Written questions by Cartlidge.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing assistance with VAT on school fees to children of service families not currently in receipt of the Continuity of Education Allowance.

The Continuity of Education (CEA) scheme recognises the enormous sacrifices our military families make and aims to minimise the disruption to their children’s education caused by Service commitments involving frequent moves of the family home. The Government remains committed to improving Service life and renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve and their families. Whilst the new VAT policy does not offer any exemptions, the Government is committed to monitoring how these changes affect military families, with any potential adjustments to the scheme being considered during the next Spending Review. To protect the integrity of the allowance the Secretary of State has directed that the cap on the current rates is uprated, and CEA rates are recalculated to take into account the addition of VAT. This will ensure the Ministry of Defence continues to pay up to 90% of private school fees following the taxation changes.

Communities and Local Government, if it is her Department’s policy to continue the Community Ownership Fund beyond March 2025.

Communities will rightly be seeking clarity regarding the future of the Community Ownership Fund.This Government was elected on a manifesto that stressed its commitment to the communities’ sector and community ownership through empowering communities to own and run those local assets which mean the most to them.We recognise uncertainty is challenging for groups seeking to save vital community assets; the Government is carefully considering all available options and will confirm plans in due course.

What steps he plans to take to assist recipients of the Continuity of Education Allowance with payment of VAT on school fees.

The Continuity of Education (CEA) scheme recognises the enormous sacrifices our military families make and aims to minimise the disruption to their children’s education caused by Service commitments involving frequent moves of the family home. The Government remains committed to improving Service life and renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve and their families. Whilst the new VAT policy does not offer any exemptions, the Government is committed to monitoring how these changes affect military families, with any potential adjustments to the scheme being considered during the next Spending Review. To protect the integrity of the allowance the Secretary of State has directed that the cap on the current rates is uprated, and CEA rates are recalculated to take into account the addition of VAT. This will ensure the Ministry of Defence continues to pay up to 90% of private school fees following the taxation changes.

When he plans to respond to Question 8178 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, tabled by the Hon. Member for South Suffolk on 9 October 2024 for answer on 14 October 2024.

Details of the Treaty agreed between the UK and Mauritius will come before Parliament for scrutiny in the usual manner following its signature. It would be inappropriate to release further details at this stage.

Whether he plans to undertake further drone flight tests in Estonia following the 47th Regiment Royal Artillery’s testing during August.

A battery from 47th Regiment Royal Artillery successfully deployed to Estonia this August to operate the Watchkeeper system as part of Exercise ATHENA SHIELD. This was a proof-of-concept exercise to fly Watchkeeper at the latest build standard, in a strategically relevant theatre. Lessons from this deployment are still being analysed and no decisions about Watchkeeper’s future commitments have been made. While there are no current plans to permanently deploy a full Drone Regiment to Estonia, the recently updated defence roadmap with Estonia demonstrates the UK’s continuing commitment to Estonia and securing NATO’s eastern flank.

Whether he plans to permanently deploy a drone-specialist regiment in Estonia.

A battery from 47th Regiment Royal Artillery successfully deployed to Estonia this August to operate the Watchkeeper system as part of Exercise ATHENA SHIELD. This was a proof-of-concept exercise to fly Watchkeeper at the latest build standard, in a strategically relevant theatre. Lessons from this deployment are still being analysed and no decisions about Watchkeeper’s future commitments have been made. While there are no current plans to permanently deploy a full Drone Regiment to Estonia, the recently updated defence roadmap with Estonia demonstrates the UK’s continuing commitment to Estonia and securing NATO’s eastern flank.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to divert any of the £5bn in funding for Project Gigabit to urban areas.

Project Gigabit is designed to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to premises that will not be built to by the market without subsidy.It is not possible to specify the proportion of Project Gigabit funding that will be allocated to rural and urban areas, as this depends on suppliers’ commercial rollout, which is subject to change. Funding will continue to be provided where it is needed. However, between April 2022 and March 2023, 90% of premises benefiting from government broadband schemes were in rural areas.

Innovation and Technology, what proportion of Project Gigabit’s £5bn in funding will be used to deliver broadband in (a) rural and (b) urban areas.

Project Gigabit is designed to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to premises that will not be built to by the market without subsidy.It is not possible to specify the proportion of Project Gigabit funding that will be allocated to rural and urban areas, as this depends on suppliers’ commercial rollout, which is subject to change. Funding will continue to be provided where it is needed. However, between April 2022 and March 2023, 90% of premises benefiting from government broadband schemes were in rural areas.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the results of training flights using Watchkeeper WK450 tactical unmanned aerial vehicle systems in Estonia in August 2024.

A battery from 47th Regiment Royal Artillery successfully deployed to Estonia this August to operate the Watchkeeper system as part of Exercise ATHENA SHIELD. This was a proof-of-concept exercise to fly Watchkeeper at the latest build standard, in a strategically relevant theatre. Lessons from this deployment are still being analysed and no decisions about Watchkeeper’s future commitments have been made. While there are no current plans to permanently deploy a full Drone Regiment to Estonia, the recently updated defence roadmap with Estonia demonstrates the UK’s continuing commitment to Estonia and securing NATO’s eastern flank.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Army’s Watchkeeper mid-life extension programme.

