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 3,221–3,240 of 4,549 · this parliament
Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56960 on Typhoon Aircraft, when he expects to complete the rollout of the Striker 2 helmet-mounted display for Typhoon FGR4 pilots.
The Striker 2 helmet-mounted display is under development by BAE Systems as part of a £40 million contract announced in September 2023. The next phase of prototype development is currently underway to achieve a production-ready standard, after which a rollout timeline will be determined.
Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 57461 on Nuclear Power: Security, where the additional 18,000 jobs in the defence nuclear workforce will be located.
The National Nuclear Strategic Plan for Skills will be reviewed and refreshed later this year. The additional 18,000 jobs in the defence nuclear workforce will be located predominately in the Defence Nuclear Enterprise locations specified on page 11 of Command Paper 1058: Delivering the UK’s Nuclear Deterrent as a National Endeavour, available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-nuclear-enterprise-command-paper.
What resources his Department his providing to support NATO’s Baltic Sentry operation.
The UK provides RAF P-8 Poseidon and Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft to support the NATO’s Baltic Sentry deployment to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 55429 on Offenders: Foreign Nationals, which country each of the foreign national offenders removed from the country between 5 July 2024 and 18 May 2025 went to.
The Home Office publishes data on foreign national offender (FNO) returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Quarterly data on returns of FNOs by destination are published in table Ret_D04 of the ‘Returns detailed tables’. Information on the data and how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data goes to end of March 2025. Data up to end June 2025 will be released on 21st August 2025.
What the recorded rate of theft from the person was in each of the last ten years.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 10th June is attached.
What estimate he has made of the timetable for procuring F-35As.
Following the publication of the Strategic Defence Review, Defence is considering its future Combat Air mix, and the procurement options required to meet future threats and achieve our NATO obligations. This analysis will be conducted as part of the Defence Investment Plan, which will conclude in the autumn.
Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56675 on Hinchingbrooke Hospital: Roads, what support the New Hospital Programme team in his Department has given to the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust in relation to that Trust's discussions with Cambridgeshire Constabulary on the potential acquisition of land for a new access road.
Pursuant to our answer for Question 56675 on 6 June 2025, the New Hospital Programme (NHP) team in the Department are not involved in the negotiations to acquire the land with either the trust, the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, or National Highways. However, the NHP team has met with the trust to discuss the progress they have made with the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, and has also met with the National Highways team to discuss the issue. Furthermore, the trust team is supported by the NHP delivery team in NHS England, who are providing technical advice and guidance.
What criteria the Health and Safety Executive uses to designate a location as a Control of Major Accident Hazard site.
COMAH requires dutyholders to take all measures necessary to prevent and mitigate the effects of major accidents involving dangerous substances which can cause serious damage/harm to people and or the environment.COMAH mainly affects chemical and downstream petrochemical and oil industries, but also includes some storage activities, explosives sites, nuclear sites, and other industries, where quantities of dangerous substances above the thresholds identified in the regulations are kept or used. The COMAH Regulations differ from other Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 relevant statutory provisions, in that they set out to protect both people and the environment from harm. Environmental matters are regulated by the relevant environmental government agencies who work with HSE or Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to form the relevant COMAH Competent Authority (CA) for each COMAH establishment. An ‘establishment’ is defined as the whole location (site) under the control of an operator where a dangerous substance is present in a quantity equal to or in excess of the quantity listed in schedule 1 of the regulations. The regulations place legal duties on such an establishment to determine if their site is subject to COMAH based on their inventory. It is the duty of the operator to determine whether the site has COMAH status and if it does, to notify HSE accordingly.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a CyberEM Command.
The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) recommended the establishment of a Cyber and Electromagnetic (Cyber & EM) Command, this was after careful consideration of proposals for the Cyber & EM domain and the related evidence gathering process for the SDR. This process is set out in the Appendix to the SDR Report published on 2 June 2025. The SDR made the assessment that the Command will bring improved coherence to Defence’s contribution to this Domain, and we have engaged with international partners to learn from the establishment of their respective Cyber Commands. The benefits of the new Command will include an improved ability to manage and mitigate Defence’s cyber risk; centralised authorities to enhance cyber talent and skills; an increased ability to conduct and respond to electromagnetic operations and the provision of a single ‘front-door’ for Defence’s Cyber & EM engagement with our national and international partners.
Which body designates a location as a Control of Major Accident Hazard site.
