Written questions by Cartlidge.

With reference to his statement of 22 May 2025 on Diego Garcia Military Base, Official Report, Column 1284, if he will provide the basis for his comments that the UK would face legal rulings within weeks.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 March 2026 to Question 116019 to the hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis).

How many service personnel have been stationed at the Land Regional Hub Oman in a (a) permanent and (b) temporary capacity in each of the last 10 financial years.

The Land Regional Hub Oman has transitioned into the Global Hub Oman (GHO) providing Land, Sea and Air capabilities. As at October 2025 (latest figures available), the numbers of Service personnel currently stationed at the Hub on a permanent basis were less than five, as shown below: Number of UK Regular1 Armed Forces Service Personnel Stationed2 at Global Hub Oman (GHO)3, as at 1 October 25 YearOct-25 Regulars[c] Notes UK Regulars comprise full time service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel, Gurkhas, Mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), High Readiness Reserve (HRR) and Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) personnel. Includes trained and untrained personnel. The figures are based on Service personnel's stationed location and not their location of residence - where personnel work isn't necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location. The Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel on sea service are included against the local authority containing the home port of their ship. GHO has been derived from the Location Unit field in Joint Personnel Administration (JPA). Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure. However, numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias.[c] - less than 5 As at October 2025 (latest figures available), the numbers of service personnel stationed permanently at the Hub in each of the last 10 financial years are below: Number of UK Regular1 Armed Forces Service Personnel Stationed2 at Global Hub Oman (GHO)3, 2016 - 2025 YearApr-16Apr-17Apr-18Apr-19Apr-20Apr-21Apr-22Apr-23Apr-24Apr-25 Regulars000000[c][c][c][c] Notes UK Regulars comprise full time service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel, Gurkhas, Mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), High Readiness Reserve (HRR) and Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) personnel. Includes trained and untrained personnel. The figures are based on Service personnel's stationed location and not their location of residence - where personnel work isn't necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location. The Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel on sea service are included against the local authority containing the home port of their ship. GHO has been derived from the Location Unit field in Joint Personnel Administration (JPA). Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure. However, numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias. [c] - less than 5 As at October 2025 (latest figures available), the numbers of service personnel deployed temporarily at the Hub in each of the last 10 financial years are below: Number of Unique UK Armed Forces Service Personnel3 Deployed2 to Global Hub Oman (GHO)7 by Financial Year5,6,8 Financial Year2015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25 Deployments00[c]2960208807603057040 Notes Deployment data are derived from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) `Move and Track` system. Due to ongoing validation of data from JPA, figures provided are provisional and subject to change. Figures have been derived from the January 2026 deployment extract.Deployed personnel are Military personnel who are deployed on Operations. The Move and Track database records all personnel who enter a deployment theatre for over 24hrs. Each individual has a new record for each change in deployed unit, location, operation or date. ‘UK Forces Service Personnel’ comprises UK Regular Forces, Gurkhas, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Volunteer Reserve, Serving Regular Reserve, Sponsored Reserve, and Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS). Service personnel data is derived from the JPA system, which is a combination of mandatory and non-mandatory fields populated by unit administrators and voluntary fields that Armed Forces personnel can choose to complete based on their perceptions. The Date of Deployment is the 'deployed date in' as recorded on JPA 'Move and Track' system. This is the date personnel deployed into the respective count. Please note: the total does not include repeat tours within the same calendar year, so each individual is only recorded once per financial year. If personnel began a deployment in multiple financial years, then they would be reported in each financial year they were deployed in. Hence, figures cannot be combined to give an overall number of unique personnel deployed over this whole period. GHO has been derived from the Location Unit field in Joint Personnel Administration (JPA). The Financial Year for Defence Statistics purposes starts on 1 April and ends on 31 March. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure. However, numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias. [c] - less than 5

How many service personnel are permanently stationed at the Land Regional Hub Oman.

