Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2026, to question 111945 on Ajax Vehicles: Procurement, for what reason will some Ajax vehicles move to Capability Drop 3 before Capability Drop 4 and others will be upgraded to Capability Drop 4.

Capability Drop 3 is the current approved standard for the Ajax fleet. Vehicles which are scheduled to be upgraded before the Capability Drop 4 standard is approved will move to Capability Drop 3. Vehicles which are later in the upgrade schedule will move directly to Capability Drop 4.

What assessment has he made of the potential impact of the Chinese DF-17 (Dongfeng-17) solid-fuelled medium-range ballistic missile fitted with the DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle on the safety of British forces.

The Ministry of Defence does not comment on states’ specific capabilities or how we would respond to them, as doing so could provide an operational advantage to those who may seek to harm the UK.

How many British Army Stormers are deployed to Saudi Arabia under Operation Crossways.

Operation CROSSWAYS provides military support to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, primarily focused on training and tailored military advice to the Saudi armed forces. For operational security reasons, we do not comment publicly on exact details around deployments.

What steps has he taken to revise the Army fielding plan for the Ajax family of vehicles in order to reflect delays caused by the ministerial-led review.

Investigations into Ajax remain ongoing, and time must be given to ensure that all information and evidence is considered. The fielding plan will be updated once these investigations conclude. I will continue to keep the house informed of developments as I have done since the issue arose on Exercise Titan Storm.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2026 to question 115862 on China: Nuclear Weapons, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the a) diversification and b) modernisation of its nuclear arsenal.

The UK’s nuclear policy, most recently outlined in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, remains unchanged. China is undertaking a significant programme of nuclear expansion and modernisation. The pace and scale of these developments, coupled with limited transparency about China’s doctrine, capabilities and decision‑making, is concerning. The UK continues to encourage China to engage substantively in strategic risk‑reduction and transparency measures.

What progress he has made in installing the (a) defensive aid suite and (b) missile countermeasures to the RAF’s Envoy IV fleet.

Options to expand the future capability of the Envoy IV fleet are under consideration, including the installation of a defensive aid suite.

With reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for School Standards during the oral question on EHCP Backlog: Cambridgeshire of 2 March 2026, Official Report, column 565, how much Cambridgeshire County Council has been allocated of the £200 million funding directly provided to support councils' capacity to deliver EHCPs.

To ensure all local authorities have the capacity to undertake meaningful transformation planning and delivery over this spending review period while maintaining current special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, we will provide £200 million in support for the transformation of local authority SEND services. This funding will be provided to local authorities in a single payment alongside funding for Experts at Hand, with a proportion allocated to transformation which includes a focus on strategic planning in local SEND reform plans, commissioning, leadership capacity and engaging with the education sector. We will publish methodology documents to explain how the funding will be distributed, and indicative allocations for local authorities, including those for Cambridgeshire County Council, for 2026/27 in due course.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2026 to question 116103 on NATO Response Force, what size of sub-unit from the a) Royal Marines Commando Force, b) Ranger Regiment and c) RAF Regiment will be committed to the NATO Allied Reaction Force (ARF) Special Operations Component.

As with all UK contributions to NATO, the UK retains the ultimate authority over their use, including the option to employ them for national operations if necessary. Any such decision would be taken in close consultation and coordination with NATO. The UK’s contribution to the ARF Special Operations Component will consist of personnel from the Royal Marines Commando Force, Ranger Regiment, and RAF Elements. For operational security reasons, it would not be appropriate to provide a more detailed breakdown of this future commitment.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2026 to question 116103 on NATO Response Force, will UK contributions to the ARF Special Operations Forces element be exclusively under NATO Command or still available for UK operations via the Ministry of Defence.

As with all UK contributions to NATO, the UK retains the ultimate authority over their use, including the option to employ them for national operations if necessary. Any such decision would be taken in close consultation and coordination with NATO. The UK’s contribution to the ARF Special Operations Component will consist of personnel from the Royal Marines Commando Force, Ranger Regiment, and RAF Elements. For operational security reasons, it would not be appropriate to provide a more detailed breakdown of this future commitment.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2026 to question 114022 on Extradition, how many of the requests received were from Bangladesh.

