Written questions by Cartlidge.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, what steps will he take to protect the military hubs established to support the proposed Multinational Force Ukraine.

The Secretary of State for Defence has regular engagement with Ukraine, France and other partners on Ukraine-related security in the event of a cessation of hostilities. This Government is committed to ensuring our Armed Forces remain ready to respond to all challenges, including deployment to Ukraine. Planning continues at pace, but we will not be drawn into the details of any future UK Armed Forces deployment, including its levels, composition, assets, and participating nations, due to the risk to operational security.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, what discussions he has had with his French and Ukrainian counterparts on the number of UK service personnel required to support each military hub for the proposed Multinational Force - Ukraine.

The Secretary of State for Defence has regular engagement with Ukraine, France and other partners on Ukraine-related security in the event of a cessation of hostilities. This Government is committed to ensuring our Armed Forces remain ready to respond to all challenges, including deployment to Ukraine. Planning continues at pace, but we will not be drawn into the details of any future UK Armed Forces deployment, including its levels, composition, assets, and participating nations, due to the risk to operational security.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, when his Department will publish the number of UK service personnel deployed as part of the Multinational Force Ukraine.

The Secretary of State for Defence has regular engagement with Ukraine, France and other partners on Ukraine-related security in the event of a cessation of hostilities. This Government is committed to ensuring our Armed Forces remain ready to respond to all challenges, including deployment to Ukraine.Whilst planning continues, we will not be drawn into the details of any future UK Armed Forces deployment, including its levels, composition, assets, and participating nations. As stated by the Prime Minister, the details of a deployment as relating to the Declaration of Intent will be set out in a statement at the earliest opportunity.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, when he expects Ukraine to complete the legal and institutional framework for the presence of the Multinational Force Ukraine on the territory of Ukraine.

The Multinational Force for Ukraine will deploy at the invitation of the Government of Ukraine, with the Declaration of Intent forming part of the framework to establish the status of international forces deployed as part of the Multinational Force for Ukraine. Alongside the French, we continue to work closely with Ukraine to finalise the overarching governance and legal framework for the deployment of the force. As stated by the Prime Minister, the details of a deployment as relating to the Declaration of Intent will be set out in a statement at the earliest opportunity.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, if he will outline how he will help strengthen the defence-industrial potential of Ukraine.

The UK contributes significantly to Ukraine's defence industrial resilience through Task Force HIRST and Programme LYRA. A key strength of the UK's approach lies in our ability to consistently support Ukraine by bringing together our industrial base and technologists to partner with Ukrainian companies, establishing new joint ventures.The deployment of a Multinational Force to Ukraine will further reinforce our support and provide the right environment to exploit and rapidly scale the significant work the UK has already done.We will continue to use UK and international funding and the interest on immobilised Russian assets to support Ukrainian and UK industrial collaboration and continue to work with our Ukrainian partners to reduce frictions and increase materiel production.This will build on the UK's successes under HIRST: trade missions, megaprojects, equipment support; and leverage the evolution of our support under the 100 Year Partnership, through the sharing of battlefield technology and joint capability development under Programme LYRA.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, whether his Department will have involvement in the creation of a legal and institutional framework for the presence of the Multinational Force Ukraine on the territory of Ukraine.

The Multinational Force for Ukraine will deploy at the invitation of the Government of Ukraine, with the Declaration of Intent forming part of the framework to establish the status of international forces deployed as part of the Multinational Force for Ukraine. Alongside the French, we continue to work closely with Ukraine to finalise the overarching governance and legal framework for the deployment of the force. As stated by the Prime Minister, the details of a deployment as relating to the Declaration of Intent will be set out in a statement at the earliest opportunity.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, whether he will be increasing the budget of Operation Interflex to support the development of security and defence forces of Ukraine.

The UK has a strong record of delivering tailored training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and remains committed to adapting its support to meet Ukraine’s evolving needs. Operation INTERFLEX, the UK-led training programme, has already trained over 62,000 Ukrainian personnel and will continue until at least the end of 2026.  Since the inception of Operation INTERFLEX, the programme has continually adapted to reflect the changing requirements of the AFU and the operational environment. This includes regular review of the budget, as funding allocations are adjusted to ensure maximum impact in areas of greatest need. Any future adjustments, including potential increases in numbers trained, will be designed to complement these requirements and further strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Following the cessation of hostilities, the Multinational Force Ukraine is expected to play a key role in regenerating Ukraine’s land forces, providing logistic, armament and training expertise to support their reconstitution. Any future UK training programmes will be designed to complement these efforts and further strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

By what criteria will the success of the new National Armaments Director be assessed.

The performance of the National Armaments Director (NAD) will be assessed against a set of objectives which will be agreed and measured through appropriate governance. These objectives will align with their accountability to Parliament, with the intent set out in the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy, and the NAD Group’s organisational performance.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK and Germany sign £52m contract for cutting-edge artillery, published on 28 December, when he expects for the UK to receive an Early Capability Demonstrator platform of the RCH 155.

