Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a national strategy for palliative and end of life care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the names of those who have held the post of Ajax's Senior Responsible Owner (SRO), or the equivalent position, since 2015.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The list of individuals who have held the role of Senior Responsible Officer for the Armoured Cavalry Programme (commonly known as Ajax) are listed below.
Date in post | Occupant |
November 2023 – Present | Mr Chris Bowbrick |
October 2021 – November 2023 | Dr David Marsh |
April 2019 – August 2021 | Lieutenant General Simon Hamilton |
November 2015 – April 2019 | Major General Mark Gaunt |
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what bonuses were paid to the Ajax team at Defence Equipment and Support over the past 5 years.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Due to Defence Equipment and Support's flexible resourcing model, performance awards would have been made on an individual basis and as a result of overall organisational performance, rather than solely on the outcomes of a specific programme.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish all documents provided by the current Senior Reporting Office regarding Ajax’s safety.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Senior Reporting Officer regularly provides updates to Defence Ministers on the programme. However, this Government, and the last Government, do not routinely release information provided from officials to ministers.
But I can assure the Hon Gentleman that Before declaring Initial Operating Capability, I received written assurances from CGS and the acting NAD that the vehicle was safe to operate. Within the letter note AJAX the vehicle was described as ‘demonstrably safe to operate”.
When concerns were raised in the summer, an independent Army investigation confirmed the vehicle was fit for purpose and operating well within Health and Safety Executive limits for noise and vibration.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2025 to Question 30971 on Armed Forces: Civil Proceedings, whether the Attorney General’s list of conflicts included legacy-related matters under the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has an established and rigorous process for identifying and dealing with conflicts, and potential conflicts, that arise from the Law Officers’ past practice. That process sits against the backdrop of every lawyer’s professional obligation to be alert to, and actively manage, any situation that might give rise to a potential or actual conflict.
This rigorous process for identifying and managing conflicts sits alongside the system relating to ministerial interests, overseen by the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. Both the Director General of the AGO and the Independent Adviser were provided with the Attorney General’s list of conflicts following his appointment.
If a Law Officer were to publicly confirm specific matters where they were conflicted, this would infer that legal advice had been requested by the Government on a specific matter, which would risk a breach of the Law Officers’ Convention.
In addition, a lawyer cannot breach a client’s confidentiality in relation to advisory work that had previously not been made public so this would limit the ability of a Law Officer to publish in full their previous caseload and conflicts schedule. In that regard, the Attorney General has been through the same process as previous Law Officers, none of whom have gone as far to proactively disclose their specific conflicts of interest for the reasons set out above.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77476 on Boxer Vehicles: Repairs and Maintenance, when the review of the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (Boxer) programme’s Initial Operating Capability will be completed; and if he will provide an update to the House once that review has concluded.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The review of the Mechanised Infantry Boxer Programme’s Initial Operating Capability schedule has been completed and is progressing through the Ministry of Defence Approvals process.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his Oral Statement of 14 October 2025 on Northern Ireland Troubles, Official Report, column 247 and his Department's press release entitled Northern Ireland Troubles Bill to repeal and replace Legacy Act, published on 14 October 2025, if he will confirm that the proposed protections for veterans in (a) that Bill and (b) forthcoming protocols will not extend to alleged paramilitaries.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill includes new protections and safeguards for veterans that were not included in the 2023 Act, and that respond directly to the views expressed by veterans during engagements that the Government has undertaken. The Government is also taking forward some measures on a non-legislative basis. All of the protections that the Government has announced are being introduced in order to protect and ensure fair treatment of any veteran who is asked to engage with legacy mechanisms.
Some measures will apply only to veterans, including the protection from cold calling and the new safeguard that ensures veterans do not have to give unnecessary evidence on historical context and general operational details.
Other measures, including the right to give evidence remotely and having regard to the welfare of witnesses, will necessarily apply to others. This will ensure, for example, that former police officers are able to avail of these measures.
The Commission will be under a duty to avoid duplication unless it is considered essential which will apply to all of its investigations. This will ensure that the Commission’s investigations are effective, efficient, and focused on getting answers for families, whilst also protecting veterans from needlessly having to provide information previously covered.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department will publish an impact assessment for the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 (Remedial) Order 2025.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Cabinet Office’s Guide to Making Legislation makes clear that “Impact Assessments are generally required for all UK government interventions of a regulatory nature that affect the private sector and/or civil society organisation or public services”.
As the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 (Remedial Order) 2025 does not regulate the private sector, civil society organisations or public services, no Impact Assessment has been produced. Parliament will have the ability to debate the impact of the Remedial Order in the usual way.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the number of potential claims against former UK armed forces personnel that could be eligible for judicial consideration under the proposals in the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Existing civil cases were not barred from proceeding by the Legacy Act. The Government is, by way of a Remedial Order, repealing the retrospective bar on new civil cases and the bar on future civil cases, which has been found to be incompatible with our legal obligations. It is not possible to predict potential future proceedings.
As is currently the case with the ICRIR, the Legacy Commission will be able to investigate, on request, Troubles-related deaths and serious injuries that occurred between 1 January 1966 and 10 April 1998. While it is not possible to predict its future caseload, the vast majority of the Troubles-related deaths, some 90%, were at the hands of paramilitaries.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the value was of the contract awarded by his Department to Korn Ferry for the recruitment of the National Armaments Director.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The competition was supported by Kornferry: details of the contract award and value are available here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/be88f513-c01a-4620-89f9-1cb2cc686895 and here Executive & Non-Executive Recruitment Services - CCS