COMAH requires dutyholders to take all measures necessary to prevent and mitigate the effects of major accidents involving dangerous substances which can cause serious damage/harm to people and or the environment.COMAH mainly affects chemical and downstream petrochemical and oil industries, but also includes some storage activities, explosives sites, nuclear sites, and other industries, where quantities of dangerous substances above the thresholds identified in the regulations are kept or used. The COMAH Regulations differ from other Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 relevant statutory provisions, in that they set out to protect both people and the environment from harm. Environmental matters are regulated by the relevant environmental government agencies who work with HSE or Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to form the relevant COMAH Competent Authority (CA) for each COMAH establishment. An ‘establishment’ is defined as the whole location (site) under the control of an operator where a dangerous substance is present in a quantity equal to or in excess of the quantity listed in schedule 1 of the regulations. The regulations place legal duties on such an establishment to determine if their site is subject to COMAH based on their inventory. It is the duty of the operator to determine whether the site has COMAH status and if it does, to notify HSE accordingly.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a Defence AI Investment Fund.
As set out when the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was published, the Government accepts the vision and recommendations of the SDR, including the recommendation to create a protected Defence AI investment Fund. The SDR recommends an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Learning the lessons from Ukraine, this would provide greater accuracy, lethality, and cheaper capabilities-changing the economics of Defence. This shift should be facilitated by the parallel development of a common digital foundation and digital targeting web as well as protected investment in AI research and development.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a Defence Uncrewed Systems Centre.
With rapid technological advances, the Defence Uncrewed Systems Centre will centralise work within the Ministry of Defence and accelerate the shift towards greater use of uncrewed and autonomous capabilities. It will: fast-track our exploitation and integration of small, uncrewed air systems on the battlefield; capitalise on lessons from Ukraine to harness the latest technical advances, revolutionizing how we develop, test and employ small uncrewed systems to deliver systems to the front line faster; and provide a central knowledge base and build a skillset across Defence to tackle emerging legislative changes, develop best practice and better manage the interface with industry.
How many Land Rovers of all variants are in use by the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force, (c) Royal Navy and (d) Royal Marines.
We do not routinely break down equipment capability figures and therefore I am withholding this information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. However, I can advise that a total of 5,674 Land Rovers are in service across Defence.
What information her Department holds on the cost per unit for the Metropolitan Police’s new Plasan SandCat armoured vehicles.
Decisions around the procurement of equipment, including armoured vehicles, are a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, or Mayoral equivalents and are made in line with the needs of their police force and their budget allocation.
How much her Department has paid to France to support actions to prevent small boat crossings from the French coastline since 5 July 2024.
In 2023 the UK and French governments agreed a joint multi-year operational plan and a joint funding arrangement to tackle irregular migration, with details published here: UK-France Joint Leaders' Declaration - GOV.UK.
What progress has his Department has made in developing novel directed energy weapons.
Following the Strategic Defence Review, we have announced nearly £1 billion in further investment for Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) this Parliament. This funding will ensure the DragonFire Laser DEW system enters service with the Royal Navy in 2027 and will enable a DEW capability to enter service with the British Army this decade. Accelerating these capabilities ensures our Armed Forces have access to cutting edge technologies as soon as possible.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Royal Navy’s Atlantic Bastion concept on the security of the North Atlantic.
Atlantic Bastion is the Royal Navy's plan to secure the North Atlantic for the UK and NATO. It will exploit advances in autonomy and artificial intelligence to deter the growing underwater threat in light of a modernising Russian submarine force. It will be implemented as a mix of crewed and uncrewed platforms.
How many schools that initially applied for the breakfast clubs pilot scheme subsequently withdrew from that scheme.
The department had over 3,000 schools apply to be part of the early adopter scheme. As expected there was some movement in the schools taking part as we finalised the list of 750 before the launch of the scheme in April, but such change was minimal.From the start of this term, the department is funding free breakfast clubs in 750 early adopter schools across England. The list of schools taking part in the breakfast clubs early adopter scheme can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/breakfast-clubs-early-adopters-schools-in-the-scheme.
What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the statement by the NATO secretary-general that NATO members should commit to spending (a) 3.5 per cent of GDP on hard defence and (b) 1.5 per cent on security.
This will form part of discussions ahead of the NATO Summit at the end of June. As these proposals are subject to agreement of all NATO Allies, including the UK, I hope the hon. Gentleman will know it would not be appropriate to comment at this time.
What steps he plans to take in order to implement Recommendation 1 of the 2025 Strategic Defence Review.
This Government is endorsing the vision and accepting all 62 recommendations in the SDR, which will be implemented. We are developing a new Defence Investment Plan to deliver the SDR's new vision. We will ensure the Plan is deliverable and affordable, considers infrastructure alongside capabilities, enables flexibility to seize new technology opportunities, and maximises the benefits of defence spending to grow the UK economy. This will supersede the old-style Defence Equipment Plan. This will deliver the best kit and technology into the hands of our frontline forces at speed and, importantly, invest in and grow the UK economy. The Defence Investment Plan will be completed in Autumn 2025. Another key factor in success in the coming years will be the Defence Reform programme which is driving the deepest defence reforms for 50 years. The SDR recognises that one cannot succeed without the other and that where the SDR states what Defence must do in the next decade and beyond, Defence Reform will ultimately determine how, and how successfully, it is delivered.