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 1,761–1,780 of 4,561 · this parliament
How many (a) licenced and (b) registered sellers of fireworks were there in the latest period for which data is available.
No official data is collected on how many licenced and registers sellers of fireworks in the last period. Fireworks licences and registrations are administered by local authorities, and in some regions, fire and rescue services.
What was the outcome of the national exercise for pandemic preparedness conducted in 2025.
The national pandemic preparedness exercise, Exercise PEGASUS, which focused on the emergence, containment, and mitigation phases of a pandemic, concluded live participation on 5 November 2025. Evaluation of these three phases is underway, and a fourth phase, focussed on recovery, is planned to be exercised in 2026. The Government has committed to communicating the findings and lessons of the exercise as recommended by the COVID-19 inquiry and a post-exercise report will be delivered in due course.
What assessment he has made of the potential effectiveness of using Splink to reduce the number of prisoner released in error.
Splink, a probabilistic data-linking tool, is being used to deduplicate and connect records across multiple Ministry of Justice datasets. The Core Person Record service, which links data from courts, prisons and probation, leverages Splink to improve data accuracy for real-time operational decision-making. Early testing indicates this service improves the accuracy and timeliness of person-level information available to staff. We have not yet evaluated its effectiveness on reducing prisoners release in error and agree there is potential to see an indirect impact by reducing identity confusion and ensuring warrants, licence conditions and other information is always associated with the correct individual. We will continue to explore further applications of Splink to strengthen processes, such as preventing erroneous prison releases.
How many prisoners have not been released after the completion of their sentence and have continued to remain in custody in error since 5 July 2024.
Release inaccuracy is yet another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those errors that do occur, and this includes unlawful detentions.On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps which includes strengthening release checks across prisons and an independent inquiry will report its recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies.The Government is determined to fix release inaccuracies and ensure the public is properly protected.The data requested comes from internal management information and is therefore not fully Quality Assured and does not meet the standard required for public consumption.
Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82448 on Undocumented Migrants: English Channel, what the cost is of (a) charter and (b) regularly scheduled flights to conduct returns under the new UK-France agreement.
I have been clear that we do not comment on costs for scheduledflights or charter flights, and this was made explicit in the answer to the original Question. These are commercially sensitive arrangements that can provide an insight into pricing structure. To do otherwise could deter the private sector from entering into contracts with the Home Office.
Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 79231 on Foreign Influence Registration Scheme: China, when she plans to make a decision on whether to add China to the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
As set out in the National Security Act 2023, the Secretary of State may make a specification under the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) where they consider it is reasonably necessary to do so to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.On China, no decision has been made in relation to specifying this country on the enhanced tier of FIRS. Any changes to the countries listed will be announced first in Parliament in the usual way.It is a long established precedent that information about the discussions taking place in Cabinet and its Committees is not shared publicly as part of the principle of Cabinet Collective Responsibility.
Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 79231 on Foreign Influence Registration Scheme: China, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on adding China to the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
As set out in the National Security Act 2023, the Secretary of State may make a specification under the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) where they consider it is reasonably necessary to do so to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.On China, no decision has been made in relation to specifying this country on the enhanced tier of FIRS. Any changes to the countries listed will be announced first in Parliament in the usual way.It is a long established precedent that information about the discussions taking place in Cabinet and its Committees is not shared publicly as part of the principle of Cabinet Collective Responsibility.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to page 69 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, on what areas of technology with potential defence interest have the Advanced Research and Invention Agency held recent discussions with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
As an independent research body custom built to fund high-risk, high-reward scientific research, Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) has autonomy in its project choice and partnerships and has regular discussions with a number of public bodies, including DSTL. ARIA is not currently working on a defence project with DSTL.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of (a) noise and (b) vibration on the (i) Ajax, (ii) Ares and (iii) Athena vehicles on the health of service personnel.
As safety of our personnel is the top priority for the Ministerial Team, prior to Ajax Initial Operating Capability being announced, I sought assurances in writing from the Chief of the Defence Staff and the National Armaments Director that the system was safe to operate, which I received.. As such, following the recent incident where noise and vibration symptoms were reported by some personnel operating Ajax, and out of an abundance of caution, I directed a pause on the use of Ajax for training and exercising, while a safety investigation is carried out. The Defence Accident Investigation Board are working with the Army Safety Investigation Team and General Dynamics at pace to conduct an investigation into the incident.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2025 to Question 69517 on Typhoon Aircraft: Decommissioning, what planned block upgrades there are to the Typhoon programme after 2035.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 October 2025 to Question 79721.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79742 on Railways: Mobile Broadband, by what date mainline trains will be fitted with Low Earth Orbit satellite technology.
