Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 46974 on Ministry of Defence: Land, which 17 local authorities his Department is working with on the future use of surplus military land in local plans.

The table below shows the Local Planning Authorities the Ministry of Defence is currently engaging with on the future use of surplus military land on sites previously identified for disposal through both the Defence Estate Optimisation Programme and other initiatives. LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITY (LPA)Colchester City CouncilNorth Yorkshire CouncilBroxtowe Borough CouncilWinchester City CouncilRutland CouncilCentral Bedfordshire CouncilRoyal Borough of GreenwichPortsmouth City CouncilSouth Kesteven District CouncilForest of Dean District CouncilMaidstone Borough CouncilWiltshire CouncilBreckland District CouncilWest Suffolk District CouncilTelford and Wrekin CouncilShropshire CouncilCheshire West and Chester CouncilCity of York CouncilBuckinghamshire CouncilPreston City CouncilVale of White Horse District CouncilPlymouth City CouncilSouth Oxfordshire District CouncilLondon Borough of HounslowHuntingdonshire District CouncilRushmoor Borough CouncilWokingham Borough CouncilSurrey Heath Borough CouncilEast Hampshire District Council

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing, published on 18 April 2025, how the named housing officer for every family will differ from the role of the Unit Welfare Officer.

Unit Welfare Officers are Service personnel who offer support to Armed Forces personnel and their families on a wide range of welfare issues, including both military-related and family matters. They may address housing concerns as part of their responsibilities. In cases involving housing issues, Unit Welfare Officers may signpost families to Pinnacle Housing Officers, or work with Pinnacle Housing Officers directly to resolve issues. The Housing Officer role is a non-military post which supports Service families with housing issues only.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 44691 on Army: Rifles, when the (a) scope, (b) timeline and (c) complexity of Project Grayburn will be confirmed.

Project GRAYBURN is currently in the concept phase. As part of this phase, scope and complexity will be assessed and a timeline for delivery will be developed, before being taken forward during the assessment phase. Subject to the outcome of the Strategic Defence Review, Project GRAYBURN is due to enter the assessment phase in 2026.

How many of the houses reacquired in January 2025 have been used to house Afghan families as part of (a) Operation Lazurite and (b) the Afghan Resettlement Scheme.

Operation LAZURITE is the Ministry of Defence operational contribution to the cross-Government Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP). As at 1 May 2025, of the properties re-acquired by the Department in January 2025, 852 houses are allocated for ARP support, the majority of which were in use for ARP prior to the reacquisition.

With reference to the press release entitled Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing, published on 18 April 2025, how he plans to implement the consultation with (a) military personnel and (b) their families on the defence housing strategy; and over what time period the consultation will run.

As set out in the announcement of the Consumer Charter on 18 April 2025, seven commitments will be delivered by the end of 2025. Further details will be published as part of the Defence Housing Strategy later this year. Consultation with military personnel and Service families will be key to informing this activity and ensuring that the commitments deliver tangible change. Engagement has already started with the Family Federations on the commitments of the Consumer Charter. The Housing Review Panel is currently assessing how feedback from Service families can be best captured. A series of accommodation roadshows are already taking place during which, feedback is being captured. It is expected that engagement will broaden to include a combination of questionnaires and in-person feedback.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 45186 on F-35 Aircraft: Procurement, how much of his Department's budget for the F-35 Lightning programme has been spent to date.

It is taking time to collate the requested information, and I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

With reference to his Department's press release Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing published on 18 April 2025, how the first 1,000 homes for refurbishment were selected.

In our new Consumer Charter we announced seven commitments, one of which is to raise the minimum standard of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) with a new programme of refurbishment works targeted at 1,000 of the worst homes. A combination of factors will be considered when selecting SFA for refurbishment. All SFA will be assessed against condition, thermal efficiency, age, safety, and modernity, as well as whether the Ministry of Defence has an enduring requirement for them. This will ensure both a geographical spread of investment across the UK and that a mixture of Officer and Other Rank properties are considered.

With reference to his Department's press release Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing published on 18 April 2025, what are they main components of the defence housing strategy.

The Defence Housing Strategy, planned for publication later this year, will set out a roadmap to deliver a generational renewal of military accommodation, where the main objective is to raise the minimum standard of Armed Forces housing. It will also turbocharge the development of surplus military land creating opportunities for Armed Forces home ownership and support the delivery of affordable homes for families across Britain as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.

How many of the 36,347 houses re-acquired by his Department in January 2025 house service (a) personnel and (b) families.

As at 30 April 2025, of the properties re-acquired by the Department in January 2025, 29,622 are let. Of these, 26,470 are let to Service personnel and their families and a further 402 are let to Service personnel as appropriated as Single Living Accommodation.

