Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many helicopters will be operationally available to the UK armed forces to perform the casualty evacuation role between 2027 and 2030.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Ministry of Defence continually reviews platform capabilities to ensure that current and future Defence requirements are met.

Casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) is a military task rather than a capability delivered by a single helicopter type, and Defence maintains a range of rotary-wing platforms that can be employed to support casualty evacuation as required.

At present, CASEVAC capability is provided by the Chinook, Merlin Mk4/4A, Wildcat AH Mk1 and Jupiter HC Mk2 helicopter fleets. As announced in the Defence Investment Plan, Wildcat AH Mk1 is planned to be withdrawn from service from 2027.

Decisions on the helicopter platforms that will be available to perform the CASEVAC role between 2027 and 2030 will be taken in accordance with Defence capability requirements and operational needs, which are kept under regular review.

The number of helicopters available to undertake a CASEVAC task at any given time is not fixed and will vary according to operational commitments, maintenance requirements, training activity and force readiness levels. The Department does not disclose detailed readiness or availability information, as doing so could prejudice the operational effectiveness and security of the Armed Forces.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which helicopter platforms will be available to the armed forces to perform the casualty evacuation role between 2027 and 2030.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Ministry of Defence continually reviews platform capabilities to ensure that current and future Defence requirements are met.

Casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) is a military task rather than a capability delivered by a single helicopter type, and Defence maintains a range of rotary-wing platforms that can be employed to support casualty evacuation as required.

At present, CASEVAC capability is provided by the Chinook, Merlin Mk4/4A, Wildcat AH Mk1 and Jupiter HC Mk2 helicopter fleets. As announced in the Defence Investment Plan, Wildcat AH Mk1 is planned to be withdrawn from service from 2027.

Decisions on the helicopter platforms that will be available to perform the CASEVAC role between 2027 and 2030 will be taken in accordance with Defence capability requirements and operational needs, which are kept under regular review.

The number of helicopters available to undertake a CASEVAC task at any given time is not fixed and will vary according to operational commitments, maintenance requirements, training activity and force readiness levels. The Department does not disclose detailed readiness or availability information, as doing so could prejudice the operational effectiveness and security of the Armed Forces.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what percentage the forecast 10 year programme cost of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise has increased since the Equipment plan 2023-2033: update on affordability.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

As stated by my Rt hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Garston (Maria Eagle) in the answer she gave on 13 June 2025 to Question 58561 to the hon. Member for Widnes and Halewood (Derek Twigg), the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) originally forecast an equipment plan spend of £117.8 billion over the period 2023-33 and, over the same period to 2033, the forecast for DNE equipment plan spend had increased by about £10 billion. This is equivalent to an increase of 8.7%.

This government is investing more than £63 billion over the next four years to strengthen the UK’s nuclear deterrent and to fund Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS submarines, a new warhead, and other crucial nuclear work. As the Defence Investment Plan set out, the money spent on defence by the end of the decade will be 2.7% of GDP, up from 2.3% when this government took office in 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many aircraft will comprise the Chinook Forward Fleet in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely publish future forward fleet numbers, as doing so could reveal information that would prejudice operational security and the effectiveness of the Armed Forces.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his target is for the number of Chinook aircraft in the forward fleet in 2035.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely publish future forward fleet numbers, as doing so could reveal information that would prejudice operational security and the effectiveness of the Armed Forces.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to benchmark the cost effectiveness of the UK nuclear deterrent programme by comparison with the French.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There are significant differences in how the UK and French nuclear enterprises are organised and structured which would render such a comparison meaningless.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department has considered implementing a 40mph speed limit on unmarked single carriageways.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport keeps speed limit policy under review as part of its wider road safety work.

As set out in the Road Safety Strategy published on 7 January 2026, the Department for Transport is currently updating the Setting Local Speed Limits guidance, to support authorities to make the best decisions about managing speed on the roads they are responsible for.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the UK's exposure to a simultaneous collapse of production in two or more global breadbasket regions.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In the National security assessment on Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security published earlier this year, it says “collapse of production in two or more breadbasket regions would almost certainly significantly drive up global food prices, potentially limiting the UK’s ability to import food, impacting household food security and restricting diets”.

Defra works with industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise both domestically and internationally. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure accountability and value for money from the defence nuclear budget.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There is a strong focus on efficiency and effectiveness to drive Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) programmes to schedule and provide value for money to the taxpayer, and Defence has the right leadership and controls in place for this. Funding for programmes in the DNE is ringfenced within the Defence budget.

The Chief Defence Nuclear is an additional Accounting Officer for the nuclear ringfence. The ringfence helps to ensure nuclear spending is not reprioritised and helps separate any nuclear pressures from wider Defence spending. The ringfence has been in place since 2023.

The ringfence arrangements give the DNE greater flexibility to move funding between years, for example, bringing capital forward to secure long‑lead items at lower cost. That flexibility improves value for money and provides much more certainty for programme planning. Since the ringfence was set up, the DNE has used the budget exchange flexibilities agreed with HM Treasury each year to accelerate expenditure and achieve better value for money.

The Government is also taking further steps to enable the effectiveness, efficiency and value for money of nuclear programmes, for example, in its response to the Fingleton review, the review of the Single Source Contract Regulations, and in establishing a new parliamentary committee to scrutinise DNE programmes and expenditure following recommendations from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Strategic Defence Review.

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