Every parliamentary written question tabled by Brian Leishman this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 41–60 of 105 · this parliament
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Prime Minister discussed the proscription of Palestine Action with President Trump on (a) 10 and (b) 30 March 2025.
I refer the Hon Member to the read-outs of the discussion with President Trump on 10 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-call-with-president-trump-of-the-united-states-10-march-2025) and 30 March (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-call-with-president-trump-of-the-united-states-30-march-2025) published on gov.uk.
Which oil and gas (a) duty holders and (b) installations on the UK Continental Shelf were subject to enforcement action by the Health and Safety Executive in relation to the management of safety critical maintenance work in each year between 2022-23 and 2024-25.
As a result of the review of maintenance backlog data and targeted offshore installation and HQ interventions over the recent years Improvement Notices have been served on the following installation operators (for both single and multiple installations). These are accessible on Health and Safety Executives’s enforcement database: For 2022/23:Ithaca AlbaEni DouglasCNR multiple installationsPerenco multiple installationsTotal GryphonHarbour Armada For 2023/24:Repsol AukTotal DunbarApache multiple installations For 2024/25:Total CulzeanDana Triton
What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact that the Principles of Process Safety Leadership for the offshore UK Continental Shelf energy industry agreed between the Health and Safety Executive and offshore oil and gas industry representatives on the management of safety critical maintenance programmes at contractor level.
The Principles of Process Safety Leadership programme for the offshore UK Continental Shelf energy industry was focused on improving process safety leadership for offshore oil and gas installation operators. Safety critical maintenance programmes at contractor level are managed by these oil and gas operators. There has been sustained focus on offshore oil and gas operators since the pandemic including an annual request to report to Health and Safety Executive, their overall maintenance backlog position, including deferred workscopes. There has been an improving trend in these backlog numbers over the past four years. An agreed set of industry KPIs is now in place and a Maintenance Backlog Task/Finish Group was established to address the challenges including sharing good practice in the delivery of maintenance work.
Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of replacing domestically refined oil with imported oil at Grangemouth on the UK's balance of payments.
We do not expect a substantial impact as Grangemouth already imported more than 90% of its crude oil in 2023.
Whether he has had discussions with Ineos on the country of origin of the crude oil it intends to import into the Grangemouth refinery.
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
What discussions he has had with the oil and gas industry on the effectiveness of the industry's checks for valid safety certification among prospective offshore workers.
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
What discussions he has had with the oil and gas industry on the effectiveness of the industry's processes for developing safety standards for offshore oil and gas workers.
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
When he plans to respond to Question 52090 tabled by the honourable Member for Alloa and Grangemouth on 13 May 2025.
I am unable to release this information due to operational security.
What process his Department has for (a) storing and (b) otherwise retaining surveillance footage taken by Royal Air Force planes over Gaza since December 2023.
The Ministry of Defence has policies and protocols which provide direction for the storage and retention of operational intelligence. I am unable to comment further due to operational security.
When he plans to respond to Question 52089 tabled by the honourable Member for Alloa and Grangemouth on 13 May 2025.
I am unable to release this information due to operational security.
Whether his Department has (a) lost, (b) deleted and (c) otherwise destroyed any surveillance footage taken by Royal Air Force planes over Gaza since December 2023.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 57027, and reiterate that I cannot comment on detailed intelligence matters nor disclose details of Ministry of Defence internal policies for the storage and retention of operational intelligence.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 52683 on International Humanitarian Law, what the name is of the third-party contractor providing information and analysis to the International Humanitarian Law cell; and how much his Department paid to this contractor since January 2024.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provides funding for the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), an independent not for profit organisation that specialises in using open-source methodologies to verify digital content (e.g. footage, images) from conflict settings. We support CIR's work in a number of conflict settings, including the Middle East, via a central accountable grant agreement. We have provided £715,000 of funding for their work on the Middle East since January 2024.
For what reason the Royal Air Force stopped airdropping aid to Gaza; whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on this issue; if he will make it his policy to restart airdropping aid to Gaza.
Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool. On 13 May 2025, along with European partners, the UK convened a UN Security Council meeting to call for Israel to lift its block on aid into Gaza. We will continue to make our views clear, both in public and in private to the Israeli government and work with our partners to achieve an enduring and sustainable end to the hostilities. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office leads on coordinating the Government’s humanitarian response to deliver lifesaving assistance to the civilian population in Gaza. The Ministry of Defence has provided military support when requested to facilitate the delivery of this assistance, including participating in airdropping aid as part of the Jordanian international coalition in 2024. Currently land routes are the only viable option for delivering aid at scale into Gaza. We remain ready to support as required.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 15836 on Israel: F-35 Aircraft, when F-35 components were sent from RAF Marham to Israel between October 2023 and August 2024.
I am unable to release this information due to operational security.
Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 15836 on Israel: F-35 Aircraft, how many F-35 components were sent from RAF Marham to Israel between January 2022 and October 2023; and when each component was sent.
I am unable to release this information due to operational security.
How many arms export licences to Israel were approved and subsequently (a) adjusted and (b) rejected between September and December 2024.
On 2 September, the Government announced the suspension of certain export licences to Israel, related to items for use in military operations in Gaza. New licence applications for such items were also refused on the same basis following this decision.Detail on individual licences are published periodically by the Export Control Joint Unit. On 10 December, an ad hoc data release was published on ‘Export control licensing management information for Israel’. These figures show that in addition to the 29 licences issued prior to September 2024 that were suspended or amended as a consequence of the suspension, between 2 September and 6 December 2024, 34 military licences were issued, 17 were refused and none were revoked.Examples of licence applications issued during this period include items for academic research, items for commercial aircraft, military equipment for re-export, and components for trainer aircraft, not assessed to be used in relation to current military operations in Gaza. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/export-control-licensing-management-information-for-israel/israel-export-control-licensing-data-6-december-2024).
What the purpose was of Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton’s visit to Israel between 9 and 11 January 2024.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 January 2025 to Question 24182.
When an Israeli Air Force aircraft last landed at an RAF station in the UK; and what its purpose was.
For operational security reasons and as a matter of policy, the Ministry of Defence will neither confirm, deny, nor comment on any foreign nations’ military aircraft movement or operations within UK airspace or UK overseas bases, whether they may or may not have happened.
Pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2025 to Question 36262 on Ministry of Defence: Israel, what the purpose of the meeting was; and who the senior British official was who attended.
The Israeli Air Force delegation, led by their Head of Personnel Division, visited Ministry of Defence Main Building to meet and receive a briefing from the Defence Human Resources Transformation Team, as part of their visit to the UK focussing on HR and People issues.
For what reasons officials in her Department met with Elbit Systems on 16 December 2024.
Officials met with Elbit Systems with regards to the UK Coastal Radar Data Integrator procurement. Content of these meetings are commercially sensitive.