Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with her Australian counterpart on negotiating a new reciprocal social security agreement for the uprating of UK State Pensions for UK pensioners residing in Australia.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department has not engaged with their Australian counterparts on negotiating a new reciprocal social security agreement.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which (a) UK and (b) non-UK companies have been awarded contracts for drones; and what the value is of each contract.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In total since January 2024, The Department can identify 48 ‘drone’ related contracts valuing £3.6 billion that have been active within the Ministry of Defence.
Nine of these are marked as having a primary supplier address outside the UK.
24 of these contracts were competitively tendered, 23 were single source tenders and one unknown.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which contracts for drones have been awarded by (a) competitive tender and (b) single source.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In total since January 2024, The Department can identify 48 ‘drone’ related contracts valuing £3.6 billion that have been active within the Ministry of Defence.
Nine of these are marked as having a primary supplier address outside the UK.
24 of these contracts were competitively tendered, 23 were single source tenders and one unknown.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using UK-based manufacturing companies to deliver the Rampion 2 wind turbine scheme.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government is not neutral about where things are made. We want to see jobs created and supply chains developed here in the UK.
As part of the growth and clean energy superpower missions, the Government is committed to growing the UK’s supply chains and supporting good jobs throughout the country. The Clean Industry Bonus aims to drive investment into sustainable supply chains, particularly in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities. In addition, the Government has set out a package of support for offshore wind supply chains worth up to £1 billion, including £300 million from Great British Energy to provide upfront public investment, £400 million from The Crown Estate, to support new infrastructure, including ports, manufacturing, and research and testing facilities, and £300 million being developed by the offshore wind industry, to deliver new investments into supply chains such as advanced turbines technologies and foundations.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 17 on European security, what recent discussions he has had with drone component suppliers to ensure that the UK military is up to date when it comes to drone technology and capability.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence routinely engages with drone component suppliers to iterate and spiral develop capability in close cooperation with allies.
One of the key mechanisms to ensure that Defence is up to date with the latest developments in drone technology and associated tactics is through our support to Ukraine, where drone capabilities are developed and exploited in cooperation with drone component suppliers. As outlined in the Strategic Defence Review, Defence will continue to invest in drone technology to advance our capabilities in tandem with UK industry.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of further delay of the implementation of reforms to the Electronic Communications Code under the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 on 5G rollout.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.
Most provisions have been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. We must ensure they are implemented carefully, to create certainty and avoid post-implementation delays. The Department has policy and legal resources dedicated to deliver these. A technical consultation on draft regulations to implement sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, is open until 2 July.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, by what date he expects full implementation of reforms to the Electronic Communications Code brought about through the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.
Most provisions have been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. We must ensure they are implemented carefully, to create certainty and avoid post-implementation delays. The Department has policy and legal resources dedicated to deliver these. A technical consultation on draft regulations to implement sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, is open until 2 July.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will update the NPPF to include guidance on the importance of telecommunications infrastructure in any major planning decisions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to supporting investment in high-quality, reliable digital connectivity so that communities can benefit from faster economic growth and greater social inclusion.
Chapter 10 of the National Planning Policy Framework sets out the government’s current policy on supporting high quality communications infrastructure and the latest national planning policy on how telecommunications and mobile network infrastructure should be considered.
In addition, the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England (April 2022) sets out the considerations that operators should follow when deploying infrastructure, including how infrastructure should be sited.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will provide guidance to local authorities on ensuring mobile network operators are informed for large-scale developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to supporting investment in high-quality, reliable digital connectivity so that communities can benefit from faster economic growth and greater social inclusion.
Chapter 10 of the National Planning Policy Framework sets out the government’s current policy on supporting high quality communications infrastructure and the latest national planning policy on how telecommunications and mobile network infrastructure should be considered.
In addition, the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England (April 2022) sets out the considerations that operators should follow when deploying infrastructure, including how infrastructure should be sited.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will increase permitted development rights for telecommunications applications.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to supporting investment in high-quality, reliable digital connectivity so that communities can benefit from faster economic growth and greater social inclusion.
We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.