Further to our response to question 114022, which requested the number of Category 2 Type B requests we had received between 5th July 2024 and the date of that request 23rd February 2026.In accordance with our policies and after careful consideration we have decided not to release the information on requests received from Bangladesh between 5th July 2024 and today’s date. This is because disclosure of figures where five or fewer requests have been made may lead to the identification of an individual request. This might prejudice ongoing law enforcement proceedings.Please note that this information is taken from local management information and has not been quality assured to the level of published National Statistics. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

Pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2026, to question 115638 on Prisons: Unmanned Air Vehicles, who are the selected industry partners will receive up to £60,000 of funding to develop proof-of-concept systems.

For national security reasons, we are unable to share the names of the industry partners.

Pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2026 to Question 115634 on Ministry of Justice: ICT, for what reason the number of laptops, mobile phones and other electrical devices stolen or lost by the Department fell from 665 between 5 July 2024 to 29 April 2025 to 324 between 5 July 2024 and 5 December 2025.

A difference in figures reported by the Department for periods 5 July 2024 to 29 April 2025 and 5 July 2024 to 5 December 2025 is due to a difference in how incident records were queried and displayed, resulting in an inflated figure of 665 where some devices had been double counted.The correct figure for the period of 5 July 2024 to 5 December 2025 is 324.The Department is currently undertaking work to improve asset data quality, during which some devices previously been reported lost or stolen have been since recovered or identified as having been reported in error.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the press release published on 6 September 2026 titled Jonathan Powell appointed as Special Envoy for BIOT negotiations, on what date was Jonathan Powell a) appointed and b) commenced his role as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the British Indian Ocean Territory.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 3 March in response to Question 115117.

How many Iranian attack drones have been downed by Royal Air Force planes using (a) advanced short-range air-to-air missiles and (b) cannon.

As stated by the Prime Minister on 5 March 2026, RAF aircraft continue to conduct defensive operations in the region. At this time, we will not comment further due to operational security.

Which Royal Navy Type 45 will replace HMS Dragon within the NATO Maritime Group One role following its emergency deployment to Cyprus.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 March 2026 to Question 115467.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2026 to question 114906 on Police and Crime Commissioners: Elections, what is the total estimated cost of £87m set out in the relevant Charges Order comprised of.

The estimated £87 million represents the full range of necessary costs Returning Officers can claim for the efficient and effective delivery of the 2024 Police and Crime Commissioner elections, including staffing, polling stations, printing, postal voting, count operations, logistics and Returning Officer fees.

What assessment has he made of the potential of the Patria TRACKX armoured vehicle as a replacement for Viking.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I laid in the house on 9 September 2025 to Question 74736, which remains extant.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2026 to Question 114904 on Firearms: Licensing, by what date he will be required to (a) make changes to improve the situation and (b) report back to HMICFRS.

The Chief Constables of the three forces involved in the tripartite firearms licensing arrangement involving Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire Constabulary received an accelerated cause of concern notice from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) on 9 January 2026 relating to the management of firearms licensing.HMICFRS requested that the Chief Constables of the three police forces set out in an action plan how they intended to address the issues in the accelerated cause of concern within 28 working days. The response to HMICFRS has since been sent within the deadline set out in the notice.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken to impose sanctions upon Mojtaba Khamenei.

The Government has a wide range of sanctions in place in relation to Iran, including a range of sanctions measures which apply to key figures and entities who have provided funds or economic resources to the Iranian regime. These have resulted in a range of impacts: for example the freezing of UK based assets held by sanctioned individual Ali Ansari, including property.It would not be appropriate to speculate about potential future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken to seize properties in London owned by Mojtaba Khamenei.

The Government has a wide range of sanctions in place in relation to Iran, including a range of sanctions measures which apply to key figures and entities who have provided funds or economic resources to the Iranian regime. These have resulted in a range of impacts: for example the freezing of UK based assets held by sanctioned individual Ali Ansari, including property.It would not be appropriate to speculate about potential future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.