Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the supply chain for the Boxer programme is based in the (a) UK and (b) North East.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Boxer programme is planned to deliver 60% by value of the original production contract from the UK.
The long-term support solution for the programme is still under development but will look to build on the hundreds of UK jobs that have already been protected during the manufacture of the platform. It is not yet known what proportion of that supply chain will be based in the UK and North East.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the Ajax programme supply chain is based in the North East.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
4% of the Ajax programme’s key suppliers are based in the North and North East of England.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the supply chain for the Challenger 3 programme is based in the (a) UK and (b) North East.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Approximately 60% of the Challenger 3 supply chain will be provided by UK suppliers. North East suppliers represent a significant contribution to this figure.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterparts on the right of the Tibetan Buddhist authorities to select the successor to the Dalai Lama without interference.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government stands firm on human rights, including China's repression of the people of Tibet. We champion freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all in the UK and abroad, and work to uphold the right to FoRB through the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement. For example, On July 2 the UK convened an event in Geneva to reaffirm the right to FoRB for all, including Tibetan Buddhists and the right to choose their own religious leaders.
The UK views the Dalai Lama as a respected spiritual leader and strong human rights advocate. It is our longstanding position that the appointment of the next Dalai Lama is a matter for the Tibetan Buddhist community across the world, in line with FoRB.
We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor, Energy Secretary and I all raised human rights recently with our Chinese counterparts.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of public complaint records from the Hong Kong Ombudsman Office’s online archive on UK businesses operating in that country.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I am aware of the removal of the historical complaint records from the Hong Kong Ombudsman Office's website. While we recognise the importance of transparency and access to public information for businesses operating overseas, no formal assessment has been conducted on the specific impact of this change on UK businesses in Hong Kong. We continue to monitor developments in Hong Kong closely and maintain regular engagement with UK businesses to understand emerging concerns.
We are also working closely with colleagues across Whitehall, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to ensure a coordinated approach to developments in Hong Kong that may affect UK commercial interests.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for developing the deep precision strike capability with Germany.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
UK and Germany are considering several concepts and technologies to address emerging threats and have defined a joint range requirement of over 2,000km. Specific characteristics, in-service dates and launch platforms are to be confirmed.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether the Myanmar military is violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417 in (a) Rakhine State and (b) other places.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to call on the Myanmar military to allow full, unrestricted humanitarian access in Myanmar and to respect fundamental humanitarian principles, including in Rakhine state. One in four households in Myanmar are in acute food insecurity. The UK has reached over 650,000 people with humanitarian food support in 2024, through our humanitarian programme. We will continue to maintain a spotlight on the humanitarian situation in Myanmar and will continue to provide vital humanitarian assistance and support.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure UK aid to Myanmar (a) reaches people impacted by the recent earthquake and (b) is not intercepted by the military regime.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for those affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar, including up to £5 million to match public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal. So far this support has provided food, water, healthcare, and shelter supplies to over 300,000 people. The UK funds local actors who can directly access affected populations, overcoming humanitarian access restrictions to support the most vulnerable communities.
The UK does not fund the military regime in Myanmar, and the regime has no involvement in directing our programmes. To manage the increased risk of aid diversion due to security and access constraints, we contract a third party to monitor our humanitarian programmes, verifying activities have taken place and flagging any allegations of aid diversion or other malpractice.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether a proportion of UK aid to Myanmar will be ringfenced for healthcare provision.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the coup, the UK has provided over £170 million to Myanmar in lifesaving humanitarian assistance, including healthcare provision through the Access to Health (A2H) Fund. The UK is the largest donor to A2H, which has supported vulnerable populations with critical nutrition services, maternal and child health interventions, and immunisation services since 2021. In 2024, UK-funded support provided essential health services to approximately 1.2 million people.
The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar, including £2 million to the (A2H) Fund. So far, UK funding has reached over 48,000 people with healthcare services following the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to publish guidance to the public on action to take in the days following an armed attack on the UK by another state.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The United Kingdom has well-developed contingency plans to respond to a wide range of risks. The plans and supporting arrangements have been developed, refined and tested over many years.
The scale of these capabilities is driven by classified planning assumptions derived from the United Kingdom’s National Security Risk Assessment. The Government sets out some of the main risks and emergencies that drive this common consequence planning in the National Risk Register, the latest version of which was published earlier this year: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-risk-register-2025
GOV.UK/prepare, the Government’s website for resilience and emergency planning, is designed to help people plan for potential hazards and equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and resources to respond effectively.