Written questions by Cartlidge.

What steps his Department is taking to tackle financial scams committed by online firms.

Supporting law enforcement in combatting online fraud and other economic crimes, my Department, through its sponsored bodies, plays a critical role in supplying data on UK registered commercial entities to assist investigations and prosecutions.Companies House and the Insolvency Service work closely with the National Economic Crime Centre and similar agencies to identify threats and trends to facilitate UK law enforcement in preventing and closing down such scams at the earliest opportunity.Through the Consumer Protection Partnership, we raise awareness about how to spot, avoid and report scams. The Scams Awareness Campaign recently run by Citizens Advice had particular focus on the top financial scams: fake debt advice; friend in need scams; investment scams; pension scams; and parking QR code scams

When he plans that the RCH 155 will reach minimum deployable capability.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 December 2024 to Question 16467 to the right hon. Member for Raleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois).

If he will make an assessment of the potential lessons that could be learned from the use of RCH 155 by Ukraine.

The Mobile Fires Platform project will deliver the Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm (RCH 155) Calibre Wheeled Artillery System through a jointly led collaborative procurement between the UK and Germany. The project does not anticipate any direct impact to RCH certification following Germany’s decision to provide Ukraine with RCH 155. Underpinning the collaborative approach of the UK and Germany is the commitment to exchange project related information that may afford a deeper understanding of the capability, to inform wider integration considerations. This may include an assessment of any potential lessons from the training and use of RCH 155 by Ukraine.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 23156 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases, on what dates each meeting took place; which Ministers in his Department were present at each meeting; and whether the (a) Diego Garcia military base and (b) terms of the proposed Chagos settlement were discussed with people representing the incoming US Administration.

The Government looks forward to working with the incoming US Administration in the months and years ahead. The Senate confirmation process is ongoing for members of President Trump's cabinet.

Whether Germany’s decision to provide Ukraine with RCH 155 will have an impact on his Department’s approach to certifying RCH 155 for use by the British Army.

The Mobile Fires Platform project will deliver the Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm (RCH 155) Calibre Wheeled Artillery System through a jointly led collaborative procurement between the UK and Germany. The project does not anticipate any direct impact to RCH certification following Germany’s decision to provide Ukraine with RCH 155. Underpinning the collaborative approach of the UK and Germany is the commitment to exchange project related information that may afford a deeper understanding of the capability, to inform wider integration considerations. This may include an assessment of any potential lessons from the training and use of RCH 155 by Ukraine.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2024 to Question 22961 on Defence: Expenditure, whether the future fiscal event will take place before June 2025.

Government set out in Autumn Budget 2024 that it will set a path to spending 2.5% of GDP at a future fiscal event. The government does not comment on speculation about decisions outside of fiscal events.

If he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the defence industry of lost output arising from protests at (a) Glasgow Govan shipyard, (b) Glasgow Scotsoun and (c) Samlesbury aerospace factory in each of the last 12 months.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 September 2024 to Question 4231.

Whether he plans to transfer the management of RAF Odiham from the Army to the Royal Air Force.

There is a joint Army and Royal Air Force (RAF) proposal to adopt an Air Base/Air Wing operating model at Benson and Odiham airbases. This would see the RAF take responsibility for running the Airbases, with helicopters from the Army’s Joint Aviation Command (JAC) continuing to operate from both sites. This will have no effect on operational outputs.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in employer's National Insurance contributions on social care providers in South Suffolk constituency.

We have taken necessary decisions to provide stability to the country’s finances. The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care at an England level as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process.To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26. Overall, core local government spending power is increasing by 6% in cash terms.Suffolk County Council will receive a 5.7% cash terms increase in its core spending power for 2025/26, compared to 2024/25.

Whether he has reached agreement with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the financial year when defence spending will reach 2.5% of GDP.

The Government is committed to setting a path to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence in the spring and the Department engages regularly with His Majesty's Treasury on the issue.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 17189 on National Grid: Costs of the Western and Eastern Links, if he will make an estimate of the time for delivering the onshore option for Eastern Green Link 1 and 2.

