Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

With reference to recommendation 58 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, updated on 8 July 2025, what progress he has made in establishing a ten-year physical infrastructure plan for Defence medical.

The Defence Investment Plan will set out how the Ministry of Defence (MOD) will deliver the vision of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) over the next 10 years, including confirming the funding available to improve the physical and digital infrastructure of Defence Medical Services, together with medical evacuation and medical stockpiles. The SDR commits the MOD to establish a ten-year physical infrastructure plan for Defence medical by February 2026, including options for medical infrastructure drawing on the NHS and private finance.

With reference to page 131 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, updated on 8 July 2025, what progress he has made in establishing a single Defence Medical Enterprise.

In response to the Strategic Defence Review recommendations, and as part of Defence Reform, the Defence Medical Services (DMS) will be empowered as the Lead Command for medical within the Cyber and Specialist Operations Command (CSOC). Work is ongoing to establish and implement the Lead Command model across the Armed Forces.

With reference to page 130 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, what progress he has made on rebuilding medical capabilities for warfighting from a Defence Medical Services perspective.

A key recommendation of the Strategic Defence Review is rebuilding medical capacity and capability, together with the NHS, to ensure our Armed Forces remain fighting fit in peacetime and are prepared to meet operational demands when at war. With allies, through the NATO Medical Action Plan we are focused on addressing priority challenges in workforce; mass casualty planning; patient evacuation; and medical logistics. We will look to address legislative and regulatory barriers to effective care. The Defence Investment Plan will set out how the Ministry of Defence and will deliver the vision of the Strategic Defence Review over the next 10 years, including to ensure that the Defence Medical Services and the NHS together have capacity to meet Defence medical needs, including in the most extreme circumstances.

With reference to page 130 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, what progress he has made on rebuilding defence medical (a) capacity and (b) capability together with the NHS.

A key recommendation of the Strategic Defence Review is rebuilding medical capacity and capability, together with the NHS, to ensure our Armed Forces remain fighting fit in peacetime and are prepared to meet operational demands when at war. With allies, through the NATO Medical Action Plan we are focused on addressing priority challenges in workforce; mass casualty planning; patient evacuation; and medical logistics. We will look to address legislative and regulatory barriers to effective care. The Defence Investment Plan will set out how the Ministry of Defence and will deliver the vision of the Strategic Defence Review over the next 10 years, including to ensure that the Defence Medical Services and the NHS together have capacity to meet Defence medical needs, including in the most extreme circumstances.

With reference to page 114 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the (a) flexibility, (b) efficiency and (c) value for money of civilian charter options for air-to-air refuelling in non-contested environments.

The RAF Voyager Force contributes to NATO Integrated Air Defence and NATO Enhanced Air Policing. In addition, I refer the hon. Member to the answer the right hon. Member for Liverpool Garston (Maria Eagle) gave to him on 4 July 2025 to Question 63066.

With reference to page 106 of the Strategic Defence Review 2024, what progress he has made in establishing more flexible regulation in order to facilitate experimentation in autonomy.

The Defence Maritime Regulator (DMR) is currently developing several options for defence to consider and progress. These options are being developed in conjunction with defence stakeholders and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and will be presented for consideration by April 2026. The current options vary in scale and scope, but all allow for the unique legislative freedoms afforded to the Royal Navy and to Defence Shipping to be utilised to support the development of Maritime Autonomy. DMR is supporting the ongoing development of the MCA’s own maritime autonomy programme as the two organisations strive to deliver safe and environmentally sound shipping in the defence and civil sectors.

What the UK’s contribution is to the European Long Range Strike Approach.

The UK is supporting and participating in a number of areas in the European Long Range Strike Approach (ELSA), including surface and air launched capabilities over different range and performance needs. The very long range (2000km+) Deep Precision Strike programme launched between UK and Germany is an example with opportunities for wider European participation under ELSA.

