Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of migration from analogue landlines to Digital Voice in Lewes constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK, including in Lewes.
Over 92% of PSTN landlines have already been migrated to VoIP. As of 31 March 2026, fewer than 2.8 million PSTN lines remain operational, down from 35.2 million PSTN lines at the network’s peak.
In March 2026, the Government and industry agreed a new Fixed Telecoms Modernisation Charter to extend safeguards agreed in November 2024 to all future fixed telecoms modernisation programmes to help ensure that all customers are migrated safely.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he is taking to manage the risk of wildfires on Salisbury Plain Training Area.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence has a robust process of assessing the wildfire risk daily where the fire alert state reaches yellow in line with Met Office guidance. Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO)’s comprehensive wildfire policy considers the operational requirement to undertake training, the natures of ammunition to be used, the weather conditions, the flora within the range impact areas and the time of day the training needs to be conducted.
To mitigate against the potential of wildfire, whether caused by military activity or actions of the public, grasses and fine fuels are reduced using tools such as grazing, scrub clearance and mowing, and the range and training area access roads provide additional breaks. Additional fire breaks have been installed at locations where the Local Fire and Rescue Service have advised, or fire incident analysis has identified a requirement. Additionally, Industry Partners and tenant farmers undertake gorse and scrub removal to reduce fuel loading and to reduce the fire risk.
In addition, a bespoke Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) Wildfire Management Plan was reviewed in September 2025 which specifies additional mitigations to identify how to manage the risk of wildfire in high risk areas such as the Impact Area, training buildings where a sleeping risk was identified, and other rural features such as woodblocks.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to manage the risk of wildfires on Stanford Training Area.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence has a robust process of assessing the wildfire risk daily where the fire alert state reaches yellow in line with Met Office guidance. Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO)’s comprehensive wildfire policy considers the operational requirement to undertake training, the natures of ammunition to be used, the weather conditions, the flora within the range impact areas and the time of day the training needs to be conducted.
To mitigate against the potential of wildfire, whether caused by military activity or actions of the public, grasses and fine fuels are reduced using tools such as grazing, scrub clearance and mowing, and the range and training area access roads provide additional breaks. Additional fire breaks have been installed at locations where the Local Fire and Rescue Service have advised, or fire incident analysis has identified a requirement. Additionally, Industry Partners and tenant farmers undertake gorse and scrub removal to reduce fuel loading and to reduce the fire risk.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2026 to Question 780 on Navy, when the final 10 Project BEEHIVE craft will be delivered.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence continues to take delivery of Project BEEHIVE craft in line with the approved programme schedule. Of the 20 vessels on order, 18 have already been delivered, with the remaining craft expected shortly.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to manage the risk of wildfires on Otterburn Training Area.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence has a robust process of assessing the wildfire risk daily where the fire alert state reaches yellow in line with Met Office guidance. Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO)’s comprehensive wildfire policy considers the operational requirement to undertake training, the natures of ammunition to be used, the weather conditions, the flora within the range impact areas and the time of day the training needs to be conducted.
To mitigate against the potential of wildfire, whether caused by military activity or actions of the public, grasses and fine fuels are reduced using tools such as grazing, scrub clearance and mowing, and the range and training area access roads provide additional breaks. Additional fire breaks have been installed at locations where the Local Fire and Rescue Service have advised, or fire incident analysis has identified a requirement. Additionally, Industry Partners and tenant farmers undertake gorse and scrub removal to reduce fuel loading and to reduce the fire risk.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to manage the risk of wildfires on Pirbright Ranges Training Area.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence has a robust process of assessing the wildfire risk daily where the fire alert state reaches yellow in line with Met Office guidance. Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO)’s comprehensive wildfire policy considers the operational requirement to undertake training, the natures of ammunition to be used, the weather conditions, the flora within the range impact areas and the time of day the training needs to be conducted.
To mitigate against the potential of wildfire, whether caused by military activity or actions of the public, grasses and fine fuels are reduced using tools such as grazing, scrub clearance and mowing, and the range and training area access roads provide additional breaks. Additional fire breaks have been installed at locations where the Local Fire and Rescue Service have advised, or fire incident analysis has identified a requirement. Additionally, Industry Partners and tenant farmers undertake gorse and scrub removal to reduce fuel loading and to reduce the fire risk.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the effect of climate change, what steps he is taking to manage the risk of wildfires on the defence estate.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence has a robust process of assessing the wildfire risk daily where the fire alert state reaches yellow in line with Met Office guidance. Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO)’s comprehensive wildfire policy considers the operational requirement to undertake training, the natures of ammunition to be used, the weather conditions, the flora within the range impact areas and the time of day the training needs to be conducted.
To mitigate against the potential of wildfire, whether caused by military activity or actions of the public, grasses and fine fuels are reduced using tools such as grazing, scrub clearance and mowing, and the range and training area access roads provide additional breaks. Additional fire breaks have been installed at locations where the Local Fire and Rescue Service have advised, or fire incident analysis has identified a requirement. Additionally, Industry Partners and tenant farmers undertake gorse and scrub removal to reduce fuel loading and to reduce the fire risk.
Our staff also attend wildfire training with Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service to ensure they understand the issue of wildfire, how to assess the risk, and actions in the event of ignition.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which programmes have been removed from the Defence Investment Plan to expedite their delivery.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We are working to finalise the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) and the Prime Minister is determined to publish it before the NATO summit. Our aim is to ensure decisions in the DIP are robust and support the development of both current and future capabilities, helping to drive the transformation of our Armed Forces described in the Strategic Defence Review.
In the meantime, routine budget management and prioritisation decisions in the Ministry of Defence are being conducted in a way that is coherent with the DIP.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of tasking the Royal Air Force with providing a national aerial firefighting capability in the United Kingdom to combat wildfires.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Fire and Rescue Services in England are the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and is a devolved matter in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Any Defence support to Fire and Rescue Services would be considered under the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) process, which ensures Defence capability and capacity are protected for core tasks.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by which year does he forecast the Royal Navy surface fleet will return to its minimum target strength of frigates and destroyers.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Royal Navy is on track to have 19 frigates and destroyers in the 2030s, with eight Type 26 and five Type 31 frigates set to join six Type 45 destroyers already in service.