Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jenny Riddell-Carpenter and John Healey

Monday 8th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. Cadet forces cannot exist without the adult volunteers who support them, and they are central to our ability to increase the number of cadet forces across this country by 30% by 2030, which will give so many young people opportunities in the future.

[Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Suffolk Coastal) (Lab)]

11. What recent discussions he has had with allies on military support for Ukraine.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)]

We totally condemn Russia’s air attack on Ukraine over the weekend. It is the worst since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine began, hitting a Government building for the first time. Putin is escalating his attacks, and we must step up and speed up our support for Ukraine. Last week, I announced that over £1 billion of profits from frozen Russian assets has been put into military aid for Ukraine. Tomorrow, I will host and co-chair from London the 30th Ukraine Defence Contact Group, when 50 nations will together confirm increased military aid for Ukraine.

[Jenny Riddell-Carpenter]

Over the weekend, a drone attack was launched targeting a number of regions, including Kyiv and Odesa, which I had the privilege of visiting earlier this year. It is reported to be the biggest drone strike since Putin’s illegal invasion began. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that more must be done to secure a ceasefire?

[John Healey]

I agree with my hon. Friend, and she is right that it was the biggest drone attack in the past three and a half years since Putin’s illegal invasion. These air attacks are directed at civilian areas with civilian targets. I saw for myself this week the damage that brings when I stood outside the bombed-out building of the British Council in Kyiv, and I saw the determination of men and women—military and civilians alike—in their defiance to keep fighting in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jenny Riddell-Carpenter and John Healey

Monday 19th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

We will indeed. We will set out in our defence industrial strategy the detail that the hon. Lady wants. She mentions Babcock, which has welcomed today’s UK-EU agreement as a step forward, describing it as strengthening the critical defence partnership between the EU and the UK in uncertain times. I am sure that she will welcome that as well.

[Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Suffolk Coastal) (Lab)]

T9. I welcome the recent investment of £117 million in Rock barracks in my constituency, which will deliver new living accommodation, technical facilities and a much-needed upgrade to assets by spring 2030. What plans does the Department have to bring unused military homes back into use for families in Suffolk Coastal?