Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Obese-Jecty this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,941–1,960 of 2,250 · Ministry of Defence
With reference to his Department's press release entitled Thousands of veterans to benefit from new UK-wide support network, published on 5 May 2025, what (a) rank and (b) grade the Regional Field Officers will be.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 May 2025 to Questions 50185, 50186, 50187, 50189, 50190, 50191 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr Cartlidge) and Question 50424 to the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Mr Jopp).
Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a home-buying scheme for (a) serving armed forces personnel and (b) veterans as part 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. The Ministry of Defence already operates the Forces Help to Buy scheme which encourages and supports Service personnel to buy their own home, allowing them to borrow up to 50% of their salary, up to a maximum of £25,000 interest free towards the purchase of a property.
Pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 46202 on Firearms, for what reason the L7A2 general purpose machine gun is being withdrawn from service in 2035.
On current plans, the Out of Service Date (OSD) for the L7A2 General Purpose Machine Gun (GMPG) is 2035. An OSD enables future planning, however, it is ultimately a guideline which can be subject to change. The British Army continually assesses its current capabilities to ensure that it is appropriately equipped to face any adversary. The L7A2 GMPG is currently considered to be a world leading weapon and if it remains an effective and required capability at the time of the planned OSD, it is possible that the OSD will be extended.
What provisions his Department makes for serving personnel who are Parish Councillors in order to retain their Parish Council seat in the event that they are deployed for a period greater than six months.
Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972 lays out the rules for extended absences greater than six months. It gives provision for individuals to seek approval for absences greater than six months, which would allow them to retain their seat. Under the Armed Forces Covenant we would expect that deployment is given appropriate regard by the authority when making this decision. When employed within the Armed Forces in connection with war or any emergency, Section 85 entitles the member to relief from the six-month rule, if the failure to attend is due to that employment. The exact wording can be found at the following link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/70/section/85.
With reference to his Department's press release entitled Thousands of veterans to benefit from new UK-wide support network, published on 5 May 2025, whether Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees will be involved in VALOUR-recognised support centres.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 May 2025 to Questions 50185, 50186, 50187, 50189, 50190, 50191 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr Cartlidge) and Question 50424 to the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Mr Jopp).
Pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47898 on Armed Forces: Housing, when the new taskforce will be created.
The new taskforce to accelerate development on surplus Ministry of Defence (MOD) land, between the MOD, HM Treasury and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government was created and announced on 27 March 2025.
How many of the 36,347 houses reacquired in January 2025 (a) were not suitable for occupation at time of reacquisition and (b) are not suitable for occupation as of May 2025.
As at 9 January 2025, (a) 3,247 of the properties re-acquired by the Department were void not suitable for occupation, and (b) as at 1 May 2025, 3,049 of the properties are void and not suitable for occupation.
Pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47898 on Armed Forces: Housing, what progress he has made with Homes England on accelerating the release of public land for development.
Ministry of Defence Officials continue to engage with Homes England and have set up a series of workshops to target the accelerated delivery of sites, with a particular focus on Chetwynd Barracks, Ripon and RAF Wyton. Officials are also working jointly with Homes England at specific sites to design a phased development approach for delivering houses. Homes England will also be invited to support the promotion of sites through the Town Planning Process.
Pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 46131 on Armed Forces: Recruitment, how the annual Basic Training Start limit for Commonwealth citizens is determined for each service.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) decides which nationalities we recruit and any limits on numbers such as the 1,350 per annum Basic Training Start limit for Commonwealth citizens across the Armed Forces which was introduced on 5 November 2018. Each single Service determined the upper limit of Commonwealth citizens it wished to recruit per annum, in line with the guiding principle of supporting workforce shortages across the full range of vacancies in the Armed Forces, through building on the historical links with the Commonwealth and their tradition of service. The MOD works closely with the Home Office on all matters related to immigration.
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, whether the named housing officer for each family will be (a) a new PID on a unit 8005 establishment and (b) an additional role allocated to an existing post.
Housing Officers are employed by Pinnacle, the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Industry Partner. As these posts are not filled by MOD personnel, a new PID on the Unit 8005 Establishment is not required, nor are these roles allocated to existing posts.
What recruitment advertising his Department has purchased through the Government contract with Manning Gottlieb Omni Media Group in (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.
The following information relates to spend by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF) on the Pan Government contract with Manning Gottlieb Omni Media Group; the Army uses Capita for all recruitment advertising. Spend in 2023-24 was £29.949 million and in 2024-25 was £32.268 million. Royal Navy and RAF advertising budgets for 2025-26 have not yet received final Cabinet Office approval so are unable to be confirmed at this time.
In what location the 36,347 houses reacquired in January 2025 are.
The number of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties by location reacquired from Annington Property Limited in January 2025 are shown in the following table: UK RegionAnnington SFA pre-January 2025East Midlands2,336Eastern4,713London1,597North East365North West504Northern Ireland0Scotland0South East12,311South West9,341Wales778West Midlands1,590Yorkshire and the Humber2,812Total36,347
What the complete list is of surplus military land in scope for development under the Defence Housing Strategy.
A list of surplus military land in scope for development is currently not held. As announced by the Defence Secretary, Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence is undertaking a review of development opportunities on military land as part of a cross-Government, taskforce-led initiative. The Defence Housing Strategy review is complementing this work and will report later this 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, how many homes will be refurbished in addition to the first 1,000 announced in that release.
We are currently undertaking an extensive review of our entire Service Family Accommodation portfolio to determine how we will utilise our properties including those reacquired from Annington Homes Ltd. Until this review is completed, we are unable to provide details of our future intentions. All options will be assessed during the review to ensure a strategic and structured approach is taken.
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.
What proportion of homes built on surplus military land will be affordable.
The proportion of affordable homes that may be built on surplus military land, is not a decision for the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The number of affordable homes is allocated by the local planning authority and the MOD will consult with them to ensure any proposed development aligns with their core policy.
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 reduction in spending of £600,000 per day was calculated.
The £600,000 per day saving was calculated by taking the annual rental bill that covered the most recent 12 months of rent paid at the time of publication (December 2023 to September 2024) and dividing this by 365 days per year.
How many of the 36,347 houses reacquired in January 2025 require refurbishment before they can be inhabited.
To maximise the opportunity from the buy-back of the estate, as part of the process to produce a Defence Housing Strategy we are currently undertaking an extensive review of all Service Family Accommodation. Work is already underway to implement a new consumer charter for all Service family housing, as announced by Defence Secretary on 18 April 2025.
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 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