Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May to Question 49007 on Unmanned Air Systems: Procurement, whether he has a target for procuring additional strike capabilities for the Queen Elizabeth class.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Strategic Defence Review will inform any requirement for additional strike capabilities for the Queen Elizabeth Class. In the interim, the Royal Navy continues to investigate emerging technologies to understand how they can contribute to enhancing operational advantage.
Fixed Wing Autonomous Collaborative Platforms have the potential to enhance operational advantage, hence, will be evaluated in collaboration with the Royal Air Force.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled New 2,000 km “deep precision strike” weapon to be developed by UK and Germany as Trinity House Agreement delivers first major milestones, published on 15 May 2025, whether the weapon will be a (a) cruise, (b) ballistic and (c) hypersonic missile.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
UK and Germany are considering several concepts and technologies to address emerging threats and have defined a joint range requirement of over 2,000 km. Specific characteristics, in-service dates and launch platforms are to be confirmed.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled New 2,000 km “deep precision strike” weapon to be developed by UK and Germany as Trinity House Agreement delivers first major milestones, published on 15 May 2025, whether the weapon will require a bespoke launch vehicle.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
UK and Germany are considering several concepts and technologies to address emerging threats and have defined a joint range requirement of over 2,000 km. Specific characteristics, in-service dates and launch platforms are to be confirmed.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to procure any SG-1 Fathom underwater gliders.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy has begun industry engagement to understand how commercial systems could be used to conduct anti-submarine warfare in the Atlantic. Any acquisition of these capabilities would be subject to outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review, funding and open competition.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of removing targets in the NHS Operational Planning Guidance for local health systems in England on dementia diagnosis times.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Darzi Investigation found that there were too many targets set for the National Health Service, which made it hard for local systems to prioritise their actions or to be held properly accountable.
This is why we have taken a new approach to NHS Planning Guidance this year, reducing the number of national directives from 32 to 18. We will only turn the NHS around by doing things differently. These are the first steps on our journey for the long-term reform of the NHS.
NHS Planning Guidance is not an exhaustive list of everything the NHS does, and the absence of a target does not mean it is not an area of focus.
We remain committed to increasing dementia diagnosis rates and agree that timely diagnosis is vital to ensure people with dementia can access the treatment and support they need.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve outcomes for dementia patients in South Suffolk.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with dementia.
That is why we have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for busy system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool launched in April, with further information available at the following link:
The 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi, and will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs, including people living with dementia. It will set out how we support and enable health and social care services to work together better to provide joined-up care.
Through our extensive public engagement as part of the 10-Year Health Plan, including a roundtable on dementia, healthy aging, and digital exclusion that I hosted, we will continue to listen to patients’ priorities and will keep focused on what matters most to the public.
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 expand signal jamming practice for armed forces personnel.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence is not taking any additional steps to ‘expand’ its ability to enable Armed Forces personnel to practice jamming signals, It is not appropriate to go into details for operational security reasons. I can confirm beyond the that there are extant procedures that exist to enable jamming for testing, training and exercising in the UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many space liaison officers are stationed in the military.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There are two international space liaison officers stationed in UK Space Command.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Mastiff vehicles have been donated to Ukraine (a) before and (b) since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Over 240 protected mobility vehicles have been donated to Ukraine since February 2022.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Wolfhound vehicles have been donated to Ukraine (a) before 5 July 2024 and (b) since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Over 240 protected mobility vehicles have been donated to Ukraine since February 2022.