Written questions by Burghart.

With reference to the No10 press release entitled Prime Minister to warn that Europe must move away from overdependence on the US, to interdependence - and a more European NATO, of 13 February 2026, whether the £270 billion includes security spending; whether that figure is in cash terms; and what the monetary amount is in each year of this Parliament.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on 9 February 2026 to Question 110442, tabled on 3 February 2026 by the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge). All figures provided in the response are in cash terms.

Pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2026 to Question 101383 on Government Actuary's Department: Freedom of Information, what is the evidential basis for the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry's statement that the £34,702 million figure by the Government Actuary's Department was incorrect.

It is incorrect to present the nominal costs as the true amount, and to ignore the effects of inflation and the changing value of money on the real costs of a deal that lasts 99 years.The figures published by the Government Actuary's Department clearly show that they had also calculated a net present value of £3.4 billion, by using the OBR forecast inflation rate along with the Social Time Discount Rate set out in the Green Book. The Government gave a detailed breakdown of this methodology in the explanatory memorandum we published alongside the Treaty in May 2025.This is standard practice for any long-term Government deal. It ensures the figures are realistic, comparable, and not artificially inflated by adding up future payments without considering the time value of money.These figures also have been verified and confirmed by the Office for Statistics Regulation and Office for Budget Responsibility.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2024 to Question 54793 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether his Department's spending on the deal will count towards meeting the (a) 2.5 percent and (b) 3 percent defence spending targets.

The NATO qualifying status of these costs will be considered in the usual way.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2024 to Question 54793 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, what is the cash terms, monetary value of the Defence payment towards the Chagos deal in each individual year of the Spending Review 2025.

I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge), in response to Question 59129, on 23 June 2025.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether the contract was reviewed by the Single Source Regulations Office.

The Ukraine Government selected the lightweight-multirole missile because it has demonstrated itself to be a highly effective short range air defence capability. Because the UK Ministry of Defence is acting on behalf of the Ukrainian Government in procuring these missiles, pursuant to an international agreement between the UK and Ukraine, and the contract is being funded by the Ukraine Government with support from UK Export Finance, the procurement is excluded from the procurement legislation which would normally be applicable.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether procurement thresholds were considered when awarding the contract.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 40323 on 28 March 2025.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Historic £1.6bn deal provides thousands of air defence missiles for Ukraine and boosts UK jobs and growth, published 2 March 2025, whether an assessment was conducted under the Public Contract Regulations 2015 to determine whether a direct award was justifiable based on (a) extreme urgency and (b) operational necessity.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 40323 on 28 March 2025.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, what (a) transparency reporting obligations and (b) performance milestones have been placed on Thales Northern Ireland.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 40323 on 28 March 2025.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Historic £1.6bn deal provides thousands of air defence missiles for Ukraine and boosts UK jobs and growth, published 2 March 2025, whether contractual contingency measures exist within the contract in the event of (a) production delays, (b) cost overruns and (c) failure to meet performance criteria.

The contract includes provisions to incentivise the specified delivery dates and, where relevant, performance criteria, with remedies available if those contractual obligations are not met. The scope will be placed in a phased manner, with the intent being that each phase is subject to a firm price.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether the contract was awarded via (a) the Dynamic Purchasing System and (b) a Crown Commercial Service framework.

No. Procurement of this type of capability is not available through the Dynamic Purchasing System or a Crown Commercial Service framework.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether regulatory compliance audits were undertaken on the contract.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 40323 on 28 March 2025.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether his Department considered procuring the contract through a competitive tendering process under the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 40323 on 28 March 2025.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, what relative weight was given to (a) technical capability, (b) cost, (c) delivery timelines and (d) risk assessment when awarding the contract.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 35735 on 12 March 2025.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, under what circumstances the contract could be terminated.

The contract includes provisions for termination in a range of circumstances. Releasing the detail of those provisions could potentially harm our relations with the Government of Ukraine, noting that the contract was placed on its behalf pursuant to an international agreement between the UK and Ukraine and is being funded by the Ukraine Government, with support from UK Export Finance.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether the contract was awarded under a single-source procurement route.

The Ukraine Government has selected the Lightweight Multi-role Missile because it has demonstrated itself to be a highly effective short-range air defence capability. This procurement was not subject to competition, noting that it is excluded from applicable procurement legislation as we are acting on behalf of the Ukraine Government pursuant to an international agreement between the UK and Ukraine.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether a value-for-money assessment was conducted before awarding the contract.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 35734 on 10 March 2025.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether (a) an open prior information notice or (b) a voluntary ex-ante transparency notice was published in relation to the procurement.

Neither a Prior Information Notice nor voluntary ex-ante transparency notice were published, noting that this procurement is excluded from applicable procurement legislation as it is pursuant to an international agreement between the UK and Ukraine.

With reference to his Department's press release on the award of a £1.6 billion contract to Thales in Belfast for the manufacture of lightweight-multirole missiles, published on 2 March 2025, whether specific contractual provisions allow for the potential extension of the contract.

The contract does not include executable options to extend its duration. The scope will be awarded in a phased manner, and the contract does include provisions to extend specific delivery dates in certain circumstances.

Whether his Department made an assessment of the value-for-money of the award the contract to Thales Northern Ireland for lightweight-multirole missiles prior to the award of that contract on 2 March 2025.

Value for Money of the contract has been assessed in accordance with normal Departmental practice, including benchmarking, in addition to a bottom-up price assessment. In addition to UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) internal assurance the Ukrainian MOD have also been satisfied that the deal represents good Value for Money.

What weightings were applied to (a) technical capability, (b) cost, (c) delivery timelines and (d) risk assessment in the award of the contract to Thales Northern Ireland for lightweight-multirole missiles.

This procurement was not subject to competition, in accordance with applicable procurement legislation, and therefore tender assessment weightings were not applicable.