Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

What information his Department holds on the scope of the Royal Navy’s Eagles Eye trials in relation to the development of a naval aviation hybrid air wing.

The Eagles Eye Trial is an iterative programme designed to develop the Royal Navy concept of hybrid air wings delivered under the Maritime Aviation Transformation programme.The Trial focuses on the development of crewed and uncrewed collaboration through the live control of Uncrewed Aerial Systems from a Wildcat Maritime Attack Helicopter.

With reference to page 13 of the Police reform white paper “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” (CP1489), by when will she publish her new Fraud Strategy.

The Government’s Manifesto set a clear commitment to deliver a new Fraud Strategy. This commitment will be delivered in early 2026.The Strategy has been developed in close collaboration with stakeholders from industry, law enforcement and non profit organisations. It will set out how we will disrupt fraud, safeguard individuals and businesses and respond to fraud with support and justice for victims.

With reference to page 13 of the Police reform white paper “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” (CP1489), what will be the location of the new National Centre for AI in Policing.

The Government is determined to ramp up the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence across policing. We recently announced over £115 million over the next three years to support the rapid and responsible development, testing and rollout of AI tools across all 43 police forces in England and Wales.This will be spearheaded by the creation of Police.AI, a new National Centre for AI in Policing. The Home Office is now working closely with the NPCC AI portfolio to establish Police.AI. This includes securing a host organisation and establishing and agreeing an estates strategy. Police.AI will transition into the National Police Service when it is appropriate to do so.

What his proposed timetable is for producing the first Ajax-family vehicles at Capability Drop 4 standard.

Capability drop 4 standard vehicles will only be delivered once any changes from reliability trials have been agreed. As these trials have not yet concluded, it is not appropriate to state what this timetable is. However, based on the current findings, all 589 vehicles will be delivered to Capability Drop 4 standard by September 2029 as contracted.

Pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2026, to question 108369 on Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement, on what date was the project cancelled.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 108369 on 3 February 2026 which remains extant. The stop notice of December 2023 denotes the point that the project was cancelled.

What is the full scope of Project Goshawk.

Project GOSHAWK is a Taskforce Kindred project to rapidly develop and trial a low-cost air defence interceptor for Ukraine, to reliably defeat aerial drones, loitering munitions, and missiles at varying speeds, altitudes, and trajectories.

With reference to page 16 of the Police reform white paper “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” (CP1489), by when will she establish a new Performance Unit in the Home Office.

A new Police Performance Unit was established in May 2025 with a temporary head appointed on a part time basis. The permanent head, a retired Deputy Chief Constable, has occupied the post since January 2026.This Unit will assess police force’s performance to identify areas of high and poor performance, driving sustained and sustainable improvements where necessary, to ensure the public is effectively protected.

What information his Department holds on the criteria for foodbanks to be included within official foodbank statistics.

The department’s official statistics on food bank use are published via the annual Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics, Households below average income (HBAI) statistics - GOV.UK using data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS), Family Resources Survey - GOV.UK. They measure whether a household has used a food bank in the past 30 days or 12 months. Respondents are asked whether they have used a food bank in the past 30 days/12 months. The questionnaire instructions make it clear that informal support with food supplies via family and friends and vouchers provided by local authorities and other organisations that are not food banks should not be counted as food bank use.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on (a) the official termination date of Lord Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the United States of America and (b) the last day Lord Mandelson was paid for this role.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Which a) current or b) former Government Ministers were involved in the appointment of Lord Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the United States.

I refer the Hon Member to the evidence given by the Cabinet Secretary and Permanent Under-Secretary to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 3 November 2025, specifically Q310: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/16673/html/.

What information his Department holds that was provided by the (a) security and (b) intelligence services regarding the appointment of Lord Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the United States.

It is long-standing practice that UK Security Vetting, the body responsible for National Security Vetting across government does not disclose information provided by the security and intelligence services.

What information his Department holds on the vetting process related to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the United States.

I refer the Hon Member to the evidence provided by Sir Oliver Robbins to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 03 November 2025, Q277, the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12th February, and the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the terror threat posed by the forthcoming Universal Studios theme park on (a) traffic, (b) firearms and (c) neighbourhood policing in the tri-force area of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, also known as Martyn’s Law, will require certain public premises and events to be prepared and ready to keep the public safe in a terrorist attack. The Act applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and establishes a minimum legal security standard of protective security at larger premises and events for the first time.Decisions around the types and numbers of officers deployed, including traffic, firearms and neighbourhood police officers, are operational decisions for Chief Officers to determine in line with their strategic assessment of threat and risk.In line with the British model of policing by consent, the use of firearms by the police should always be a last resort, however, where an operational need arises, specialist armed officers are available to be deployed. National capability is kept under constant review by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.Forces in England and Wales regularly review their Neighbourhood Policing resources based on the current and planned risks and threats in their local policing area.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the AI Enabled Cyber Defence project.

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the Advanced Reasoning for Decision Advantage project.

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the AI Exploitation for the Digital Targeting Web project.

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the Underwater Acoustic Foundation Model project.

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the Autonomous Mission Execution project.

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of operating in Ukraine and the High North simultaneously on (a) British Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force resources.

Defence continually reviews all current and planned commitments in line with established protocols to ensure they can be fully and appropriately resourced by the single Services. This process includes ongoing dynamic assessment and the allocation of resources as new requirements emerge. Defence’s planned commitments in relation to Ukraine and the High North have been properly resourced, deconflicted, and present no identified concurrency risks across the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force. Any additional requirements arising from future commitments will be assessed through established processes and resourced accordingly to ensure Defence maintains the highest standards of operational output.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the need to introduce a legal requirement to consider access to hospital helipads in any planning application in the vicinity of a hospital.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The proposed new Framework gives substantial weight to the benefits of providing new or improved public service infrastructure, including healthcare facilities of all types. The consultation also sets out updated policy to make clear that public services should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on their current or permitted operation as a result of development being approved after they were established. This means that development proposals should be capable of being integrated effectively with existing public service activities and infrastructure in their vicinity. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.