With reference to page 89 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what progress he has made on reviewing the Submarine Telegraph Act 1885.

The legislation is currently being reviewed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in relation to the protection and security of subsea cables. The Ministry of Defence is a key partner in this process.

With reference to page 71 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what recent progress he has made on reviewing (a) standards, (b) qualifications and (c) in-house training.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is undertaking a comprehensive review of military training to confirm appropriate alignment with civilian qualifications and standards, while ensuring operational readiness and the capacity to scale up training to meet warfighting requirements. This work is part of the Defence Accreditation Review, which aims to cohere, simplify, modernise and improve existing accreditation frameworks. The review encompasses qualifications on the Regulated Qualifications Framework, apprenticeships, professional certifications, and industry standards. Progress includes an assessment of current qualifications, the identification of data gaps, and the trialling of artificial intelligence to enhance training development and accreditation. We are formulating recommendations for accreditation policy and exploring the role of the Defence Awarding Organisation in this context. This work demonstrates our commitment to maintaining operational readiness and the professional development of our personnel, ensuring they are prepared for both the demands of war and their future civilian careers.

With reference to page 70 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what recent progress he has made on gathering recommendations for independent oversight of his plan to tackle (a) structural, (b) behavioural and (c) leadership barriers within the workforce.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 September 2025 to Question 70723 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge).

With reference to page 70 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what steps he plans to take to reduce civil service costs by at least 10% by 2030.

As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, we are developing plans for how to use the latest automation, augmentation, and AI technology to reduce costs in administrative areas such as HR, Finance, and Commercial. We are conducting a comprehensive review of the Defence workforce to ensure it is appropriately structured to deliver on our strategic priorities, including evaluating the balance between Regulars, Reserves, Civil Servants and Contractors. We will also use this as an opportunity for deep prioritisation, taking difficult but necessary choices to address affordability challenges. We will set out our plans in the Defence Reform and Efficiency Plan, which will be published in the autumn alongside the Defence Investment Plan.

With reference to recommendation 37 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what progress he has made in developing an autonomous mine-hunting capability.

The Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme continues to deliver an advanced suite of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) into service within the Royal Navy, enabling frontline mine warfare specialists to enhance operational effectiveness. These cutting-edge autonomous mine-hunting systems are deployed by the Mine and Threat Exploitation Group for evaluation, training, and operational deployment. The comprehensive scope of the MHC programme encompasses multiple USVs, UUVs, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for identification and neutralisation, and a state-of-the-art, sovereign mine-sweeping capability. Additionally, the programme has delivered HMS STIRLING CASTLE, a dedicated support vessel designed to enhance the deployment and sustainment of autonomous systems.

What progress he has made on implementing a repurposed dry dock as part of the Submarine Waterfront Infrastructure Future project.

The Submarine Waterfront Infrastructure Future (SWIF) programme will provide facilities to locations such as Devenport that include a new non-tidal maintenance berth in 5 Basin, a refurbished 10 Dock, and supporting buildings and services. Significant planning has been undertaken in preparation for build, including working with the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and de-risking the site for construction. The construction phase of the berth has commenced, with the excavation of more than 18,000 cubic metres of material, which will form the 280-metre-long tunnel that will carry electrical, water, communications and air services vital to the nuclear safety and maintenance of berthed submarines. The berth wall will be formed from a series of precast concrete reinforced sections secured by rock anchor to provide the required stability; as a precursor to this work four trial anchors are currently under construction. Progress against 10 dock refurbishment includes trial build activity and the fabrication of a dockyard concrete batching plant, which will support the pace required during main dock construction. Significant volumes of concrete were also poured in the Spring this year, the biggest single pour in 20 years at the dockyard, to form the base of the caisson which seals the dock. The next phase of caisson construction activity is due to commence in the coming days.

When he expects the modernisation of the (a) two divisions and (b) Corps HQ that the British Army provides to NATO’s strategic reserve corps to be completed.

