Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

With reference to the US joint Department of Army and Department of Energy Project Janus, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of helping develop small modular reactors.

The government is committed to delivering a new golden age of nuclear, securing an abundance of clean energy, protecting family finances, taking back control of our energy supply, and tackling the climate crisis. The government has committed almost £17bn across the Spending Review period to the most ambitious nuclear new build programme for a generation. This includes over £2.5bn across the Spending Review period to enable one of Europe’s first small modular reactor programmes. Government recognises the potential benefits offered by different uses of advanced nuclear, including: supplying electricity to the grid; off-grid solutions, including supplying data centres via private wire; and providing heat to support industrial decarbonisation. In September last year, the UK and the US signed a high-level agreement to collaborate on nuclear energy and fusion under the Tech Prosperity Deal. As part of that agreement, the Government committed to exploring opportunities for novel applications of advanced nuclear energy, including strengthening energy resilience for the Participants’ defence facilities on which we continue to engage.

How many pubs within the Huntingdon constituency are a) Free Houses and b) currently under a Pubco.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 26th January is attached.

Pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2026, to question 106072 on Ajax Vehicles: Procurement, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of the issue raised in the post-exercise report for Exercise Scorpion Cyclone that highlighted concerns that the fuel consumption of the vehicle is 16 litres per hour and is unsustainable for deep recce.

Ajax Vehicle range and fuel consumption continue to be proved through trials and exercises. Data to date supports the vehicle being fit for a deep reconnaissance role.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2026 to Question 106285 on Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Decommissioning, what progress he has made in replacing the (a) Fuchs vehicle and (b) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) capability.

Options to replace the Fuchs vehicle are being explored as part of the Land Mobility Programme, within the Heavy Protected Mobility sub-programme.The Heavy Protected Mobility sub-programme is in its Concept Phase and is currently evaluating the Finnish led Common Armoured Vehicles System (CAVS) Programme's suitability in meeting UK's Heavy Protected Mobility requirements. All decisions are subject to the outcome of the Defence Investment Plan.

If he will set out the full scope of Commercial-X.

Commercial X, established by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in 2022, is a team of Commercial officers dedicated to disrupting and modernising Defence’s approach to acquisition while reducing bureaucracy. Its mission is to deliver groundbreaking technology and innovation to the MOD more quickly. It achieves this through three key approaches: Positive Disrupters: A team of experts in procuring and scaling innovation and digital solutions at speed. They collaborate directly with frontline teams to deliver contracts valued up to £50 million within two years, driving pace by innovating within existing processes.Modernising Procurement: A team committed to overhauling procurement processes and policies to better support fast-moving innovation, cutting through excessive bureaucracy and red tape.Specialist Skills Development: A development programme designed to build the commercial officers of the future—equipping them to be digital-savvy, risk-smart, customer-focused, and agile. Notable deliverables to date: delivery of circa 650 innovation and technology contracts with an average time to contract of 31 days, 47% faster than average timelines for similar procurements. The creation of two new platforms to support small, business-friendly buying routes where suppliers can compete for contracts in technology and innovation. Recent notable contracts include: DragonFire, Hypersonics and NATO Allied Underwater Battlespace,

What assessment has he made of the adequacy of the available number of personnel to crew HMS Iron Duke following its planned maintenance period.

The Royal Navy keeps the crewing of all Ships under continuous review through its Force Generation and personnel management processes, including during operations and maintenance periods in order to deliver units for operations required by the Defence Plan. Following completion of planned maintenance, ships will routinely be assigned an appropriately trained and qualified Ship’s Company to meet operational requirements. This approach will be adopted in any force generation activity regarding HMS IRON DUKE.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement on Ajax, published on 22 January 2026, by when will he publish the Defence Accident Investigation Branch triage report.

Defence Accident Investigation Branch (DAIB) triage reports are internal documents and are not published. Triage reports provide the initial detail gathered immediately following an incident as understood at that time. Investigations into Ajax remain ongoing, and time must be given to ensure that all information and evidence is considered. I will continue to keep the house informed of developments as I have done since the issue arose on Exercise Titan Storm.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Islamic State-linked a) men, b) women and c) children have been allowed to return to the UK following detention in camps within Syria.

I refer the Hon Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 28 January on the situation in North-East Syria, and I will provide further updates to the House in due course as the situation evolves.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with Syrian Democratic Forces on the repatriation of Islamic State-linked individuals to the United Kingdom from the al-Roj camp.

I refer the Hon Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 28 January on the situation in North-East Syria, and I will provide further updates to the House in due course as the situation evolves.

