Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

What progress she has made in delivering the Early Years Childcare Reform Programme.

From 1 September, hundreds of thousands of families are better able to balance work and family life, with parents who use their full entitlement saving an average of £7,500 a year, and more children getting the high quality early education that will give them the best start in life.To support the expansion of childcare, the government has supported early years workforce recruitment through the ‘Do Something Big’ campaign, financial incentives and new routes into the profession. We have invested over £8 billion into early years entitlements in 2025/26 and created thousands more places through the school-based nurseries programme. Workforce has grown significantly, with 18,200 more staff delivering entitlements in private, voluntary and independent providers in 2025, a 7.2% rise from the previous year.There are over 5,800 more providers delivering childcare entitlements this year, the first increase in five years, and the biggest increase since data became available in 2018.

With reference to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question HL9397 on Typhoon Aircraft: Factories, what proportion of the funding for Combat Air will be spent on the (a) Typhoon, (b) F-35 and (c) Global Combat Air Programme.

Future spending on Combat Air programmes will be determined through the Defence Investment Plan. No decisions have yet been made on either the amount to be spent on Combat Air or the proportion that will be spent on Typhoon, F-35 and the Global Combat Air Programme.

With reference to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question HL9397 on Typhoon Aircraft: Factories, on what evidential basis his Department calculated that Combat Air would support 40,000 long-term, high-quality UK manufacturing jobs.

The figure related to an estimate of the number of jobs sustained across the Combat Air sector and its supply chains by the additional investment announced in the Strategic Defence Review over the next ten years. The estimate was based on internal analysis and some open-source data from the wider Combat Air industrial base.

What is the full scope is of Project Wagon.

These projects are not formal projects within a broader programme. It is activity conducted by the Field Army that codifies ‘bottom-up’ efforts to improve how a modernised armoured battlegroup fights, through experimentation and innovation. Any outputs will inform adjustments to the design of the future Army and how it trains, what equipment it uses and how, optimised structures, and better threat analysis.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025, what estimate her Department has made of the number of electors per district councillor in Huntingdonshire after the voting age is lowered to 16.

As outlined in the recently published ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’, the government believes that enabling 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in all UK elections will foster early and sustained participation in civic life and enhance engagement in our democratic processes. By delivering this manifesto commitment, we want young people to find their voice and exercise their right to vote.In June 2025, the House of Commons Library published constituency-level estimates of the number of 16- and 17-year-olds across the UK, based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from 2022 for Great Britain and 2023 for Northern Ireland. These figures provide indicative estimates of the population and should be treated as approximations rather than precise counts.The government recognises the importance of understanding the implications of this policy change. Accordingly, an Impact Assessment will be published alongside forthcoming legislation in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on the potential impact of storm overflow discharge into the River Great Ouse on levels of water cleanliness, in the context of low river levels caused by a lack of rainfall.

The Government is committed to taking a systematic approach to improving drainage and wastewater systems. This means looking at how these systems affect the environment, local communities, and other key priorities like flood prevention, economic growth, and urban development. Through this, we can ensure policies and services work better together to deliver real benefits for people and nature. Through our landmark Water (Special Measures) Act, we will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. Anglian Water has AMP8 obligations to reduce overflows, with investigations in Huntingdon, Offord Cluny, and St Ives. In Ramsey, Anglian have committed to reducing overflows to protect the environment. Full details of obligations are in the Water Industry National Environment Programme, downloadable via PR24 Water Industry National Environment Programme.

What the full scope is of Project Gibraltar.

These projects are not formal projects within a broader programme. It is activity conducted by the Field Army that codifies ‘bottom-up’ efforts to improve how a modernised armoured battlegroup fights, through experimentation and innovation. Any outputs will inform adjustments to the design of the future Army and how it trains, what equipment it uses and how, optimised structures, and better threat analysis.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds on the size of the proposed unitary councils in Cambridgeshire.

As outlined in the recently published ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’, the government believes that enabling 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in all UK elections will foster early and sustained participation in civic life and enhance engagement in our democratic processes. By delivering this manifesto commitment, we want young people to find their voice and exercise their right to vote.In June 2025, the House of Commons Library published constituency-level estimates of the number of 16- and 17-year-olds across the UK, based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from 2022 for Great Britain and 2023 for Northern Ireland. These figures provide indicative estimates of the population and should be treated as approximations rather than precise counts.The government recognises the importance of understanding the implications of this policy change. Accordingly, an Impact Assessment will be published alongside forthcoming legislation in due course.

