Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to diversify supplies of (a) gallium and (b) germanium as part of the UK’s defence industrial strategy.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department recognises China’s influence in global critical mineral supply chains and the potential implications of China's export regulations on these chains, particularly concerning the use of germanium and gallium in the defence sector. The Department is collaborating closely with Industry, the Department for Business and Trade, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office and NATO to consistently assess supply chain risks and strategies for mitigation, including diversification of supply chains.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will allow members of His Majesty's armed forces to access salary sacrifice schemes for car (a) leasing and (b) purchases.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no plans to introduce salary sacrifice schemes for members of the Armed Forces. However, the MOD continually reviews the overall offer to Service personnel with the aim of making it as attractive as possible, supporting maximum levels of recruitment and retention within available resources.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will bring forward the date by which the UK will spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on Defence.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government has made a clear commitment for defence spending to reach 2.5% of GDP by 2027. This is a fully funded increase, the details of which were set out in the Spring Statement.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to introduce a civilian home guard as part of the armed forces reserve capabilities.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I am grateful for the contribution of our Reserve Forces who provide the UK with the ability to meet the threats we face at home and overseas, with the scale, skills, agility and connection to society that it needs, in a cost-effective way. Home Defence resilience is one of the key themes from the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) Report released on 2 Jun 2025.
The Ministry of Defence will now work with other relevant Government Departments to consider the implementation of the recommendations within the SDR, which includes Home Defence and Critical National Infrastructure. The potential role of Armed Forces Reserves capabilities will be considered as part of this.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will end his Department's pension payments to any former defence personnel who have served in any branch of the UK armed forces and who have fought alongside (a) Russian Federation military personnel and (b) Russian proxies in (i) Ukraine, (ii) North Africa and (iii) Sub-Saharan Africa.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Armed Forces Pension Schemes allow for the forfeit of an individual’s pension entitlements where certain conditions are met. The conditions largely concern circumstances where the member has been convicted of a serious criminal offence. This power provides assurance that those who commit grave and serious crimes, connected with their service, that bring His Majesty’s Armed Forces into disrepute or cause grave injury to the interests of defence or the State, do not receive public funds in the form of an Armed Forces pension. Pension forfeiture is rare and requires consideration by the Secretary of State or the Defence Council.
The Ministry of Defence cannot comment on individual cases but further information on the general conditions under which forfeiture may be applied and the procedure to be followed when enacting forfeiture can be found at:
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will have discussions with his US counterpart on the (a) strategic contribution of Red Sea region and (b) the potential merits of retaining the United States Africa Command.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Secretary of State for Defence has regular engagements with the US Secretary of Defense where they discuss a range of topics including Red Sea security. The UK Ministry of Defence also undertakes frequent engagement with US AFRICOM on a range of issues.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Nepal on the (i) number of Nepalese nationals who are and (ii) steps Nepal is taking to help prevent its nationals fighting as mercenaries for the Russian Federation in Ukraine; and what information his Department holds on whether those mercenaries have received training from the British Army.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry for Defence engages regularly with the Government of Nepal. The Nepali Government has denounced recruitment and has formally asked Russia to desist its attempts to recruit Nepali citizens to fight.
They have also sought to deter Nepalis travelling to Russia through immigration measures and raising public awareness of the risks, to which HMG is supportive. As the Government of Nepal does not allow citizens to join the Russian military there are no official figures available.
No evidence has been provided by Ukraine or Nepal to suggest that Nepalis trained by the British Army are fighting for Russia.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure a space defence strategy is included in the outputs from the Strategic Defence Review.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
While the Ministry of Defence continues to deliver against its existing space strategy, the Strategic Defence Review provides an opportunity to assess the strategic landscape and threat picture to inform long-term decisions, including on refreshing the Defence Space Strategy. The existing strategy has led to the establishment of UK Space Command, the National Space Operations Centre, and the development of the UK’s sovereign space-based ISR programme, which we will build on going forward.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Ghana on the (i) number of Ghanaian nationals who are and (ii) steps Ghana is taking to help prevent its nationals fighting as mercenaries for the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Ghana is a valuable security partner, and I met with the Ghanaian Defence Minister this week. The UK engages regularly with Ghana on a range of topics of mutual concern, including Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will have discussions with Cabinet colleagues on safeguarding civilian national infrastructure required for the (a) mobilisation and (b) deployment of the armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has robust plans for mobilising and deploying the Armed Forces in response to events and crises, both at home and abroad. The Ministry of Defence works closely with other Government Departments, including the Cabinet Office, as well as the owners and operators of civilian national infrastructure, to ensure plans include safeguarding of vital sites and infrastructure.