At the time of Ofgem’s decision for Eastern Green Link (EGL) 1&2 Final Need Case, an onshore option was expected to be delivered by 2036, based on information provided by the Transmission Owner, National Grid Electricity Transmission. It was not included as part of the Final Need Case,[1] as analysis conducted by the Electricity System Operator found that the reinforcement was needed earlier than the onshore option could be delivered.[2] [1] https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-11/EGL1%20Project%20Assessment%20Decision%20Final.pdf[2] https://www.neso.energy/document/162356/download

What the contractual end date is for the principle members of the Strategic Defence Review team.

The Reviewers will make their final report to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Defence Secretary in the Spring of 2025. The Defence Secretary will then publish a version of that report to Parliament. It will then be implemented by the Department.

How many meetings he has held with the incoming US administration on the terms of the Diego Garcia military base as part of the Chagos settlement.

The Defence Secretary is regularly in touch with the US on a range of matters including the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. We look forward to discussing these matters with the incoming Administration in the usual way.

What proportion of the UK’s contribution to the cost of Chagos settlement will be funded from his Department’s budget.

As a former Defence Minister, the hon. Member will be familiar with the spending processes in the Ministry of Defence. Spending decisions will be taken in the usual way in due course.

Whether the delay to the publication of his Department's annual statistics on armed forces equipment will impact the scheduling of other departmental (a) reports and (b) reviews.

No. It is not anticipated that this delay will have any impact on the delivery of other departmental reports or reviews. All such reports or reviews would use the latest available published statistics.

What plans his Department has for procuring a replacement for the Hawk T2.

Ministers regularly discuss the future capability requirements of the Royal Air Force with the Chief of the Air Staff. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Huntingdon on 3 December 2024 to Question 15292.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help mitigate the impact of (a) increased rainfall and (b) storms on arable farm output.

The Government inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record following years of underinvestment by the previous Government – only 92% of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high consequence assets are currently at required condition. To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences. The Government also announced an additional £50 million of investment into internal drainage boards, supporting farmers and rural communities from the impacts of flooding. The new Flood Resilience Taskforce provides oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season. Additionally, Defra’s farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes. This funding will deliver improvements to cover a range of objectives including support to improve resilience to flooding.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the MySafety (DURALS) system in recording incidents involving defence personnel.

MySafety is the new pan-Defence safety occurrence reporting system which is being rolled out across Defence. Once complete, the introduction of MySafety will provide a standardised, more accessible, single safety occurrence reporting platform to Defence personnel, that focuses heavily on the user experience and offers greater functionality than current reporting systems. With MySafety, personnel are able to raise timely occurrences from the occurrence location using mobile electronic devices. It also offers improved data exploitation and analysis, enabling Defence to build a greater understanding of safety occurrences and learn lessons more quickly, thus enhancing safety in Defence. MySafety has already rolled out to the Army, RAF and UK Strategic Command. The majority of Defence organisations are expected to transition to MySafety during 2025. Early indications suggest the system is likely increasing reporting rates, however, comparisons with data from previous years should be avoided due to varying levels of operational and training activity.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farm businesses to adapt to adverse weather conditions.

The Government inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record following years of underinvestment by the previous Government – only 92% of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high consequence assets are currently at required condition. To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences. The Government also announced an additional £50 million of investment into internal drainage boards, supporting farmers and rural communities from the impacts of flooding. The new Flood Resilience Taskforce provides oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season. Additionally, Defra’s farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes. This funding will deliver improvements to cover a range of objectives including support to improve resilience to flooding.

What steps his Department is taking to avoid underreporting of incidents relating to injuries of civilian and military personnel.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to the health and safety of our people. We recognise the importance of reporting all safety occurrences. We have specific safety occurrence reporting policy. This mandates the reporting of all safety occurrences relating to Defence personnel, visitors and contractors that are undertaking Defence activities, using Defence equipment or on the Defence estate. We regularly review our policies to ensure they remain in line with good practice. The continued development and rollout of the pan-Defence safety occurrence reporting system, MySafety, will further strengthen the capture of data by streamlining the reporting process for users. With MySafety, personnel will benefit from a standardised, more accessible, single safety occurrence reporting platform, and be able to raise timely occurrences from the occurrence location.