Written questions by Cartlidge.

What steps he is taking to help improve the efficiency of procurement supply chains.

As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy, we will reform the Ministry of Defence procurement and acquisition processes to ensure we deliver the capabilities defence requires now and in the future, whilst reducing waste, supporting growth and ensuring compliance with our obligations under our international trade agreements. Coupled with this, the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme is starting to deliver on the Government’s intent to create a bigger, better and more innovative and resilient Defence industrial sector supporting UK security and driving economic growth.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25988 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, how much and what proportion of spend to date on the Chagos Islands negotiations will be borne by the (a) his Department and (b) the Ministry of Defence.

Costs, including those of staffing, legal counsel, travel and accommodation and other expenses arising from the negotiations have been incorporated into the budgets of those Departments involved in the negotiations. There has been no central aggregation of those costs.To go back over costs and expenses for the last three years in different parts of FCDO, different finance systems, and data that would have to be manually checked would exceed reasonable costs.

If he will make an estimate of the total financial remuneration for Non-Executive Directors in (a) his Department, (b) Defence Equipment & Support, (c) the Atomic Weapons Establishment and (d) all other connected agencies for financial year 2024-25.

The estimated financial remuneration for financial year 2024-25 for the Department’s public appointments (which includes a range of roles including non-executive board members, statutory officeholders and expert committee members, etc) is as follows: a) Departmental - £1,270,920 (95 roles)b) Defence Equipment & Support - £318,000 (7 roles)c) Atomic Weapons Establishment - £359,965 (8 roles)d) All other connected agencies - £1,305,257 (55 roles)

Whether his Department made a formal response to the Treasury's consultation on reforms to (a) inheritance tax and (b) the application of inheritance tax on Death in Service payments for armed forces personnel.

The Ministry of Defence has not made a formal response to HM Revenue and Customs’ technical consultation. The Ministry of Defence regularly engages with the Treasury on a range of matters, it is not practice to make a formal response to public consultations from other Government Departments. Armed Forces personnel whose death is attributable to active Service are exempt from inheritance tax.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) in-year savings measures and (b) stockpile depletion on the delivery of live fire training in the Army.

There have been no specific in-year financial constraints imposed on the consumption of ammunition and therefore no impact on the delivery of live fire training.As the hon. Member will understand from his time in the Ministry of Defence, for reasons of operational security, details of replenishment and stockpiles are highly classified, and I am withholding this information.

If he will improve the training estate to support Operation Interflex.

The Ministry of Defence works continuously to improve the Defence Training Estate on a capability and training needs basis. Work addressing areas of improvement highlighted by Operation Interflex, which stands to benefit the Defence Land Environment Training Function, is underway.

Whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the out-of-service date of the Eurofighter Typhoon.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 January 2024 to Question 25025 to the hon. Member for North Devon (Ian Roome).

If he will hold discussions with the Prime Minister on sending British troops to Ukraine in peacekeeping roles.

The Defence Secretary has regular discussions with the Prime Minister about UK support to Ukraine. It would be inappropriate to comment further on speculation about the future. Our focus is on putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position in 2025 and supporting Ukraine's defence against Putin’s full scale invasion. It would be inappropriate to speculate about the content of those discussions. However, the Prime Minister remains committed to putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position through 2025.

Whether he has made changes to Departmental expenditure on training for the (a) Royal Marines and (b) Army in the last 12 months.

In the last 12 months planned expenditure on Royal Marines training was reduced by 1.8% as part of wider Departmental action to manage pressure on in-year budgets, with limited impact on Royal Marines training outputs overall. Expenditure for the same period for Army training during this period, defined as direct training exercises including Phase 1 (basic training) and Phase 2 (initial training), has not changed.

If she will make an estimate of the total revenue to be raised from applying VAT to independent schools in South Suffolk constituency in the next financial year.

The Government does not have an estimate of the revenue from this measure specifically from the South Suffolk constituency. At the Autumn Budget the Government published a detailed response to the consultation conducted between July and September. Annexed to this is the costing methodology used to calculate the total revenue generated by this policy. Included is a breakdown of the exchequer impact by year, including 2025/26. This was published online and can be found here: Government_Response_to_the_Technical_Note_on_Applying_VAT_to_Private_School_Fees_and_Removing_the_Business_Rates_Charitable_Rate_Relief.pdf

If she will estimate the revenue expected to be raised from applying business rates to independent schools in South Suffolk constituency in the next financial year.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government reconfirmed that it is removing private schools’ eligibility for charitable rate relief under business rates in England from April 2025. This intervention will raise around £140 million per year.Business rates retention means that local authorities retain a proportion of all business rates revenue. As such, the increase in rates receipts due to the reduction in charitable rate relief for private schools will be shared between central and local government.