We expect the delivery of the Early Capability Demonstrator platform in Quarter two 2028.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, whether his Department has sought legal advice regarding the creation of a legal and institutional framework for the presence of the Multinational Force Ukraine on the territory of Ukraine.

The Multinational Force for Ukraine will deploy at the invitation of the Government of Ukraine, with the Declaration of Intent forming part of the framework to establish the status of international forces deployed as part of the Multinational Force for Ukraine. Alongside the French, we continue to work closely with Ukraine to finalise the overarching governance and legal framework for the deployment of the force. As stated by the Prime Minister, the details of a deployment as relating to the Declaration of Intent will be set out in a statement at the earliest opportunity.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK and Germany sign £52m contract for cutting-edge artillery, published on 28 December, how many RCH 155 his Department plans to procure.

The Department intends to procure one Early Capability Demonstrator under this contract, however the full production contract has yet to be placed. The total number of RCH155 to be procured will be decided upon receipt of full industry costed proposals. On current plans, enough platforms will be procured to equip three Close Support Artillery Regiments, as a minimum.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, whether he plans to increase the number of soldiers trained under Operation Interflex to support the development of security and defence forces of Ukraine.

The UK has a strong record of delivering tailored training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and remains committed to adapting its support to meet Ukraine’s evolving needs. Operation INTERFLEX, the UK-led training programme, has already trained over 62,000 Ukrainian personnel and will continue until at least the end of 2026.  Since the inception of Operation INTERFLEX, the programme has continually adapted to reflect the changing requirements of the AFU and the operational environment. This includes regular review of the budget, as funding allocations are adjusted to ensure maximum impact in areas of greatest need. Any future adjustments, including potential increases in numbers trained, will be designed to complement these requirements and further strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Following the cessation of hostilities, the Multinational Force Ukraine is expected to play a key role in regenerating Ukraine’s land forces, providing logistic, armament and training expertise to support their reconstitution. Any future UK training programmes will be designed to complement these efforts and further strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, if he will list the (a) privileges and (b) immunities granted to UK service personnel as part of a NATO operation in Ukraine.

While any deployment of multinational forces in support of Ukraine, under the Declaration of Intent, would not be part of a NATO operation, the privileges and immunities applicable to the Multinational Force-Ukraine will be those provided for in the NATO Status of Forces Agreement dated 19 June 1951.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, if he will outline the process by which he will develop the rules of engagement for UK service personnel forming part of the Multinational Force Ukraine.

For reasons of safeguarding national security, I am not able to outline the process for developing rules of engagement, as to do so would be prejudicial to our operations.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK and Germany sign £52m contract for cutting-edge artillery, published on 28 December, when he expects RCH 155 to conclude its assessment phase.

The joint Assessment Phase, in collaboration with Germany, is expected to conclude in Quarter four of 2029. Similarly to Germany, the Department's aim is to commit to production on the common build standard as soon as possible, subject to receiving a costed proposal. The assessment and demonstration activities will be conducted concurrently, to accelerate delivery and achieve a Minimum Deployable Capability within this decade.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, what will the name of the new negotiating group as part of the declaration be.

The Multinational Force for Ukraine will deploy at the invitation of the Government of Ukraine, with the Declaration of Intent forming part of the framework to establish the status of international forces deployed as part of the Multinational Force for Ukraine. Alongside the French, we continue to work closely with Ukraine to finalise the overarching governance and legal framework for the deployment of the force. As stated by the Prime Minister, the details of a deployment as relating to the Declaration of Intent will be set out in a statement at the earliest opportunity.

With reference to the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defence, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine, whether he plans to establish any further training programmes to support the development of the security and defence forces of Ukraine.

The UK has a strong record of delivering tailored training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and remains committed to adapting its support to meet Ukraine’s evolving needs. Operation INTERFLEX, the UK-led training programme, has already trained over 62,000 Ukrainian personnel and will continue until at least the end of 2026.  Since the inception of Operation INTERFLEX, the programme has continually adapted to reflect the changing requirements of the AFU and the operational environment. This includes regular review of the budget, as funding allocations are adjusted to ensure maximum impact in areas of greatest need. Any future adjustments, including potential increases in numbers trained, will be designed to complement these requirements and further strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Following the cessation of hostilities, the Multinational Force Ukraine is expected to play a key role in regenerating Ukraine’s land forces, providing logistic, armament and training expertise to support their reconstitution. Any future UK training programmes will be designed to complement these efforts and further strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 January to Question 103813 on Veterans: Northern Ireland, if he will specify which of the five protections will apply universally.

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill introduces five protections that have been specifically designed for veterans. They will apply to all those required to give evidence to the Legacy Commission.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 January to Question 103813 on Veterans: Northern Ireland, whether any of the universal protections will apply to alleged paramilitaries.

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill introduces five protections that have been specifically designed for veterans. They will apply to all those required to give evidence to the Legacy Commission.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 January to Question 103813 on Veterans: Northern Ireland, how many of the five protections will apply universally.

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill introduces five protections that have been specifically designed for veterans. They will apply to all those required to give evidence to the Legacy Commission.