The Land Regional Hub Oman has transitioned into the Global Hub Oman (GHO) providing Land, Sea and Air capabilities. As at October 2025 (latest figures available), the numbers of Service personnel currently stationed at the Hub on a permanent basis were less than five, as shown below: Number of UK Regular1 Armed Forces Service Personnel Stationed2 at Global Hub Oman (GHO)3, as at 1 October 25 YearOct-25 Regulars[c] Notes UK Regulars comprise full time service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel, Gurkhas, Mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), High Readiness Reserve (HRR) and Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) personnel. Includes trained and untrained personnel. The figures are based on Service personnel's stationed location and not their location of residence - where personnel work isn't necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location. The Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel on sea service are included against the local authority containing the home port of their ship. GHO has been derived from the Location Unit field in Joint Personnel Administration (JPA). Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure. However, numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias.[c] - less than 5 As at October 2025 (latest figures available), the numbers of service personnel stationed permanently at the Hub in each of the last 10 financial years are below: Number of UK Regular1 Armed Forces Service Personnel Stationed2 at Global Hub Oman (GHO)3, 2016 - 2025 YearApr-16Apr-17Apr-18Apr-19Apr-20Apr-21Apr-22Apr-23Apr-24Apr-25 Regulars000000[c][c][c][c] Notes UK Regulars comprise full time service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel, Gurkhas, Mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), High Readiness Reserve (HRR) and Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) personnel. Includes trained and untrained personnel. The figures are based on Service personnel's stationed location and not their location of residence - where personnel work isn't necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location. The Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel on sea service are included against the local authority containing the home port of their ship. GHO has been derived from the Location Unit field in Joint Personnel Administration (JPA). Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure. However, numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias. [c] - less than 5 As at October 2025 (latest figures available), the numbers of service personnel deployed temporarily at the Hub in each of the last 10 financial years are below: Number of Unique UK Armed Forces Service Personnel3 Deployed2 to Global Hub Oman (GHO)7 by Financial Year5,6,8 Financial Year2015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25 Deployments00[c]2960208807603057040 Notes Deployment data are derived from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) `Move and Track` system. Due to ongoing validation of data from JPA, figures provided are provisional and subject to change. Figures have been derived from the January 2026 deployment extract.Deployed personnel are Military personnel who are deployed on Operations. The Move and Track database records all personnel who enter a deployment theatre for over 24hrs. Each individual has a new record for each change in deployed unit, location, operation or date. ‘UK Forces Service Personnel’ comprises UK Regular Forces, Gurkhas, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Volunteer Reserve, Serving Regular Reserve, Sponsored Reserve, and Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS). Service personnel data is derived from the JPA system, which is a combination of mandatory and non-mandatory fields populated by unit administrators and voluntary fields that Armed Forces personnel can choose to complete based on their perceptions. The Date of Deployment is the 'deployed date in' as recorded on JPA 'Move and Track' system. This is the date personnel deployed into the respective count. Please note: the total does not include repeat tours within the same calendar year, so each individual is only recorded once per financial year. If personnel began a deployment in multiple financial years, then they would be reported in each financial year they were deployed in. Hence, figures cannot be combined to give an overall number of unique personnel deployed over this whole period. GHO has been derived from the Location Unit field in Joint Personnel Administration (JPA). The Financial Year for Defence Statistics purposes starts on 1 April and ends on 31 March. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure. However, numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias. [c] - less than 5

Whether he plans to increase training of Royal Air Force engineers in extreme cold temperatures in each remaining year of the current Parliament.

ECW training is conducted as required to support operational and exercise commitments, particularly in the High North. The RAF regularly train and operate alongside NATO allies and Nordic partners in extreme cold environments.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February on Unmanned Air Systems: Training, how many individual units in the Field Army currently train in the use of small uncrewed air systems.

Training pathways for the use of small Uncrewed Air Systems (sUAS) are expanding rapidly as the Army continues to build skills in robotics and autonomous systems, informed by lessons learned from Ukraine. Centralised sUAS training delivered by the Land Warfare Centre has been in development for much of this training year. As pathways mature, the Centre is currently scheduled to deliver 65 courses in Training Year 2026-27, with this number expected to increase or remain consistent in future years depending on uptake. Alongside this, distributed training—delivered by individual units within the Field Army—remains a significant element of the Army’s approach. 283 distributed courses have been scheduled in the current training year, and the number of available course places is expected to grow in future years. Exact figures on the number of units training specifically on small Uncrewed Air Systems (sUAS) are not held centrally. However, as of March 2026, 127 Army units are reported to be conducting training on Uncrewed Air Systems, the vast majority of which relates to sUAS.

How many individuals have received an operational tour bonus in each of the ten previous financial years.

The total cost of Operational Allowance paid to Service Personnel in each Financial Year since 2015-16, and the numbers in receipt, are set out below: Financial YearNumbers in receipt of Op Allowance Total Op Allowance2015-164,290£10,709,745.542016-175,748£14,668,691.792017-186,972£21,038,734.632018-197,653£24,554,593.592019-207,886£26,621,504.812020-216,140£18,587,048.822021-226,399£16,596,044.662022-235,164£13,673,498.622023-244,916£13,663,602.682024-255,330£13,091,473.382025-26 to date6,625£12,896,081.72Total44,439£186,101,020.24

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2026 to Question 110439 on Defence: Expenditure, if he will provide an itemised breakdown of the expenditure that forms the UK's NATO declared defence spending which falls outside of the Ministry of Defence budget.

All of the UK's declared defence spending is rigorously scrutinised to ensure it meets the definition set out by NATO.In line with other NATO Allies, the full range of what the UK includes as defence spending is not publicised.

With reference to his statement of 22 May 2025 on Diego Garcia Military Base, Official Report, Column 1284, what the potential legal rulings are that he referred to.

We have always been clear that, if a long-term deal was not reached, there was a risk of further litigation being brought rapidly which could have had serious implications for the operation of the military base on Diego Garcia. There are various avenues through which Mauritius could pursue a legally binding ruling, including under dispute provisions of treaties to which both States are parties or further arbitral proceedings against the UK under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS"). A ruling from such an arbitral tribunal would be legally binding on the parties to it.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 February to Question 110439 on Defence: Expenditure, from which Department's budget the 0.47% of GDP spend not included in the table will come from.

