Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure sufficient artillery ammunition stockpiles for sustained operations in a peer-on-peer conflict.

The hon. Member will know UK stocks have been reduced from gifting to Ukraine since Putin’s full-scale invasion. The Strategic Defence Review sets out the plan to recover stockpiles - munition stockpile levels are actively reviewed to ensure current holdings are balanced against threats, availability, industrial capacity and evolving technology. The announcement of six new energetics and munitions factories are part of this effort. It would not be appropriate to comment on specific stockpile levels, as this information is operationally sensitive.