement, including weapons embodiment, are yet to be defined.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 108 of his Department's Defence Investment Plan, published on 30 June 2026, what the expected date of completion is to integrate military medical records with the NHS.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
Work is ongoing to improve the transfer of healthcare information; Defence Medical Command (DMedC) is working towards greater interoperability with NHS systems and the electronic transfer of medical records from DMedC to NHS GPs. The aspiration is to ensure seamless care between Defence and civilian health systems, whether joining, serving or leaving the Armed Forces.
Under Programme CORTISONE, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded a £7.8 million contract to Leeds software company, The Phoenix Partnership, to provide a modern electronic healthcare records system, called SystmOne, for the Armed Forces. This will digitalise military medical records and integrate MOD systems with the NHS.
The Phoenix Partnership is contracted to begin the initial roll out in 2027 and deliver full connectivity with the four NHS nations in 2028.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the £7 billion to be spent on military accommodation in this Parliament has been spent as of 18 June 2026.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, approximately £900.6 million has been spent on both Service Family Accommodation and Single Living Accommodation.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contribution the UK intends to make towards the NATO commitment to provide €70 billion in military equipment, assistance and training to Ukraine in 2026.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK’s committed support to Ukraine for 2026 includes our annual £3 billion of military support and the third and final instalment of the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loan, which means the UK will spend a total of £3.75 billion on military support for Ukraine in 2026. This makes up the UK’s contribution to the €70 billion in support announced at the NATO Ankara Summit.
As the Defence Secretary told the House on 13 July, the UK has also announced a deal for it to access the EU’s £78 billion (€90 billion) Ukraine Support Loan, which also forms part of the €70 billion commitment to Ukraine, and which will boost Ukraine’s defence and create future opportunities for UK defence companies.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his department is taking to increase the resilience of the UK's defence industrial base in support of NATO's long-term deterrence objectives.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government is strengthening the resilience of the UK defence industrial base through the Strategic Defence Review's NATO First commitment, supported by plans to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP in the next Parliament and support NATO's ambition of 3.5% by 2035. Through the Defence Industrial Strategy and Defence Investment Plan, Defence will invest £298 billion over four years to improve industrial readiness, strengthen supply chains and increase industry's ability to scale production in response to emerging threats.
The Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme and Industrial Resilience Programme are further enhancing supply chain visibility, identifying vulnerabilities and strengthening collaboration with industry and Allies to ensure Defence can mobilise and sustain capability during times of crisis, supporting NATO's collective deterrence and defence.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has conducted a review of the resilience of UK defence supply chains against disruption during major conflict.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence routinely assesses the resilience of defence supply chains as a core component of operational preparedness and national security. Through risk assessments, supply chain mapping, horizon scanning, industry-informed war games, resilience exercises e and scenario-based testing, Defence identifies key vulnerabilities and develops robust mitigations to strengthen the resilience of critical supply chains. In addition, through the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme and the Industrial Resilience Programme, Defence is working with industry to identify and mitigate supply chain risks, improve readiness and ensure the availability of priority materiel in the event of crisis or conflict.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Select Committee session on the Defence Investment Plan on 7 July 2026, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the closure of Reaction Engines.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The publication of the Defence Investment Plan on 30 June this year means that the UK will be equipped with the resources to effectively support and retain critical, transformative technologies that underpin our security and prosperity.
To see any UK company enter administration is deeply disappointing and understandably impacts on its staff. Several technologies have the potential to be exploited to develop hypersonic propulsion systems, not all of them will be chosen to be taken forward.