Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper: Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, when does she expect to publish a coherent list of alternative methods that would be acceptable data sources.

The delivery of the commitment to publish a list of regulatory priorities for alternative methods sits with NC3Rs.NC3Rs, working with its Regulatory Sciences Forum, is developing the publication, including its overall structure and the criteria for inclusion and exclusion of alternative methods. As set out in the strategy, we expect the list of priorities for regulatory development and validation to be published by the end of 2026.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in establishing a new preclinical translational research hub to bring together data, cell engineering, genomic technology, and expertise to create a pipeline of novel translational medicine models.

The delivery of the commitment to Create a preclinical translational models hub is led by the Medical Research Council (MRC).The Preclinical translational models hub funding call to identify a host for the hub was launched on 2 March 2026 with decisions on this expected in July. The Hub is expected to commence work in Autumn 2026.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the potential closure of the Inovyn salt production facility in Runcorn on the (a) chemicals and (b) pharmaceuticals industry.

Government maintains an ongoing dialogue with Inovyn on the issues facing the operation of their salt plant at Runcorn. I have exchanged correspondence with the Hon Member for Runcorn and Helsby on the matter earlier this year.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the adoption of the (a) 6.8mm x 50mm round and (b) QBZ-191 rifle by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on British Army body armour.

The Ministry of Defence routinely assesses emerging and evolving small‑arms threats as part of its ongoing responsibility to protect Service personnel. The specific threats against which UK body armour is designed to provide protection are held at a higher security classification and therefore it would be inappropriate for me to provide specific details. However, I can confirm that UK body armour requirements are kept under constant review to ensure they continue to reflect the most dangerous and prevalent threats our personnel are likely to face while conducting their duties.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in collecting annual data on the number of clinical trial applications that include toxicity tests conducted in 2 species.

The delivery of the commitment to collect annual data on the number of clinical trial applications that include toxicity tests conducted in 2 species, sits with NC3Rs.MHRA holds this data and NC3Rs are working with them on the best way to access and share this information. The strategy commits to first publish by mid-2026.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

Which preparedness plans have been scrutinised by the UK Resilience Academy since April 2025.

The UK Government is committed to enhancing the provision of independent advice and external challenge to UK preparedness plans. The Government has therefore committed to convene a number of independent panels to scrutinise UK whole-system risks. This was announced in the Resilience Action Plan and forms the Government’s response to the COVID-19 Module 1, Recommendation 10. The Cabinet Office has now developed an independent assurance programme, covering the most significant risks in the classified National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA). This draws on independent experts from across sectors outside government to ensure impartial, credible assurance, and offer recommendations on improvements that can be made. In December 2025, the Cabinet Office, working with the UK Resilience Academy, delivered a pilot to help us further refine and strengthen our independent assurance processes ahead of launching the full programme. Lessons learnt from this will inform planning for future whole-system risks, as set out in the internal NSRA.

What steps did he take to help ensure the mapping of the location of Olenya Guba released by his Department on 9 April 2026 accurately disclosed the location of the submarine base of the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research.

The map originally published on 9 April did not accurately reflect the location of Oleyna Guba. The difference in location arose during the reformatting of the map for publication and did not affect the versions used internally by the Department.

Whether he has had recent discussions with the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby on the potential closure of the Inovyn salt production facility in Runcorn.

Government maintains an ongoing dialogue with Inovyn on the issues facing the operation of their salt plant at Runcorn. I have exchanged correspondence with the Hon Member for Runcorn and Helsby on the matter earlier this year.

With reference to page 24 of the Defence Diplomacy Strategy - Public Summary, by when he plans to (a) commence and (b) conclude the underpinning review.

Due to the size and complexity of Defence’s intelligence partnerships, this work is already underway and is being carried out in stages rather than as a one‑off, time‑limited review. The aim is to ensure that intelligence sharing supports Defence’s international priorities, underpins a NATO First approach, and strengthens the UK’s influence with allies and partners. As outlined in the Defence Diplomacy Strategy, this work will provide recommendations by the end of 2026.

With reference to his Department's announcement entitled UK and France sign agreement to develop next-generation air-to-air missile, published on 1 April 2026, by what date when will he establish the new joint Complex Weapons Portfolio Office.

As set out in the Department's announcement of 1 April 2026, the United Kingdom and France have agreed to establish a joint Complex Weapons Portfolio Office. Work is now actively underway with the French Government to establish the office and agree a commissioning date at the earliest opportunity.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in strengthening the commitment of journal editors to publishing research using alternative methods.

The delivery of the commitment to strengthen the commitment of journal editors to publishing research using alternative methods sits with NC3Rs.    As set out in the strategy, this work will be initiated at the start of 2027. To support this, NC3Rs will launch their DRIVER (Designing and Reporting In Vitro Experiments Responsibly) recommendations that underpin improved experimental design and reporting of in vitro studies in 2026.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing support to help prevent the closure of the Inovyn salt production facility in Cheshire.

Government maintains an ongoing dialogue with Inovyn on the issues facing the operation of their salt plant at Runcorn. I have exchanged correspondence with the Hon Member for Runcorn and Helsby on the matter earlier this year.

If he will set out the level of combat search and rescue capability of the Royal Marines Joint Personnel Recovery.

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely comment on combat search and rescue capabilities for reasons of operational security.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 36208 on USA: Military Alliances, what discussions he has held with his US counterparts on the ongoing commitment of the United States to the European Reassurance Initiative.

The Defence Secretary speaks with his US counterpart regularly on a range of topics to ensure coherence and alignment between our two nations. However, they have not recently discussed the US’ European Reassurance Initiative.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2025 to Question 52039 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many void properties are in Huntingdon constituency for which the latest data is available.

As at 13 April 2026, there are 99 void Service Family Accommodation properties in the Huntingdon constituency.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times the Soft Power Council has met; and on what dates.

Available information about the Soft Power Council can be found on GOV.UK, including details of the dates of all its meetings to date and records that cover the issues discussed at each meeting. The Soft Power Council is attended on a voluntary basis by its members, and has no separate office or other fixed overheads.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost was of the Soft Power Council in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26; and what the estimated cost is for 2026-27.

Available information about the Soft Power Council can be found on GOV.UK, including details of the dates of all its meetings to date and records that cover the issues discussed at each meeting. The Soft Power Council is attended on a voluntary basis by its members, and has no separate office or other fixed overheads.

What assessment has he made of the potential threat posed to British-flagged ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz by the Sunflower-200 kamikaze drone supplied to Iran by China.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with the Government of Ukraine on the sharing of knowledge and insights to ensure that our support meets Ukraine's priority requirements and that the Armed Forces of Ukraine is responding effectively to the evolving threat, including from drones and energy weapons.Due to operational security, we do not comment on specific capabilities.

What progress has he made in updating the UK F-35B fleet with Block 4 modifications.

We do not routinely comment on detailed delivery schedules. However, the Block 4 upgrade programme continues, it did not impact the declaration of Lightning Full Operating Capability. The Block 4 upgrade programme will further develop our world leading Combat Air capability, the UK Lightning, through improvements in lethality, survivability and supportability.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in developing a workforce with the necessary skills set to implement the uptake of new alternative methods.

Commitments in the strategy to build a skilled workforce, including early career researchers, to support the uptake of alternative methods are led by the NC3Rs.This work is focusing on building capacity in the development and adoption of alternative methods through expanded NC3Rs-led 3Rs training, alongside targeted support for method developers and regulators. The aim is to deliver a workforce aligned with the UK’s ambitions and sector demand for non-animal methods.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.