What the full scope is of Project Mercury.

These projects are not formal projects within a broader programme. It is activity conducted by the Field Army that codifies ‘bottom-up’ efforts to improve how a modernised armoured battlegroup fights, through experimentation and innovation. Any outputs will inform adjustments to the design of the future Army and how it trains, what equipment it uses and how, optimised structures, and better threat analysis.

What the full scope is of Project Sword.

These projects are not formal projects within a broader programme. It is activity conducted by the Field Army that codifies ‘bottom-up’ efforts to improve how a modernised armoured battlegroup fights, through experimentation and innovation. Any outputs will inform adjustments to the design of the future Army and how it trains, what equipment it uses and how, optimised structures, and better threat analysis.

What the full scope is of Project Cypher.

These projects are not formal projects within a broader programme. It is activity conducted by the Field Army that codifies ‘bottom-up’ efforts to improve how a modernised armoured battlegroup fights, through experimentation and innovation. Any outputs will inform adjustments to the design of the future Army and how it trains, what equipment it uses and how, optimised structures, and better threat analysis.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many long-tailed macaques have been imported into the UK for pre-clinical pharmaceutical testing since 5 July 2025.

Defra records the total number of macaques imported for scientific research but does not record the number of animals imported specifically for pre-clinical pharmaceutical testing.

What the full scope is of Project Brynja.

These projects are not formal projects within a broader programme. It is activity conducted by the Field Army that codifies ‘bottom-up’ efforts to improve how a modernised armoured battlegroup fights, through experimentation and innovation. Any outputs will inform adjustments to the design of the future Army and how it trains, what equipment it uses and how, optimised structures, and better threat analysis.

What the full scope is of Project Wessex.

These projects are not formal projects within a broader programme. It is activity conducted by the Field Army that codifies ‘bottom-up’ efforts to improve how a modernised armoured battlegroup fights, through experimentation and innovation. Any outputs will inform adjustments to the design of the future Army and how it trains, what equipment it uses and how, optimised structures, and better threat analysis.

What the full scope is of Project Sabre.

These projects are not formal projects within a broader programme. It is activity conducted by the Field Army that codifies ‘bottom-up’ efforts to improve how a modernised armoured battlegroup fights, through experimentation and innovation. Any outputs will inform adjustments to the design of the future Army and how it trains, what equipment it uses and how, optimised structures, and better threat analysis.

What the full scope is of Project Hunter.

These projects are not formal projects within a broader programme. It is activity conducted by the Field Army that codifies ‘bottom-up’ efforts to improve how a modernised armoured battlegroup fights, through experimentation and innovation. Any outputs will inform adjustments to the design of the future Army and how it trains, what equipment it uses and how, optimised structures, and better threat analysis.

What weapons systems are compatible with the Ares Remote Weapon Station.

The ARES Remote Weapon Station (RWS) is used with the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), and Grenade Machine Gun (GMG).

What ammunition natures are compatible with the Ajax Case Telescoped 40mm Cannon.

The CTA International 40mm Cannon is compatible with the following ammunition: Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T)Kinetic Energy Airburst (KE-AB)General Purpose Round – Airburst – Tracer (GPR-AB-T)General Purpose Round – Point Detonating – Tracer (GPR-PD-T)General Purpose Round – Kinetic Energy – Tracer (GPR-KE-T)Target Practice – Tracer (TP-T)Target Practice Reduced Range – Tracer (TPRR-T) Of the seven ammunitions, only the APFSDS-T, GPR-PD-T, and TP-T have been procured for use on Ajax.

How many Ares armoured vehicles were accepted in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

I can confirm that in 2024, 22 ARES vehicles were accepted and delivered to the British Army. As at 31 July 2025, six ARES vehicles have been accepted and delivered to the Army in 2025.

What assessment has he made of the potential merits of procuring an order of Tranche 4 Typhoons for the Royal Air Force.

The 2025 Strategic Defence Review described the increasingly demanding threat environments in which UK Defence will operate. The Defence Investment Plan will analyse this changing threat and determine our future mix of 4th and 5th generation combat aircraft, in order to provide the UK the most relevant and capable Combat Air capability. As part of the four Partner-Nation Eurofighter Programme, the UK is committed to upgrades to ensure the Typhoon aircraft remains competitive into the future, including the introduction of the European Common Radar Standard 2 radar.