Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there has been a change in the number of usable training villages at the Global Hub Oman since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The facility continues to have three usable training villages.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many training villages are active on the Global Hub Oman.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Global Hub has three small training villages on Ras Madrakah Training Area.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there has been a reduction in the number of usable training villages at the British Army Training Unit Kenya, since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
There is one permanent training village at Nyati Barracks. In addition, two temporary wooden training villages are currently erected on the training areas at Lolldaiga Conservancy and Ole Naishu estate. These temporary facilities are assembled and dismantled as required and leave no permanent footprint.
There has been no reduction in the number of usable training villages since 5 July 2024. These facilities are temporary and are only assembled during exercising periods, so their number naturally fluctuates. The overall capacity for temporary infrastructure on Kenyan training areas (approximately 200 wooden buildings) has remained unchanged since 2024.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many training villages are currently active on the British Army Training Unit Kenya.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
There is one permanent training village at Nyati Barracks. In addition, two temporary wooden training villages are currently erected on the training areas at Lolldaiga Conservancy and Ole Naishu estate. These temporary facilities are assembled and dismantled as required and leave no permanent footprint.
There has been no reduction in the number of usable training villages since 5 July 2024. These facilities are temporary and are only assembled during exercising periods, so their number naturally fluctuates. The overall capacity for temporary infrastructure on Kenyan training areas (approximately 200 wooden buildings) has remained unchanged since 2024.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the offer of UK military support to the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz requires a UN resolution.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government is in discussions with the US, and Gulf, European and international partners on what we can do to open up the Strait of Hormuz, restoring freedom of navigation as quickly as possible and ease the economic impact.
It would be premature for me to comment on any military planning, noting the need for using all Government levers including diplomacy and working with partners.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the Royal Navy assets that will be sent to support the reopening of the strait of Hormuz.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
We constantly review deployments of Royal Navy assets in line with securing the interests of the UK and our allies. We are continuing to work closely with our allies and partners in the region to mitigate threats to UK shipping. The Strait of Hormuz is a current issue and it would not be appropriate to specify details of any operational planning.
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 11 March to Question 116539 on Armed Forces Commissioner, whether he has a target date for the appointment of an Armed Forces Commissioner.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Secretary of State for Defence has confirmed that former Air Commodore Suzanne ‘Polly’ Miller-Perkins CBE is the preferred candidate for appointment to the role of Armed Forces Commissioner. In line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments, this is to be an interim appointment made without competition for a period of 12 months while arrangements are made to run a new open competition. The candidate was subject to a pre-appointment hearing by the House of Commons Defence Select Committee on 25 March 2026. The Commissioner will be in post and their office operational from 1 April 2026.
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 his Department has made of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in South Suffolk compared with national average.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the number of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for South Suffolk and England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:
Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence | 2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025) | 2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025) |
South Suffolk | 1,000 | 650 |
England | 612,855 | 511,558 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.
Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s Fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for Suffolk, which includes South Suffolk, can be found at the following link:
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he will offer military support to the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government is in discussions with the US, and Gulf, European and international partners on what we can do to open up the Strait of Hormuz, restoring freedom of navigation as quickly as possible and ease the economic impact.
It would be premature for me to comment on any military planning, noting the need for using all Government levers including diplomacy and working with partners.
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 deploy Royal Navy capabilities to the Strait of Hormuz.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government is in discussions with the US, and Gulf, European and international partners on what we can do to open up the Strait of Hormuz, restoring freedom of navigation as quickly as possible and ease the economic impact.
It would be premature for me to comment on any military planning, noting the need for using all Government levers including diplomacy and working with partners.