Written questions by Cartlidge.

When he plans to respond to Question 107088 on Poland: Defence Procurement.

I responded to the hon. Member on 10 March 2026.

When he plans to respond to Question 106547 on Poland: Military Aid.

I responded to the hon. Member on 10 March 2026.

How many candidates remain in the selection process to hire an Armed Forces Commissioner.

The selection process for appointing the first Armed Forces Commissioner remains in progress. The Armed Forces Commissioner will play a pivotal role in improving service life for Service Personnel and their families. It is essential that we identify and appoint the most suitable individual to fulfil this responsibility. We are committed to appointing the right person for this critical role, which is central to delivering a trusted and effective service for our people. Announcements on the outcome of the appointment will be made in due course.

Whether any candidates have been selected in the process to hire an Armed Forces Commissioner.

The selection process for appointing the first Armed Forces Commissioner remains in progress. The Armed Forces Commissioner will play a pivotal role in improving service life for Service Personnel and their families. It is essential that we identify and appoint the most suitable individual to fulfil this responsibility. We are committed to appointing the right person for this critical role, which is central to delivering a trusted and effective service for our people. Announcements on the outcome of the appointment will be made in due course.

What recent progress he has made on implementing the Strategic Defence Review.

The Government has made significant progress on Strategic Defence Review (SDR) implementation since it was published last June. Examples include: CyberEM Command: The Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Force (DCEM Force) was established on time and is now up and running, within the Cyber and Specialist Operations Command (November 2025). SDR Rec 51 MIS and DCIU: The Military Intelligence Services and Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit were launched on time, as part of major overhaul of Defence’s intelligence organisations amid increasing threats to the UK and to keep Britain ahead of hostile states and terrorists (December 25). SDR Rec 54 and 56 Nuclear deterrence: The Prime Minister announced at the NATO Hague Summit (June 2025) that the UK will purchase 12 new F-35A fighter jets and join NATO’s dual capable aircraft nuclear mission. SDR Rec 30 Atlantic Bastion: The UK’s groundbreaking Atlantic Bastion programme was unveiled (December 2025), which will make Britain more secure from Russian undersea threats in the North Atlantic through a transformation of the Royal Navy and its submarine-hunting capabilities into an advanced hybrid force. SDR vision: Hybrid Navy UKDI: UK Defence Innovation was launched (July 2025) to streamline the delivery of innovation technology to Armed Forces personnel through rapid investment, with an annual budget of £400 million. Defence Exports: The UK Defence and Security Exports function was transferred from Department for Business and Trade to MOD (July 2025); all staff have completed their migration to MOD systems. 2025 was the highest year for UK Defence exports in 40 years including landmark deals with Norway, worth £10 billion (T26 frigates; Aug 25), and Türkiye, worth £8 billion (Typhoons; October 2025). SDR Rec 12 DIS: The Defence Industrial Strategy was published (September 2025) to take forward the SDR’s vision for radical reforms, growth, innovation, industrial resilience and warfighting readiness – backed by nearly £800 million this parliament. SDR Rec 3 and 8 Always on munitions: Defence announced a new programme to build factories of the future (November 2025) with at least 13 potential sites identified to manufacture munitions and explosives in the UK to create an always on capability. This is backed by £1.5 billion of new investment in this parliament and creating over 1,000 British jobs. SDR Rec 29 Housing: The Defence Housing Strategy 2025 (November 2025) set out £9 billion of investment over the next decade to upgrade 40,000 Forces’ family homes. An ambitious programme of work to urgently fix 1,000 military homes was completed ahead of schedule (December 2025). The programme of housing improvements, known as Raising the Minimum Standards, has seen significant work take place at service family homes across the UK. Legislation to establish a specialist arm’s length defence housing service is in the Armed Forces Bill, now in the Commons. SDR Rec 60 Gap Year: Plans to launch the new Armed Forces ‘Gap Year’ Foundation Scheme were announced (December 2025) to give young people in the UK new opportunities to experience military service. SDR Rec 16

How many live firing exercises have taken place at the British Army Training Unit Kenya in each of the last 10 financial years.

The number of live firing exercises, by financial year (FY), are below: FY 2015/16FY 2016/17FY 2017/18FY 2018/19FY 2019/20FY 2020/21FY 2021/22FY 2022/23FY 2023/24FY 2024/251254412231

How many generators are in use with the Royal Air Force in (a) 2025-2026 financial year and (b) in each of the last 10 financial years.

The information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Hypersonic missiles development accelerated by new contract, published on 13 February 2026, whether he has a target date for the hypersonic missile being in service.

Through innovative procurement practices and rapid commercial mechanisms that harness the breadth of the UK's industrial and academic supply chain, the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Hypersonics programme intends to deliver a weapon demonstrator by 2030. With a mandate to "do differently", the programme deviates from traditional (CADMID) procurement sequencing and adopts early technology maturation, prototyping and system testing, This agile, spiral development approach aligned with Defence Industrial Strategy maintains MOD's existing gated approvals process. The programme is at the early Strategic Outline Case; the overall costs for the capability will mature, as will the in-service delivery date.

What discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Mauritian Government on the potential impact of Treaty of Pelindaba on the operation of nuclear weapons on the Diego Garcia military base.

As the hon. Gentleman will recall from me repeatedly saying in the Commons, and again from his time as a Defence Minister, it is longstanding UK policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any given location. The UK and Mauritius enjoy a strong bilateral relationship, but the Secretary of State has not met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius.