Work to assess the options available to the Department regarding the Watchkeeper Mid-Life Extension programme is ongoing, as such no final assessment has been made.

Whether he plans to discuss participation in joint procurement initiatives with other Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) nations at the next JEF summit.

The JEF by design is a collaborative effort among 10 like-minded nations, with similar interests and priorities. There are currently no JEF-badged joint procurement initiatives, nor any immediate intention to explore this avenue of co-operation, though we do not rule out the prospect of future work in this area.

What assessment he has made of whether there is capacity for UK drone production to increase in the near term.

Defence has conducted an in depth industry survey following the Ministry of Defence Drone industry day earlier this year. We have generated a considerable range of data on Defence and Supplier coherence, and the UK Supply Chain and Commercial Market which we are analysing alongside a range of inputs to understand where the UK should prioritise production capacity. Defence will continue to prioritise the development of onshore UK drone production to enhance strategic resilience by ensuring onshore production is a key metric when selecting Defence Industry partners for uncrewed system design, development and acquisition. This will be cohered through the newly established Defence Uncrewed Design Authority.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) promote and (b) participate in multi-national procurement initiatives through NATO.

Since the UK launched the NATO Multinational Procurement Initiatives on missiles and munitions alongside a total of 14 European NATO allies, we have promoted UK-led cooperative procurement opportunities on the Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) and the AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM). We continue to work with partners and allies to promote and participate in MPIs across a range of capabilities. We are engaged with relevant NATO initiatives to ensure coherence.

With reference to the Oral Statement of 22 October 2024 on Ukraine, Official Report, columns 183-4, whether she has had discussions with her Ukrainian counterpart on the proportion of the £2.26 billion loan to Ukraine that will be spent on the UK defence industry.

With regard to the UK’s disbursement of its £2.26bn contribution to the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration scheme, the loan agreement and full terms remain in discussion and no decision has yet been made on what Ukraine will buy using this money. The UK intends to begin disbursing this money from early next year.

Whether the £2.26bn loan for Ukraine will be included in the GDP figure for defence expenditure.

The UK’s contribution to the ERA will be provided to the Government of Ukraine as a loan from the UK Government, for them to spend on military procurement. Because it is not direct UK defence spending, HMG’s assessment is the £2.26bn ERA loan will therefore not count as NATO qualifying UK defence spending.It will be in addition to current NATO qualifying UK defence spending.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2024 to Question 9487 on Strategic Defence Review, whether submissions to the Strategic Defence Review will be first read by (a) a human being and (b) an Artificial Intelligence tool.

The responsible use of AI is part of how Defence must work in the 21st century. We have been transparent about our ambition to exploit AI for a wide range of defence applications. Human ingenuity is at the heart of this transformative review, AI plays an important supporting role. Humans read submissions and use AI to support them in their analysis.

What contracts his Department holds with Palantir Inc.

A search for the information has now been completed within the Ministry of Defence, and I can confirm the Department holds two open contracts with Palantir Inc. The details of one of the contracts can be found below, the second contract is withheld under a UK EYES only security marking.707017452 – Palantir Enterprise Agreement – Software package and information systems.

If he will make it his policy to prioritise the UK's capability in the space sector in the forthcoming defence industrial strategy.

The Government is committed to the development of the UK's vibrant space sector which is a vital part of the economy. The Government has previously set out its intentions for space capabilities which will continue to be developed as this work evolves and informs our future strategy. Defence is identified as a key growth-driving sector in the recently published Industrial Strategy Green Paper, which is open for consultation on the Government's proposed approach until 24 November.

What estimate he has made of the per-person cost of training a regular army recruit undertaking phase one basic training including (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) logistics costs.

The average cost to train a Regular Army recruit at the Army Training Centre Pirbright is approximately £47,900. This is the estimated cost of delivering the Basic Training course, known as the Common Military Syllabus Future Soldier, which is completed by all Standard Entry recruits when they join the Army. Cost CategoryCost £thousandsNotesClothing2.0 Ammunition0.4 Trainee Pay12.2 Other Stock consumption0.5Includes ration packs and respiratorsWorkforce18.8Direct and indirect workforce costs for both military and civilian staffInfrastructure11.8Accommodation and training facilitiesAdministration Overhead2.2 Total47.9 Note: These are the latest available costings and are based on data for the financial year 2023-24.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of exporting (a) sovereign defence capabilities and (b) military satellite communications.

The UK Government continually assesses the defence export market and plays an important role in supporting industry partners with the export of UK defence equipment, including satcom capabilities, across a number of global campaigns. Ministers across Government are actively involved in these campaigns. The Government is determined to work with industry to support growth – defence will be a key sector in delivering that growth.