Written questions by Cartlidge.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact that the removal of the Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee in the planning system on (a) local planning authorities, (b) UK tourism, (c) climate change and (d) the sustainability of historic parks and gardens.

The government is committed to reviewing the existing statutory consultee arrangements to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth. As per the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510), we intend to consult on removing a limited number of statutory consultees, including the Gardens Trust. We also intend to review the range and type of planning applications on which statutory consultees are required to be consulted and consider whether some types of application could be removed, or addressed by alternative means of engagement and provision of expert advice. Further details will be set out in due course.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of autism assessments in South Suffolk.

The Government has recognised that, nationally, the demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, including early intervention and support, without the need for diagnosis.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including the provision of autism services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for people referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and following a recent diagnosis of autism. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.The Government is also supporting inclusive environments and earlier intervention for children through the Early Language Support for Every Child and the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programmes.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to consider the outcomes of its consultation into the Gardens Trust's statutory consultee role before deciding whether it should be removed as a statutory consultee.

The government is committed to reviewing the existing statutory consultee arrangements to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth. As per the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510), we intend to consult on removing a limited number of statutory consultees, including the Gardens Trust. We also intend to review the range and type of planning applications on which statutory consultees are required to be consulted and consider whether some types of application could be removed, or addressed by alternative means of engagement and provision of expert advice. Further details will be set out in due course.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to commence the consultation into the proposal to remove the Garden Trusts as a statutory consultee in the planning system.

The government is committed to reviewing the existing statutory consultee arrangements to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth. As per the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510), we intend to consult on removing a limited number of statutory consultees, including the Gardens Trust. We also intend to review the range and type of planning applications on which statutory consultees are required to be consulted and consider whether some types of application could be removed, or addressed by alternative means of engagement and provision of expert advice. Further details will be set out in due course.

With reference to recommendation 49 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, how much will his Department invest into the resilience of UK military space systems in each financial year of the current Parliament.

Work to deliver Strategic Defence Review recommendation 49 will be set out in the Defence Investment Plan due for release in the Autumn. This work is critical to ensuring Defence-wide capability prioritisation is conducted to understand where the greatest requirements rest.Government investment will build on the current UK Space ecosystem to prioritise, cohere and unlock the nation's space potential. Government Departments are working collaboratively to identify space synergies and common priorities to ensure a coherent approach.

With reference to recommendation 59 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what plans he has to present the Defence Infrastructure Recapitalisation Plan to Parliament.

There are currently no plans to present the Defence Infrastructure Recapitalisation Plan to Parliament.

With reference to recommendation 3 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, what metric was used to measure (a) the lethality of the Armed Forces, (b) productivity (i) within Defence and (ii) of industry and (c) the national economic impact of Defence spending and procurement.

This Government endorses the Strategic Defence Review’s (SDR) vision and accepts all 62 recommendations. The implementation of the Review’s recommendations will be priority business for the Department and will be executed through a whole of UK Defence effort. Work is underway across the Department to develop metrics to support the monitoring of delivery. In response to the specific elements of recommendation 3 referenced: Lethality I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predeccessor gave on 12 June 2025, to Question 57781 to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecrty). Productivityi) Within Defence: How Defence is driving productivity will be codified in the Defence Reform and Efficiency Plan due to be published alongside the Defence Investment Plan later this year. Productivity in Defence is measured through efficiency and effectiveness. This includes; cashable savings over the short or medium term and non-financial benefits such as time savings, the ability to redeploy military personnel and enhanced user experience. This aligns to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) approach to measuring Public Sector productivity. Ii) Of Industry Work is currently underway to develop a Defence Supply Chain and Industry Productivity Key Performance Indicator (KPI), led by the National Armaments Director. The definition and measurement of productivity is complex but also vitally important. The establishment of effective metrics will help drive the UK’s ability to convert resources—capital, labour, infrastructure, and innovation—into deployable capability at pace and scale. The MOD will actively work with stakeholders across government, industry, and academia to co-design this metric. The KPI is expected to evolve over time as data systems and policy maturity improve. The national economic impact of Defence spending and procurement: We are making defence an engine for growth in every region and nation in the UK. Through the Defence Growth Board – co-chaired by the Chancellor and Defence Secretary – we are hardwiring growth into Defence decision-making, including the development of metrics and a framework to measure the national economic impact of defence for the whole country.

With reference to recommendation 6 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, which team in his Department is responsible for developing a dedicated strategy for the financial services sector by March 2026.

The Growth and Missions Directorate within the Department of State will lead the Defence Finance and Investment Strategy in collaboration with Military Strategic Head Quarters and the National Armaments Director Group. They will be supported by the Defence Investors' Advisory Group that will be made of eminent professionals within the banking and venture capital sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers who incurred costs based on an expectation of acceptance to the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024 was an uncapped scheme aimed at mass participation of farm businesses, despite a finite farming budget. This large-scale uptake of the scheme meant it reached its upper limit in March 2025. We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. We are investing more than £2.7 billion a year in farming and nature recovery, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history to put healthy, nutritious food on our tables. We are working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced in summer 2025. That's only part of our commitment to farmers. We have also protected farmers in trade deals and provided a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker route, giving farms certainty to grow their businesses. We are using our own purchasing power to back British produce, with an ambition, where possible, for half of food supplied into the public sector to be produced locally or certified to high environmental standards. We are reforming the planning system to support clean energy projects that align with our Clean Power 2030 ambitions, helping farm businesses to become more profitable and resilient.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to review the consistency of Sustainable Farming Incentive application decisions made after the scheme was closed.

