Written questions by Cartlidge.

Whether the Defence Investment Plan will be published before the rise of the House on 18 December 2025.

We expect to publish the Defence Investment Plan this autumn, before the Christmas recess period.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 July 2025 on Lancaster 2.0, HCWS812, if he will list each member of the new UK-France Nuclear Steering Board.

The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. The steering group will be made up of senior officials from other Ministries and organisations as required. The first meeting will take place in the autumn, and it will meet regularly after that. Attendance shall be determined by the agenda items for each meeting; representation will vary accordingly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64478 on Unmanned Air Systems: Procurement, and with reference to the 50,000 drones to Ukraine announced in his oral statement of 17 July 2025 on Ukraine, col 476, in which circumstances it is his Department's policy to provide information on military drone procurement.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) considers each parliamentary question (PQ) and oral statement on their own merits and responds accordingly. An important factor in our consideration of PQ responses is the impact of the response on operational security, including the effect of the aggregation of several such answers over a period of time.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July to Question 66215 on Defence: Finance, what is the total financial quantum of the amount of money which will count towards Defence spending in 2027 as a result of the inclusion of the Single Intelligence Account in the Defence budget from 2027.

The Government has committed to spending 2.6% GDP on NATO qualifying defence spending by 2027. By 2027, the full Single Intelligence Account (SIA) budget will count towards NATO qualifying defence spending. Details of the SIA budget from 2026 to 2030 can be found in the Spending Review 2025 document, available here: Spending Review 2025 (HTML) - GOV.UK Annual NATO expenditure by country is reported to NATO and published on the NATO website.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July to Question 66218 on Defence: Finance, whether all of the £5.1 billion stated under the column for 2027/28 as the Single Intelligence Account budget, in Table 5.1 of the document referred to, will be included in the defence budget from 2027.

I direct the Hon. Member to my answer to question 66218, which sets out that the Single Intelligence Account budget is not being added to the defence budget.However in 2027/28, the Single Intelligence Account budget will counted as NATO qualifying defence spending.

With reference to his oral contribution in response to an Urgent Question from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk on 10 July 2025, Official Report, column 1117, whether his Department classifies the gravity bomb that will be dropped by the F-35A aircraft as a (a) strategic or (b) tactical weapon.

The UK and NATO have said that any employment of nuclear weapons against NATO would fundamentally alter the nature of a conflict. The UK therefore does not support the classification of nuclear weapons as either strategic or tactical.

With reference to paragraph 15 of his Department's policy paper entitled Security and defence partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 19 May 2025, what recent progress he has made on establishing a dialogue with the EU on crisis management.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

What recent progress his Department has made on countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction through thematic dialogues within the UK-EU Security and Defence partnership.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

What recent progress he has made on conventional weapons cooperation through thematic dialogues within the UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

With reference to paragraph 60 of his Department's joint policy paper entitled Security and defence partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 19 May 2025, when did the (a) UK last monitor and (b) the EU last report to the UK the outcome of its monitoring of the implementation of the provisions of the Security and Defence Partnership.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

With reference to his Department's joint press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the principle of co-ordination of the UK-French nuclear deterrents on the effectiveness of the UK’s independent continuous at sea deterrent.

The possibility of coordinating UK and French independent nuclear deterrents adds a further level of strategic ambiguity, complicating the calculations of potential aggressors. Any adversary threatening the vital interests of our nations should know that they could be confronted by the strength of the nuclear forces of both the UK and France.

With reference to his Department's joint press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, what discussions he had with his French counterpart on the participation of France in the consultative process of the NATO Nuclear Planning Group.

France does not participate in NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group. This is a matter for the French Government.

With reference to the press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, on what date the newly signed declaration will be signed.

Detailed planning of the Combined Joint Force (CJF), evolving from the currently existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is currently under way with French colleagues following the UK-France declaration announcement. We are working to define an ambitious timeline for establishing the CJF and reaching full operational capability. For extant CJEF tasks up to 10,000, which the new CJF inherits, the force reached full operational capability in 2010.The Lancaster House 2.0: Declaration on Modernising UK-French Defence and Security Cooperation was agreed and published on 10 July 2025.

With reference to paragraph 16 of the policy paper entitled Security and defence partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 19 May 2025, what progress the UK and the EU have made on coordinating shared priorities on peace mediation in multilateral fora.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

With reference to paragraph 12, subsection f of the policy paper entitled Security and defence partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 19 May 2025, how many times the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy has invited UK delegates to the Schuman Security and Defence Forum since 19 May 2025.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

With reference to paragraph 25 of his Department's policy paper entitled Security and defence partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 19 May 2025, how many exchanges have the UK and EU held on the development of respective (a) security and (b) defence initiatives since 19 May 2025.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

With reference to paragraph 22 of the policy paper entitled Security and defence partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 19 May 2025, how many exchanges the UK and EU have held on maritime security since 19 May 2025.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

With reference to paragraph 21, of the policy paper entitled Security and defence partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 19 May 2025, how many consultations the UK and EU have held on wider international disaster response issues since 19 May 2025.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

With reference to paragraph 29 of the policy paper entitled Security and defence partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 19 May 2025, what progress the UK and EU have made on developing cooperation on space-related security issues since 19 May 2025.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.

With reference to paragraph 23, of his Department's policy paper entitled Security and defence partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 19 May 2025, what progress has the UK and EU made to enhance maritime (a) security coordination and (b) dialogue since 19 May 2025.

The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. Implementation is progressing. Since May, the Defence Secretary has held discussions with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, where they discussed our ambition to explore the potential for enhanced UK-EU cooperation under SAFE. The Foreign Secretary has also held talks with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas on the geopolitical challenges that face our continent. We look forward to the foreign and security policy dialogue between the High Representative, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary this autumn. In addition, officials from across Government continue to hold consultations with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including but not limited to Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and tackling irregular migration. As the Defence Secretary has previously said to this House, he will ensure that any UK commitment– whether financial or non-financial – provides value for the UK taxpayer and supports our defence goals. We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy. The Defence Secretary and I look forward to continuing to update the House on developments. The Defence Secretary’s offer still stands that he is happy to arrange a discussion with the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk who has shown such interest in these topics.