What steps she has taken to update the Air Navigation Order 2016 to support the use of beyond-line-of-sight drones by police forces.

The are currently no plans to update the Air Navigation Order 2016 in relation to police drone operations because non-military state drone operations such as those undertaken by police forces and performed in the public interest are already exempt from the Basic Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/1139). They still must adhere to some key provisions of the ANO to maintain aviation safety for other air users and the public.The Future of Flight programme prioritises the early adoption of drones for the delivery of public services such as the police, health, and fire and rescue.

What is the remit of Task Force Rapstone.

Task Force RAPSTONE is an Army initiative to accelerate the fielding of new capabilities into the British Army, drawing on lessons learned from Ukraine.

What assessment has he made of the potential benefit of developing a secure community cloud as part of the Digital Targeting Web project.

The Ministry of Defence is on course to deliver the first elements of the Digital Targeting Web (DTW) later this year which is part of the wider modernisation of targeting, intelligence, and command‑and‑control systems across Defence. Separately from DTW, Defence already has an existing multi‑year contract with Google for Secret‑level cloud hosting and data services. This contract provides secure cloud capability across Defence for at least five years.

What progress has he made in facilitating the flow of analysed imagery from NCGI into the Digital Targeting Web.

The Ministry of Defence is on course to deliver the first elements of the Digital Targeting Web (DTW) later this year which is part of the wider modernisation of targeting, intelligence, and command‑and‑control systems across Defence. Separately from DTW, Defence already has an existing multi‑year contract with Google for Secret‑level cloud hosting and data services. This contract provides secure cloud capability across Defence for at least five years.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement on Ajax, published on 22 January 2026, to what extent did departmental submissions not reflect the full breadth of known aggregated safety risk regarding vibration related injuries and historical programme issues.

As I advised in my Written Statement on 22 January 2026, the outcome of the Ministerial review concluded that Departmental submissions were accurate in declaring Ajax as safe to operate. However, it also found Ministers should have been briefed more comprehensively in relation to operational impact and the nuanced risks of operating safely. Importantly, submissions did not reflect the full breadth of known aggregated safety risk, particularly regarding vibration related injuries and historical programme issues.

What are the respective projects covering delivery of separate a) land, b) sea, c) air and d) overall joint autonomous collaborative platforms.

As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, we must shift towards a greater use of autonomy and AI to improve our Armed Forces' capability and lethality. Further detail of the projects that will achieve this drive for autonomy in each environment will be included as part of the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan. Projects being developed include, but are not limited to, the Atlantic Bastion series of uncrewed systems operating below, on and above the surface of the sea to defend our nuclear deterrent and secure the Atlantic, and Army's autonomous collaborative platforms designed to work alongside Apache attack helicopters.

What is the scope of Project BOYD.

Project BOYD, delivered by the Royal Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, is a series of operational capability demonstrators harnessing AI to transform complex, time consuming and resource intensive command and control planning cycles through machine-speed, data-centric decision making, in order to generate a decision-action cycle that is palpably better than those of our adversaries.

What assessment has he made of the potential merits of procuring Leonardo’s Proteus Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System to cover capability required by the New Medium Helicopter contract.

The Proteus Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System has been designed and built to unlock the potential of uncrewed aerial systems, operating them side-by-side with crewed aircraft in a future ‘hybrid air wing’, and supporting future anti-submarine operations under the Atlantic Bastion strategy. The Proteus Technology Demonstrator is being developed by Leonardo under a £60 million programme supporting 100 highly-skilled British jobs. Procurement decisions, including for the New Medium Helicopter contract, will be made in the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). The Department is working flat out to deliver the DIP, which will be published as soon as possible. It is backed by the Government’s largest sustained increase in defence investment since the end of the Cold War, spending £270 billion on defence in this Parliament alone.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 98879 on Ajax Vehicles: Procurement, whether any Ajax-platform vehicles been involved in more than one instance of causing noise and vibration sickness.

The investigation into the safety of the Ajax platform remains ongoing, and as I advised in the Written Statement I made on 22 January 2026, I will provide a further update in due course.

Which units are equipped with the first 100 Ajax-family vehicles manufactured and assembled in Spain.

The first 100 Ajax vehicles were manufactured in Spain with most of the assembly in Spain. These vehicles were not identified as being related to Question 105104 on Ajax Vehicles: Procurement as they are not in service. No units are equipped with the first 100 Ajax-family vehicles manufactured.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 98879 on Ajax Vehicles: Procurement, how many of each variant are at each Capability Drop standard.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 2026 to his Question 98879. All vehicles referenced in my response are at Capability Drop 3.