If he will provide information on the (a) number and (b) type of cold weather clothing in use with the Royal Air Force in the (i) current financial year and (ii) in each of the last 10 financial years.

All personnel are provided with appropriate clothing and personal equipment during pre-deployment preparation.However, information regarding the amount and type of cold weather clothing is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Whether he plans to increase the provision of cold weather clothing for the Royal Air Force in each remaining year of the current Parliament.

We will equip Royal Air Force personnel with the cold weather clothing required to work in cold conditions on exercise or in conflict.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Hypersonic missiles development accelerated by new contract, published on 13 February 2026, what the estimated cost is of delivering the hypersonic missile programme.

Through innovative procurement practices and rapid commercial mechanisms that harness the breadth of the UK's industrial and academic supply chain, the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Hypersonics programme intends to deliver a weapon demonstrator by 2030. With a mandate to "do differently", the programme deviates from traditional (CADMID) procurement sequencing and adopts early technology maturation, prototyping and system testing, This agile, spiral development approach aligned with Defence Industrial Strategy maintains MOD's existing gated approvals process. The programme is at the early Strategic Outline Case; the overall costs for the capability will mature, as will the in-service delivery date.

How many UK service personnel are permanently stationed at the British Army Training Unit Kenya.

As at October 2025 (latest available figure) there were 200 UK Regular1 Armed Forces Service personnel permanently stationed2 at the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK3). Notes/CaveatsUK 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.BATUK 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. Table 1. Number of UK Regular1 Armed Forces Service Personnel stationed2 at BATUK3 2016 – 2025. YearApr-16Apr-17Apr-18Apr-19Apr-20Apr-21Apr-22Apr-23Apr-24Apr-25Regulars170210210220210220220210220210Source: Analysis(Tri Service) Notes/CaveatsUK 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.BATUK 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. Table 2. Number of unique UK Armed Forces Service Personnel3 Deployed2 to BATUK7 in each of the last 10 Financial Years5,6,8Financial Year2015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25Deployments30405306804608090607060Source: Analysis (Tri Service) Notes/CaveatsDeployment 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 October 2025 deployment extract. 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 October 2025 deployment extract.‘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 can not be combined to give an overall number of unique personnel deployed over this whole period.BATUK 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.

Whether he plans to reduce the quantity of military equipment used at the British Army Training Unit Kenya in this Parliament.

The Army continually reviews equipment allocations to ensure training needs are met. For operational security reasons, we do not release details of equipment holdings, changes in quantities, or future allocations at specific locations, including the British Army Training Unit Kenya.

If he will list the military equipment currently stationed at the British Army Training Unit Kenya.

The Army continually reviews equipment allocations to ensure training needs are met. For operational security reasons, we do not release details of equipment holdings, changes in quantities, or future allocations at specific locations, including the British Army Training Unit Kenya.

How many UK service personnel have been stationed at the British Army Training Unit Kenya in a (a) permanent and (b) temporary capacity in each of the last 10 financial years.

As at October 2025 (latest available figure) there were 200 UK Regular1 Armed Forces Service personnel permanently stationed2 at the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK3). Notes/CaveatsUK 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.BATUK 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. Table 1. Number of UK Regular1 Armed Forces Service Personnel stationed2 at BATUK3 2016 – 2025. YearApr-16Apr-17Apr-18Apr-19Apr-20Apr-21Apr-22Apr-23Apr-24Apr-25Regulars170210210220210220220210220210Source: Analysis(Tri Service) Notes/CaveatsUK 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.BATUK 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. Table 2. Number of unique UK Armed Forces Service Personnel3 Deployed2 to BATUK7 in each of the last 10 Financial Years5,6,8Financial Year2015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25Deployments30405306804608090607060Source: Analysis (Tri Service) Notes/CaveatsDeployment 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 October 2025 deployment extract. 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 October 2025 deployment extract.‘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 can not be combined to give an overall number of unique personnel deployed over this whole period.BATUK 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.

Whether he plans to increase the number of generators in use with the Royal Air Force in each remaining year of the current Parliament.

The Royal Air Force currently has no plans to increase the number of generators in use. Any that are unserviceable or require updating will be replaced as necessary.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Hypersonic missiles development accelerated by new contract, published on 13 February 2026, whether he plans to procure a hypersonic missile in this Parliament.

Through innovative procurement practices and rapid commercial mechanisms that harness the breadth of the UK's industrial and academic supply chain, the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Hypersonics programme intends to deliver a weapon demonstrator by 2030. With a mandate to "do differently", the programme deviates from traditional (CADMID) procurement sequencing and adopts early technology maturation, prototyping and system testing, This agile, spiral development approach aligned with Defence Industrial Strategy maintains MOD's existing gated approvals process. The programme is at the early Strategic Outline Case; the overall costs for the capability will mature, as will the in-service delivery date.

Whether he has met with the (a) Prime Minister and (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss defence spending since 13 February 2026.

The Ministry of Defence remains in close contact with His Majesty's Treasury and No.10 at all levels of the Department on defence spending.

Whether any draft versions of the Defence Investment Plan have been approved by the (a) Chief of the Air Staff, (b) Chief of the General Staff or (c) First Sea Lord.

We are working flat out to complete the Defence Investment Plan and it will be published as soon as possible. As part of this process, senior military leaders, including the Chief of the Air Staff, the Chief of the General Staff and the First Sea Lord, are fully engaged in defence planning.