In line with NATO guidance, the UK has consistently counted spend across Government towards defence spending, provided it meets the definition.Which additional Departments this will be from will be set out as part of the UK's return for 2027.

With reference to his statement of 22 May 2025 on Diego Garcia Military Base, Official Report, column 1284, if he will list the legal threats that currently threaten the security of the Diego Garcia military base.

We have always been clear that, if a long-term deal was not reached, there was a risk of further litigation being brought rapidly which could have had serious implications for the operation of the military base on Diego Garcia. There are various avenues through which Mauritius could pursue a legally binding ruling, including under dispute provisions of treaties to which both States are parties or further arbitral proceedings against the UK under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS"). A ruling from such an arbitral tribunal would be legally binding on the parties to it.

Whether he has had discussions with his Mauritian counterpart on Article 298 of UNCLOS and Diego Garcia.

No, he has not.

Whether the Defence Investment Plan will contain costings for all defence programmes.

We are working flat out to complete the Defence Industrial Plan and this will be published as soon as possible.

What his proposed timeline is for publishing a terms of reference for the Defence Investment Plan.

The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is the next step in turning the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) into action. It is the first zero-based review of Defence’s budgets in eighteen years and goes significantly further than the last Government’s Equipment Plan by looking across every budget line, including people and infrastructure. We will publish it as soon as we can, but our aim is to ensure decisions in the DIP are robust and support the development of both current and future capabilities, helping to drive the transformation of our Armed Forces described in the Strategic Defence Review.

How much his Department plans to spend with SMEs in (a) 2026 and (b) 2027.

Defence is an engine for growth, and small businesses are the backbone of UK defence, bringing the innovation, agility and fresh thinking that our Armed Forces need to stay ahead of evolving threats. As announced by the Prime Minister and Secretary of State of Defence last year, this Government is committed to supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), including an ambitious but achievable target to increase our spend with SMEs by £2.5 billion by 2028. The department's forthcoming SME Action Plan will lay out what steps we will be taking during 2026 and 2027 to achieve this uplift by 2028.

How many applications to join the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy were rejected due to medical reasons since 5 July 2024.

The following table provides the number of applications rejected with the reason ‘Medical’ from 5 July 2024 to 31 January 2026. Total applications rejected for medical reasons between 5 July 2024 to 31 January 20261 Army45,680Royal Air Force12,310Royal Navy1,020[1] All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 in line with disclosure control policy. Figures ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid bias. These figures represent the number of applications rejected and not the number of people rejected; one applicant can apply (and be rejected) multiple times. The figures show the number of rejected applications in the specified time period regardless of when the application was received.

When he plans to respond to Question 104231 on Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.

The Government has engaged closely with a wide range of military stakeholders in relation to the Troubles Bill to ensure that the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill effectively supports veterans. This has involved meeting with veterans and current serving members of the Armed Forces whose service took place across different time periods, including during Op BANNER, and across a wide range of regiments. This has included myself, and other Ministerial colleagues across Government meeting with members of the Associations on several occasions. It may be helpful to further quantify that since 5 July 2024, in my previous, and current Ministerial role, I have conducted over 70 veterans’ engagements, where I spoke with hundreds of veterans, from all Services and cohorts, from a wide range of different associations, about a number of matters.

When he plans to respond to Question 104230 on Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.

The Government has engaged closely with a wide range of military stakeholders in relation to the Troubles Bill to ensure that the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill effectively supports veterans. This has involved meeting with veterans and current serving members of the Armed Forces whose service took place across different time periods, including during Op BANNER, and across a wide range of regiments. This has included myself, and other Ministerial colleagues across Government meeting with members of the Associations on several occasions. It may be helpful to further quantify that since 5 July 2024, in my previous, and current Ministerial role, I have conducted over 70 veterans’ engagements, where I spoke with hundreds of veterans, from all Services and cohorts, from a wide range of different associations, about a number of matters.

When he plans to respond to Question 103365 on Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.

The Government has engaged closely with a wide range of military stakeholders in relation to the Troubles Bill to ensure that the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill effectively supports veterans. This has involved meeting with veterans and current serving members of the Armed Forces whose service took place across different time periods, including during Op BANNER, and across a wide range of regiments. This has included myself, and other Ministerial colleagues across Government meeting with members of the Associations on several occasions. It may be helpful to further quantify that since 5 July 2024, in my previous, and current Ministerial role, I have conducted over 70 veterans’ engagements, where I spoke with hundreds of veterans, from all Services and cohorts, from a wide range of different associations, about a number of matters.

How many times has (a) he and (b) his ministerial team met with the lead reviewers of the Strategic Defence Review since 2 June 2025.

The Strategic Defence Review sets a path for the next decade and beyond to transform Defence and make the UK stronger both at home and abroad. The Government endorsed the Review’s vision and accepted all 62 recommendations. The lead reviewers played a valuable role in shaping its analysis and recommendations and, while they have no formal role now, we are regularly engaged with them .

When the next NATO threat and capability review will take place.

The next full capability review will occur within NATO’s current four-year NDPP cycle, which runs until 2027.