The delivery of the Army’s modernisation programme is ongoing and subject to review as part of the Defence Investment Plan. Early steps that have already been made include: the elevation of key capabilities to the Corps level (Engineers, Air Defence, Aviation, Medical, Military Policing); the re-establishment of Armoured Infantry capability for 3 (UK) Division; the establishment of a new Reconnaissance Strike Brigade for 1 (UK) Division. We have also grown capabilities in a number of areas including Counter-Intelligence, Close Support Engineering, and Land Targeting. The headmark for the delivery of the associated capability modernisation and transformation programmes remains 2035.

With reference to page 127 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what the barriers to interoperability are between defence and the UK Intelligence Community.

Collaboration with partners across Government, including the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC), is essential to Defence outputs-both in routine activity and on operations. The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) sets a clear ambition to strengthen collaboration and interoperability, enabling delivery of the Integrated Force and the Digital Targeting Web. Defence is already interoperable with Government partners and capable of sharing data and intelligence. However, there are further opportunities to improve. To address this, multiple programmes are ongoing which aim to enhance interoperability and remove barriers to information sharing. These initiatives vary in maturity but are already being adopted across the MOD and UKIC and delivering measurable benefits.Additional work is underway to modernise data-handling approaches across National Security, leveraging technological advances to enable machine-speed sharing where appropriate. Combined with the MOD's broader technology modernisation programmes, these efforts will deliver improved capability, interoperability, and resilience across Defence and Government partners.

With reference to page 135 of his Department's document entitled Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 2 June 2025, what progress he has made in building energy infrastructure for carbon sequestration on the Ministry of Defence's estate.

The Strategic Defence Review 2025 recommends building energy infrastructure on the Defence estate and/or using it for carbon sequestration. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is actively exploring carbon sequestration opportunities as part of its efforts to meet the UK Government's Net Zero target by 2050. Under the Army’s ‘Project Prometheus’ launched in February 2023, solar assets have already saved an estimated 636 CO2 tonnes. Two new ground mounted projects are currently in construction on the Defence estate, and another was contracted in late September 2025. The MOD also has a number of roof top solar projects scheduled for delivery across the Defence estate in the next 12 months, as well as a programme targeting up to 15 additional renewable energy infrastructure projects in partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, allowing energy bill savings to be redirected towards vital Defence spending.

With reference to page 134 of his Department's Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 2 June 2025, what progress he has made in (a) redesigning and (b) remodelling the Service Family Accommodation estate.

The Defence Housing Strategy will set out the roadmap for how the Department will deliver a national regeneration programme for the Service Family Accommodation estate and deliver more housing of all types on Defence land identified as suitable for development. It is due to be published later this year.

With reference to page 58 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what progress he has made in establishing service-agnostic capability portfolios.

The Ministry of Defence is introducing service-agnostic capability portfolios to increase flexibility and drive pace in procurement.Implementation is underway in the National Armaments Director Group. A phased approach to implementation, aligned with wider defence reforms, will enable learning from pathfinder portfolios to inform subsequent roll out and the maturing of the operating model.

With reference to page 106 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, what progress he has made in ensuring an always on supply line for shipbuilding.

I refer to the answer provided by the former Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry to the Commons Oral Question 904899 from Graeme Downie MP on 30 June 2025: 'As outlined in the Strategic Defence Review and in the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, the Government are committed to supporting an "always on" shipbuilding industry by leveraging our buying power through public procurement and seeking to export our capabilities to friendly nations.' Subsequently the Government has published the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS), which recognises the importance of the British shipbuilding and maritime technology sector. The government will publish a shipbuilding and maritime technology action plan to deliver the commitments in the DIS relating to shipbuilding.

With reference to page 34 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what recent progress he has made on developing a new precision long-range strike capability.

The UK continues to work closely with Germany and has recently launched concepting work with industries in both countries on choices to deliver a joint long-range strike capability. Wider collaborative options involving other nations are also under active consideration.