Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many vacancies there are for (a) engineers, (b) submariners and (c) other critical roles in the Royal Navy.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Royal Navy continues to fill the highest priority roles first in accordance with current and future output requirements. Where demand exceeds supply, the Royal Navy and employers actively prioritise where personnel are assigned. Due to operational security, The Royal Navy does not comment on the number of specific vacancies for critical roles.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the Strategic Defence Review.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

As previously announced by the Secretary of State for Defence to the House of Commons, the Reviewers will make their final report to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Defence in the Spring of 2025. The Secretary of State for Defence will subsequently publish a version of that report to Parliament.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Capita’s performance on delivering defence related contacts; and what assessment he has made of the value for money of these contracts.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The performance of all the Ministry of Defence's suppliers is continually assessed on a project by project basis as part of the Department's contract management activities. As a strategic supplier to the UK Government, Capita participates in the Cabinet Office Strategic Partnering Programme which employs an innovative partnering approach to improve performance and value for money in existing contracts.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the early retirement of Puma Helicopters on capability gaps.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence takes a rigorous approach in assessing the risk of any capability gaps. The Department is exploring options to fulfil some short-term capability gaps in Cyprus and Brunei before the H-145 platform enters services from 2026. Defence's Strategic Objectives will continue to be fulfilled.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the status is of the Morpheus communications programme; and whether there are delays.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

MORPHEUS is a project within the Land Environment Tactical Communication and Information Systems (LETacCIS) Programme and is currently delayed. Work to reset the project remains ongoing, and an Independent Project Review, led by the Cabinet Office’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), will take place in early 2025 and inform next steps.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timeline is for the delivery of the Mobile Fires Platform; and what the potential impact is of delays to the programme on the Army’s long-range artillery capabilities.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Mobile Fires Platform will deliver the Army's Close Support Fires capability. The project aims to achieve Minimum Deployable Capability (MDC) within this decade and will deliver the Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm (RCH 155) Calibre Wheeled Artillery System through a collaborative procurement with Germany. The project is in its assessment phase and a timeline or definition of MDC is yet to be determined, both of which will be guided by the outcome of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR).

The Army is currently undergoing a combined programme of work to ensure our Land Forces will have the lethality, protection and mobility to fight and win against any adversary. Whilst the Army's modernisation will continue over the next decade with a programme of investment worth billions of pounds, future capability development priorities, including long-range artillery capabilities, will be guided by the SDR.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the (a) applicability of the Treaty of Pelindaba to the Chagos Archipelago and (b) potential impact of that Treaty on the UK's Defence arrangements.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The agreement with Mauritius has been negotiated based on international law, and with regards to both parties' obligations under international law. The UK is not a Party to the Pelindaba Treaty, although it is a Party to Protocols I and II to that Treaty.

The operation of the UK/US base on Deigo Garcia will continue unchanged.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to conclude his Department's review into cadets and reserves; and whether he plans to publish that review.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The review of Reserves and Cadets is underway and is closely aligned with the Ministry of Defence’s wider Strategic Defence Review which will report in the first half of 2025. Once Ministers have considered the findings of the Reserves and Cadets review, a decision will be taken about publication.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what security protocols have been implemented to ensure the protection of personal data in the digital veterans ID system.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

All data associated with the new virtual HM Armed Forces Veteran Card will be stored within the UK. The digitisation project is currently in the Discovery Phase. However, when it moves into development, it will operate under Government Security and Ministry of Defence Secure by Design frameworks as part of the whole life management of the service. This will include independent IT health checks and penetration testing throughout the duration of use.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the data associated with the new digital veterans ID will be stored only within the UK.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

All data associated with the new virtual HM Armed Forces Veteran Card will be stored within the UK. The digitisation project is currently in the Discovery Phase. However, when it moves into development, it will operate under Government Security and Ministry of Defence Secure by Design frameworks as part of the whole life management of the service. This will include independent IT health checks and penetration testing throughout the duration of use.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether independent security audits will be conducted on the digital veterans ID system.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

All data associated with the new virtual HM Armed Forces Veteran Card will be stored within the UK. The digitisation project is currently in the Discovery Phase. However, when it moves into development, it will operate under Government Security and Ministry of Defence Secure by Design frameworks as part of the whole life management of the service. This will include independent IT health checks and penetration testing throughout the duration of use.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of (a) Mauritius' participation in the Forum on China- Africa Cooperation, (b) the provisions on military cooperation in and (c) the potential impact of the implementation of the Forum's Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027).

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

53 African countries, including Mauritius, attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). China made a range of high-level commitments as part of the Forum's Beijing Action Plan. As with previous FOCAC commitments we will monitor their implementation and implications for UK policy.

The UK will take a consistent and pragmatic approach to China's role in Africa - we will cooperate where we can, compete where we have different interests, and challenge where we must.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will provide a table detailing the most recent data on UK Regular Forces by (a) Service and (b) Medical Deployability Standards.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The following table provides the Medical Deployability Standards for UK Armed Forces personnel, broken down by service as of the 1 October 2024:

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of maintaining sovereign capability in the (a) production and (b) sustainment of the Hawk aircraft; and what the estimate he has made of the economic impact of that capability on the defence industry.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Hawk T1 aircraft is scheduled to remain in service until 2030 and the Hawk T2 aircraft out-of-service date is in 2040. A decision on the production, sustainment and replacement of the aircraft will not be taken until after the Strategic Defence Review is completed.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost has been of delivering the Military Flying Training System since its inception; and whether the programme is on track to meet its operational target.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The cost of delivering the UKMFTS since its inception has been £2.2 billion, with the programme continuing to deliver trained UK military pilots to meet the requirements of the Front Line Operational Conversion Unit. Incremental growth is planned in line with the Front Line Command requirements out to the contract end date in 2033.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost is of refits to HMS (a) Albion and (b) Bulwark since 2010.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The total cost of refits to HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark since 2010 is £132.7 million. This excludes HMS Bulwark's 2022-2025 refit which was estimated to cost £72.1 million. As HMS Bulwark was retired before her refit was completed, the refit costs are under review.