Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, other than special advisers if his Department has appointed anyone from outside the civil service since July 2024.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
Since July 2024, the Ministry of Defence has made 178 Public Appointments and 61 Direct Ministerial Appointments. These figures represent appointments made during the period and includes individuals whose appointments have subsequently ended following the expiry of their term, resignation or other departure from office.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was to the public purse of upgrading Britain's air defence radar network due to interference from offshore wind farms.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government has signed a £95 million contract with BAE Systems to deliver technologically advanced radar that secures the coexistence of air defence and offshore wind, enabling the government to protect both national and energy security, while promoting good jobs and growth across the country.
The Ministry of Defence has agreed to fund this contract, with financial support from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Funding was allocated at the Spending Review 2025 and has not been diverted from wider RAF or Air Defence budgets.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department uses numerical reasoning tests as part of the recruitment process for its graduate recruitment scheme.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The Ministry of Defence employs a range of assessment methods across its recruitment programmes, including numerical reasoning as part of the recruitment process for the Defence Commercial Graduate Programme.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many political appointees have been made by his Department since July 2024.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
We have taken 'political appointees' to mean special advisers. A list of special advisers by department is published each year in the Annual Report on Special Advisers which is laid in parliament. The Annual Report on Special Advisers 2026 will be published in due course.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on the review into medical records of nuclear test veterans.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave on 28 April 2026. The records exercise is nearing completion, and I shall update the House in due course.
In parallel, as part of wider work, the number of historic nuclear testing records that are now publicly accessible having been transferred to the National Archives from the Merlin database is over 28,000.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has hired external public relations consultants since July 2024.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The Ministry of Defence has not directly hired external public relations (PR) consultants since July 2024. Any PR guidance is obtained through third-party arrangements with external agencies, following appropriate procurement rules.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department permits (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials to use (i) Chat GPT, (ii) Google Gemini, (iii) Claude, (iv) Deepseek and (v) Grok as part of their official duties.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence provides Ministers, special advisers and officials with access to secure, enterprise‑grade generative AI tools that have been assured to the appropriate security standards and approved for official use.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on advertising on podcasts in each of the last three years.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
This response provides details of the Ministry of Defence's advertising expenditure on podcasts over the last three calendar years. The information has been provided by the single Services, as most advertising expenditure supports recruitment efforts.
Calendar Year | Spend |
2024 | Nil |
2025 | £49,516.85 (includes January 2026) |
2026 (up to 5 June 2026) | £23,736.51 |
All spending is subject to scrutiny and regular review to ensure it delivers value for money.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support given to veterans in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
This government is committed to ensuring that veterans and their families are easily able to access support in Lincolnshire and across the country, when and where it is needed.
Last year we launched a new Veterans Strategy which recognises veterans as a national asset and resets the nation’s relationship with those who have served. Alongside this, we launched the £50 million VALOUR programme, which will make it easier for veterans to access the care and support they deserve.
For general support, Ministry of Defence Veterans Services provides tailored, holistic information, guidance and welfare support to those who need it through a national network of Case Managers across the UK, ensuring that individuals and families receive comprehensive, joined-up support tailored to their needs.
This government removed local connection tests for veterans of the regular armed forces in England applying for social housing, and extended the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme to deliver wraparound care and support services across the UK.
In addition, dedicated support is available to veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness or mental and physical health needs through Ops FORTITUDE, COURAGE and RESTORE. Employment support is delivered through Op ASCEND and programmes such as the Career Transition partnership. For those in contact with or at risk of contact with the Criminal Justice System support is available through Op NOVA.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on his review of the records of nuclear test veterans.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The records exercise is nearing completion, and I shall update the House in due course. In parallel, as part of wider work, over 19,300 historic nuclear testing records are now publicly accessible having been transferred to the National Archives from the Merlin database.