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 9 February to Question 110439 on Defence: Expenditure, what elements of the 2.6% of GDP spent on Defence in 2027 will not be spent on the MOD budget.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence Expenditure is defined by NATO.
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 16 March 2026 to Question 119399 on Cyprus: Military Bases, what the evidential basis is that the relationship with the Republic of Cyprus has never been closer.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK's defence relationship with the Republic of Cyprus is multifaceted, underscored by an annual multi-domain bilateral cooperation programme. The activity outlined in this programme continues to increase year-on-year, identifying and exploiting previously unconsidered areas to the benefit of both nations. Evidence of this was the completion of the inaugural UK-Cyprus Industry Day, held at the Cypriot High Commission in December 2025.
The collaboration at the operational level is deep. This has been demonstrated through the coordination of air defence efforts in response to the current situation in the Middle East.
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 16 March 2026 to Question 119399 on Cyprus: Military Bases, whether he has been invited to hold discussions with Defence Minister Palmas and other Cypriot Government officials on the sovereignty of the Sovereign Base Areas on the island of Cyprus.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
No, the Ministry of Defence has not been invited to hold discussions with the Government of the Republic of Cyprus regarding the sovereignty of the Sovereign Base Areas on the island of Cyprus.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times (a) he and (b) his Ministerial colleagues have visited Episkopi Cantonment in Cyprus since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
All Ministerial overseas travel is published quarterly online within the Transparency Returns on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have visited Dhekelia Cantonment in Cyprus since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
All Ministerial overseas travel is published quarterly online within the Transparency Returns on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have visited RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
All Ministerial overseas travel is published quarterly online within the Transparency Returns on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have visited the Al Minhad Air Base in UAE since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
All Ministerial overseas travel is published quarterly online within the Transparency Returns on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have visited the UK sovereign base areas on Cyprus since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
All Ministerial overseas travel is published quarterly online within the Transparency Returns on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have visited Al-Udeid base in Qatar since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
All Ministerial overseas travel is published quarterly online within the Transparency Returns on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have visited the UK base in Oman since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
All Ministerial overseas travel is published quarterly online within the Transparency Returns on GOV.UK.