Whether the children of US military families based in the UK are exempt from paying VAT on independent school fees.

Since 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by private schools in the UK for a charge have been subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. Entitled individuals in US Forces have always been able to benefit from the VAT free purchase scheme, providing relief on goods and services in the UK. Private school fees fall into the category of services for these purposes. The Government greatly values the contribution of our serving military personnel. The Ministry of Defence has increased the funding allocated to the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to account for the impact of any private school fee increases on the proportion of fees covered by the CEA in line with how the allowance normally operates.

Whether the children of EU nationals serving in the armed forces in the UK are exempt from VAT on school fees.

Since 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by private schools in the UK for a charge have been subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. There is not an exemption for the children of EU nationals serving in the armed forces in the UK. The Government greatly values the contribution of our serving military personnel. The Ministry of Defence has increased the funding allocated to the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to account for the impact of any private school fee increases on the proportion of fees covered by the CEA in line with how the allowance normally operates.

What discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with US counterparts regarding the Chagos Islands since President Trump took office.

The Senate confirmation process is still ongoing for members of President Trump's Administration cabinet. The Government looks forward to working with US Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth following his confirmation by the Senate and the Administration in the months and years ahead once all relevant officials are in place.

Whether his Department has discussed the proposed payment to leaseback the military base on Diego Garcia with the Office for Value for Money.

We continue to work closely with HM Treasury on the agreement with Mauritius and will take this forward into the Spending Review. The Office for Value for Money has not been involved in these discussions to date.Details of the Treaty agreed between the UK and Mauritius will come before Parliament for scrutiny in the usual manner following its signature.

Whether the Office for Value for Money will assess the proposed Chagos settlement.

The Chagos agreement, as an international treaty, falls outside the remit of the OVfM, which is focused on removing inefficiency, scrutinising investment proposals and provide advice on system reforms.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an estimate of the number of farms affected by changes to (a) Inheritance Tax, (b) Agricultural Property Relief and (c) Business Property Relief in South Suffolk constituency.

Assessing the impact of the new Inheritance Tax policy, which comes into force from 6 April 2026, relies on a number of factors such as ownership structure and debt levels. Without such information, which the Government does not hold at that level, area level assessments cannot be made. Around 500 claims for Agricultural Property Relief will be affected. Our figures are based on the latest available information from HMRC on actual claims for Agricultural Property Relief, which show that 73% of claims are expected to be unaffected by the changes: Summary of reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief - GOV.UK This Government is aware that each farm is different, and so we encourage farmers to speak to their tax advisors and agents to understand how these changes may impact their specific situation and how to plan for the future. As an outcome of the recent Spending Review, we have committed £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years – the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in this country’s history. This enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 December to Question 18985 on Army, whether the Departmental priority to double the lethality of the British Army by 2027 includes the procurement of the precision strike missile system as a metric of measuring whether that target has been achieved.

The ambition set by the Chief of the General Staff to double the fighting power of the British Army by 2027 and treble it by 2030 exists within the Army as a principle to guide Army modernisation. It is not tied to specific programmes or procurements, but will incorporate the outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December to Question 20237 on Ministry of Defence: Employers’ Contributions, when his Department plans to publish the details of the funding set aside to cover the increased cost of National Insurance contributions.

The Government will be supporting Departments with the cost of additional employer national insurance contributions. This is in line with the Government's usual approach to supporting the public sector, as was the case with the previous Government's Health and Social Care Levy. The allocation for the Ministry of Defence, along with all other Departments, will be set out in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 December to Question 18985 on Army, whether the Departmental priority to double the lethality of the British Army by 2027 includes the acceleration beyond current plans of any current armoured vehicle programmes as a metric of measuring whether that target has been achieved.

The ambition set by the Chief of the General Staff to double the fighting power of the British Army by 2027 and treble it by 2030 exists within the Army as a principle to guide Army modernisation. It is not tied to specific programmes or procurements, but will incorporate the outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review.