We do not propose to review decisions. We clearly set out the rationale for the reopened Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme. The Rural Payments Agency wrote to all those applicants who were eligible to apply. We worked with stakeholders and partner organisations to ensure transparency of approach and decision making.

With reference to recommendation 48 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, if he will list the commercial facilities that could be potentially used for operations as a military alternative to RAF Brize Norton.

I hope the hon. Gentleman will understand that I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that future planning decisions that impact historic parks and gardens will be informed by expert advice.

The government is committed to reviewing the existing statutory consultee arrangements to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth. As per the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510), we intend to consult on removing a limited number of statutory consultees, including the Gardens Trust. We also intend to review the range and type of planning applications on which statutory consultees are required to be consulted and consider whether some types of application could be removed, or addressed by alternative means of engagement and provision of expert advice. Further details will be set out in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect UK sovereign innovation on gene editing in (a) current and (b) future trade deal discussions.

Defra has been clear, including in initial SPS agreement discussions with the EU, on the importance of supporting the use of new and innovative technologies such as precision breeding. Defra remains committed to the Precision Breeding Act 2023, and the secondary legislation needed to implement the Act for plants is due to commence in November 2025.

With reference to recommendation 2 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what recent progress he has made on establishing a roadmap for delivering deeper interoperability with NATO allies by January 2026.

The Strategic Defence Review is clear that our defence policy is 'NATO First'. The Armed Forces must be capable of operating as part of a NATO force by design. We are taking this forward with and through NATO, which will produce an Interoperability Plan for the Alliance by the end of the year. The Military Strategic Headquarters has appointed an interoperability champion to support the implementation of this plan. The UK's own roadmap for delivering deeper interoperability with NATO allies will be developed alongside our Integrated Force Design. Officials within the Department meet regularly to discuss both initiatives, however, information regarding the total number of meetings is not held in the format requested.

With reference to paragraph 23 on page 19 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, whether her Department has allocated funding to help develop understanding of the Armed Forces among young people in schools.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) states that, as part of a national conversation on security, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will work with the department to develop understanding of the armed forces in schools.The department works jointly with MoD on the Cadet Expansion Programme, which was launched to establish new cadet units in English state secondary schools. We will continue to work with MoD as they implement the SDR’s recommendation to expand in-school and community-based Cadet Forces.We will also work with MoD on the SDR’s recommendation to increase understanding of the armed forces in schools in a way that creates opportunities.

With reference to page 127 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published in June 2025 how much his Department plans to spend on Defence Intelligence in each year of this Parliament.

This Government has made a historic commitment to defence investment – rising to 2.6% in 2027. Future budgets for Defence Intelligence are being finalised as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

With reference to recommendation 2 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, what recent progress he has made on establishing a roadmap for delivering deeper interoperability with NATO allies by January 2026.

The Strategic Defence Review is clear that our defence policy is ‘NATO First’. The Armed Forces must be capable of operating as part of a NATO force by design. We are taking this forward with and through NATO, which will produce an Interoperability Plan for the Alliance by the end of the year. The Military Strategic Headquarters has appointed an interoperability champion to support the implementation of this plan. The UK’s own roadmap for delivering deeper interoperability with NATO allies is being developed with and in support of our Integrated Force Design. Officials within the Department meet regularly to discuss these, however, information regarding the total number of meetings is not held in the format requested.

With reference to recommendation 2 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, how many meetings have taken place within his Department on establishing a roadmap for delivering deeper interoperability with NATO allies by January 2026 since 2 June 2025.

The Strategic Defence Review is clear that our defence policy is ‘NATO First’. The Armed Forces must be capable of operating as part of a NATO force by design. We are taking this forward with and through NATO, which will produce an Interoperability Plan for the Alliance by the end of the year. The Military Strategic Headquarters has appointed an interoperability champion to support the implementation of this plan. The UK’s own roadmap for delivering deeper interoperability with NATO allies is being developed with and in support of our Integrated Force Design. Officials within the Department meet regularly to discuss these, however, information regarding the total number of meetings is not held in the format requested.

With reference to his oral statement of 17 July 2025 on Ukraine, Official Report, col 475, how many and what proportion of the drones supplied to Ukraine were made by British companies.

Where the UK's drone industry can meet Ukraine's drone requirements, the Ministry of Defence sources from UK industry, and this is true of the majority of the spend on drone procurements for Ukraine. As stated by the Defence Secretary at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on 4 June, where he pledged £350 million investment into drones this financial year, the majority of the spend is with British companies. The proportion of drone spending spent with UK suppliers has varied year on year but this financial year we are on track to spend over 70% through UK suppliers.

How many service personnel have received the tax free operational allowance in each of the last five financial years.

The number of Service personnel who have received tax free operational allowance in each of the last five financial years including the financial year 2025-26 to date, can be found in the table below. Financial YearNumber of Employees2020-2153362021-2252832022-2330152023-2421082024-2525252025-26 to date435 Service personnel on deployed operations in the following Specified Operational Locations (SOL) qualify for the payment of Operational Allowance: Chad (all locations)Egypt (Sinai only)Iraq (all locations)Mali (all locations)Somalia (all locations)South Sudan (all locations)Democratic Republic of Congo (Goma only)Lebanon (Naquora only) – backdated to 7 Oct 23Red Sea (within operational areas) – backdated to 19 Oct 23 I am withholding the names of some locations for the purpose of safeguarding national security, as disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.