Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79365 on Navy: Military Aircraft, what the scope is of the Royal Navy’s approach to Maritime Aviation Transformation.

Maritime Aviation Transformation is the Royal Navy’s strategy to shift towards a digitally led, crewed-uncrewed operating model that supports the Hybrid Air Wing outlined in the Strategic Defence Review. By 2040, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Strike and Logistics Lift will be delivered by a mix of crewed and uncrewed systems, with autonomous aircraft increasingly deployed in warfighting roles. Investment decisions to support this transformation will be published in the Defence Investment Plan.

What nations form the European Carrier Group Initiative.

The European Carrier Group Interoperability Initiative comprises the UK, France, Italy and Spain (Carrier Nations), alongside the non-Carrier members of Portugal, Greece, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 79715 on Guided Weapons: Procurement, what conditions must be met in order for FASGW (Light) to progress from initial to full operating capability by December 2025.

In order to move from Initial Operating Capability to Full Operating Capability the full set of User Requirements will need to have been delivered and signed off by the Defence Lines of Development owners. The substantive elements of the programme have been delivered and so this final step is completion of the paperwork. Once this process is complete, a recommendation will be made to the Programme Sponsor that Full Operating Capability is declared.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 79390 on Armed Forces, when he plans to publish the review of future workforce requirements.

The Ministry of Defence continues to make progress in enhancing Standing Joint Command (SJC), including a directed increase in resource to meet immediate priorities. Longer term workforce and capability requirements are being considered and, on current plans, will be announced as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 79203 on NATO, what (a) plans and (b) capability targets have been set for the UK armed forces through NATO's Defence Planning Process.

NATO capability targets are designed to ensure Allied have the capabilities they need to strengthen NATO’s collective deterrence and defence. They cover the full spectrum of military capabilities, across all domains, and include personnel, equipment, logistics, and readiness. The specific targets and associated plans are classified secret and are being withheld for reasons of national security and operational effectiveness.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2025 to Question 76411 on Ajax Vehicles, if he will publish the findings of the assessment programme for the use of the ARES variant of Ajax for mounted close combat.

I hope the hon. Gentleman will understand that I am withholding the details of the assessment programme findings, as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 72364 on Electronic Patient Records, what steps his Department is taking to help support the North-West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust to procure a modern enterprise-wide electronic patient record system.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2025 to Question 81534 and on 22 October 2025 to Question 82444.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including (a) military service and (b) the military service of a (i) partner and (ii) parent in the contribution criteria for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

We will be consulting on the new earned settlement rules later this year.The Government remains committed to supporting current and former serving personnel and their families; ensuring that they do not face any disadvantage due to their service.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 75431 on Undocumented Migrants: English Channel, how many migrants were (a) exchanged with France and (b) prevented from illegally entering the UK from France between 11 June 2025 and 11 October 2025.

As of 20 October 2025, 42 individuals have been returned to France and 23 have been brought to the UK via the new safe and legal route. Between the two dates specified, a total of 9,686 of these dangerous and unnecessary crossing attempts were prevented as a result of our joint work with France.

What assessment his Department has made of whether the National Energy System Operator needs to approve additional grid connection for the final phase of the rebuild of Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to him on 20 October to question UIN 82445

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the ABV limit of 8.5% from Small Producer Relief.

I refer the Hon. Member the answer that I gave to PQ UIN 82442 on 21 October 2025.

What information his Department holds on the share of the global defence export market held by UK-based companies.

The UK publishes annual Official Statistics on defence exports. The five-year moving average of UK defence exports orders has shown a trend of modest growth since 2018 and stands at approximately £10 billion. Market intelligence on other countries’ exports is also published. But because Official Statistics and market intelligence use different methodologies, respective results are not comparable. There are publicly available defence export datasets, such as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which make their own assessments independent of His Majesty's Government.

What information his Department holds on the level of venture capital investment there is within UK defence companies that sit within the Defence Industrial Strategy.

This Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) (published on 8 September 2025) sets how we will deliver a more competitive, innovative, resilient and integrated defence sector to make defence an engine for growth. To assess progress against the priority outcomes of the strategy we will consider a range of indicators, including levels of venture capital investment in UK defence companies. This is being considered as part of our DIS implementation plan, ensuring that we improve the data we hold on venture capital investment in defence.

How much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure with industry groups was spent in each region in the latest period for which data is available.

The Ministry of Defence publishes annual statistics on expenditure by region, with the latest publication for the 2024-25 period available GOV.UK:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-regional-expenditure-with-industry-index.

With reference to page 85 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what steps he is taking to improve the demand signal.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is strengthening how it communicates its demand signal to industry through the establishment of a new Market Engagement (ME) Coordinating Authority within the NAD Group. This new authority will set the standard for how the MOD engages with industry during the early ‘options’ phase of the defence capability development cycle. The ME Authority will lead structured, early engagement with suppliers, to help refine the MOD’s requirements ahead of procurement and support the development of capability roadmaps that clearly communicate the Department’s long-term needs.

With reference to page 76 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, when he plans to introduce a supplier resilience maturity assessment (a) framework and (b) tool.

The Ministry of Defence plans to introduce a supplier resilience maturity assessment framework and tool as part of the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme (DSCCP). This will be a phased approach involving piloting and testing in a live environment during the remainder of financial year 2025/26, with full implementation commencing in April 2026. The framework—developed as part of a suite of proactive risk management mechanisms - and piloted with industry—enables structured assessment across twelve resilience domains, covering leadership, people, place, and operations, with sixty criteria in total. It is designed for use at both organisational and programme levels and supports MOD-led, supplier-led, or joint assessments. The accompanying tool provides both qualitative and quantitative scoring and visualisation. Final recommendations for implementation are expected following the pilot phase, which is currently underway.

How much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure was on research and development in the latest period for which data is available.

The Departments expenditure on Research and Development for the latest period is £19,701,778.03 (exVAT).

With reference to the press notice entitled Record number of gang leaders charged for county lines offences, published on 8 October 2025, how much and what proportion of the funding provided through the County Lines Programme will be spent in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Huntingdon constituency.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs while breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), 3,200 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 600 knives seized.While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces, which is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate a national law enforcement response.NCLCC’s most recent Strategic Assessment found that Cambridgeshire was one of the top five importing areas for county lines in 2023/24. County Lines Programme taskforces regularly conduct joint operations with importer forces such as Cambridgeshire Constabulary. We also have a dedicated fund which provides local forces, including Cambridgeshire Constabulary, with additional funding to tackle county lines.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she held discussions with her Rwandan counterpart on the security of the British cycling team who competed in the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 October to Question 82441.

With reference to page 72 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, when he plans to launch a Regulatory Solutions Hub.

The Regulatory Solutions Hub is expected to be launched in 2026.