With reference to his Department's press release Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing published on 18 April 2025, how many families will each named housing office be responsible for under the new consumer charter.

The number of families each named Housing Officer will be responsible for under the new Consumer Charter, will vary depending on the number of Service families based at each location across the Defence estate. Work is currently underway to review Housing Officer duties, roles and responsibilities, along with the current structure. A new Housing Officer Vision has been rolled out via recent Housing Officer workshops.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985 to include Army Cadet Force instructors.

The Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985 protects the jobs of reservists who are called into service for full-time duty. Army Cadet Force Instructors are volunteers and not employed by the Ministry of Defence. The Cadet Forces are not part of the Armed Forces of the Crown, and members of the Cadet Forces have no liability for military service. This being the case we do not intend to review the scope of the Act to include Cadet Force Adult Volunteers. Cadet Force Adult Volunteers are without doubt the lifeblood of our Cadet Forces without whom the fantastic benefits of the ‘cadet experience’ could not be enjoyed by many thousands of young people. We are truly grateful for their volunteering service, and this is fully recognised in a number of ways, not least through the award of the Cadet Forces Medal on completion of twelve years’ qualifying service.

If he will publish a list of the weaponary gifted to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 April 2025 to Question 46206.The UK continues to work with our Ukrainian partners to identify the capabilities they need to counter Russian aggression. We will not provide further details of vehicle or equipment due to security classification.

With reference his Department's press release entitled Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing, published on 18 April 2025, what steps he is taking to implement a robust complaints system for service housing.

A new, simpler complaints process is currently being devised. This will shorten the process to two stages in line with industry best practice, so that Service personnel and families have quicker resolution. Final details of this will be set out in the Defence Housing Strategy, set to be published later this year following consultation with Service personnel and their families. There is no intent to put a contract out to tender. The complaints process is encompassed within the current Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contracts and the complaints process is managed by Pinnacle. No additional budget has been allocated to resource the new complaints process, as this is already delivered as part of the FDIS contracts.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing, published on 18 April 2025, whether the named housing officers for every family will be commissioned.

Housing Officers are employed by Pinnacle, the Ministry of Defence’s Industry Partner. These posts are filled by civilians, not military personnel and therefore, are not commissioned.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2025 to Question 45200 on Cycling: Training, what discussions the RAF have held with British Cycling to determine the parameters for the partnership on the BMX freestyle training facility located at RAF Shawbury.

Ministry of Defence officials have held discussions with British Cycling and agreed mutually beneficial parameters to enable the continued use of the BMX facilities at RAF Shawbury for at least 12-18 months.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing, published on 18th April 2025, when he plans to put the contract for the complaints system for service housing out to tender.

A new, simpler complaints process is currently being devised. This will shorten the process to two stages in line with industry best practice, so that Service personnel and families have quicker resolution. Final details of this will be set out in the Defence Housing Strategy, set to be published later this year following consultation with Service personnel and their families. There is no intent to put a contract out to tender. The complaints process is encompassed within the current Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contracts and the complaints process is managed by Pinnacle. No additional budget has been allocated to resource the new complaints process, as this is already delivered as part of the FDIS contracts.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing, published on 18 April 2025, what budget has been allocated to the renovation of the worst homes in the Defence Housing Strategy.

The cost of renovating 1,000 of the worst homes is £50 million. Refurbishment work will commence at the beginning of summer 2025, with completion planned by the end of the year.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing, published on 18 April 2025, what the budget is for implementing the robust complaints system for service housing.

A new, simpler complaints process is currently being devised. This will shorten the process to two stages in line with industry best practice, so that Service personnel and families have quicker resolution. Final details of this will be set out in the Defence Housing Strategy, set to be published later this year following consultation with Service personnel and their families. There is no intent to put a contract out to tender. The complaints process is encompassed within the current Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contracts and the complaints process is managed by Pinnacle. No additional budget has been allocated to resource the new complaints process, as this is already delivered as part of the FDIS contracts.

With reference to the press release entitled Homes fit for heroes: Raft of new measures to improve military family housing, published on 18 April 2025, which organisation will be responsible for running the complaints system for service housing.

A new, simpler complaints process is currently being devised. This will shorten the process to two stages in line with industry best practice, so that Service personnel and families have quicker resolution. Final details of this will be set out in the Defence Housing Strategy, set to be published later this year following consultation with Service personnel and their families. There is no intent to put a contract out to tender. The complaints process is encompassed within the current Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contracts and the complaints process is managed by Pinnacle. No additional budget has been allocated to resource the new complaints process, as this is already delivered as part of the FDIS contracts.

What objectives the Personal Hard Armour Framework (PHA-F) seeks to deliver.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question 45048 on 28 April 2025.