Funding for LEO satellite technology becomes available in the new financial year 2026, at which point my officials will begin the implementation of this on trains.The objective will be to complete all installations within 5 years from 2026/2027, and this is based on our experience of fitting all GB trains with on-train wifi between 2016 and 2020.
What progress he has made on including a UK weapon in the F-35 Joint Programme Office digital accelerator.
The UK continues to work closely with the F-35 Joint Program Office and our suppliers to progress UK weapons in the digital accelerator. The value of the digital accelerator in driving out cost and reducing timelines is well recognised and the UK is working to exploit the opportunity.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79460 on UK Space Command, what the (a) name and (b) scope is of the project for new detection technology.
In order to maintain operational security and protect our assets, we are unable to provide detailed information on specific technical characteristics or on the scope and deployment of the project's systems. For this reason, we are also unable to provide the name of the project.
How the stealth characteristics of the UK's F-35 aircraft are measured.
A revised Business Case for a Sovereign Low Observable Verification Facility will be submitted in 2027. We do not comment on the stealth characteristics of individual aircraft for very obvious operational reasons.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79617 on Military Bases, what disused bases are earmarked for disposal in this Parliament.
The list of sites that have been identified for disposal are published on Gov.uk and can be found via the following link: Disposal database: House of Commons report - GOV.UK
With reference to paragraph 11 of the Fifty-First Report of the Committee of Public Accounts, entitled The UK’s F-35 stealth fighter capability, HC 1232, for what reason the UK F-35 fleet achieved approximately one-third of the target for the time it was able to fly all its required missions in 2024.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not release availability data for operational security reasons; the National Audit Office (NAO) reporting of this metric was also appropriately redacted for this reason. The standard availability metric used by the NAO assumes that the assets are available 24/7; which skews the metric when calculating MOD capability usage, particularly Combat Air, as we do not keep the assets airborne 24/7.There were a range of factors in the reported October 2024-January 2025 period including Force regeneration as part of standard Force Readiness cycles, and periods of planned personnel leave. This included a period when both Squadrons were deployed to a Carrier for an Exercise, routine post exercise regeneration with personnel leave and scheduled aircraft maintenance for many of the aircraft, and the Christmas and New Year leave period.
What was the availability of the F-35 fleet in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not release availability data for operational security reasons; the National Audit Office (NAO) reporting of this metric was also appropriately redacted for this reason. The standard availability metric used by the NAO assumes that the assets are available 24/7; which skews the metric when calculating MOD capability usage, particularly Combat Air, as we do not keep the assets airborne 24/7.There were a range of factors in the reported October 2024-January 2025 period including Force regeneration as part of standard Force Readiness cycles, and periods of planned personnel leave. This included a period when both Squadrons were deployed to a Carrier for an Exercise, routine post exercise regeneration with personnel leave and scheduled aircraft maintenance for many of the aircraft, and the Christmas and New Year leave period.
With reference to paragraph 11 of the Fifty-First Report of the Committee of Public Accounts, entitled The UK’s F-35 stealth fighter capability, HC 1232, for what reason the UK F-35 fleet achieved two-fifths of the level of availability of the global F-35B fleet between October 2024 and January 2025.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not release availability data for operational security reasons; the National Audit Office (NAO) reporting of this metric was also appropriately redacted for this reason. The standard availability metric used by the NAO assumes that the assets are available 24/7; which skews the metric when calculating MOD capability usage, particularly Combat Air, as we do not keep the assets airborne 24/7.There were a range of factors in the reported October 2024-January 2025 period including Force regeneration as part of standard Force Readiness cycles, and periods of planned personnel leave. This included a period when both Squadrons were deployed to a Carrier for an Exercise, routine post exercise regeneration with personnel leave and scheduled aircraft maintenance for many of the aircraft, and the Christmas and New Year leave period.
How many new prison places have been approved since 5 July 2024.
Between 5 July 2024 and 7 November 2025, HM Treasury has approved the Full Business Cases for the delivery of c.1,200 new prison places.These places are part of the 14,000 additional places this Government committed to delivering in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy. We are currently on track to deliver these by 2031, with the expectation they will be operational by 2032. Under this Government, c.2,600 places have already been delivered.
In what locations he plans to create new prison places.
As set out in the 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, published in December 2024, we are delivering 14,000 additional prison places and are on track to do so by 2031, having already delivered c.2,600 since taking office.The remaining places will be delivered across the following regions, rounded to the nearest 50 places:HMPPS Region Places North East650North West2,900Midlands2,800Wales350South East & East2,400South West & Central3,250This breakdown represents current projections and may vary in response to changes in programme scope or delivery constraints. Due to rounding, and contingency within the programmes, totals exceed the 14,000 place commitment.