Written questions by MacCleary.

How many operational vessels are currently available to the Royal Navy with hospital or casualty receiving facilities.

All Royal Navy major surface combatants have integral medical facilities capable of receiving and treating casualties. The availability and scale of these is dependent on operational tasking. Both Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, all the Type 45 destroyers and the three Bay Class RFAs are capable of delivering consultant-led pre- and deployed hospital patient care. This comprehensive facility is also incorporated into the design of Type 26 City-class Frigates.

What data do Palantir’s Forward Deployed Engineers have access to within the Ministry of Defence.

Awaiting answer.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps has she taken to ensure the release of Craig and Lindsay Foreman.

Craig and Lindsay Foreman's welfare remains a priority for Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) ministers and officials. The Foreign Secretary raised the case with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi on 8 May and we are continuing to support the couple and their family as best we can in the current circumstances, as we also will any other British nationals detained in Iran who request our help. A specialist team from the FCDO is in frequent contact with members of Craig and Lindsay's family, providing regular updates and advice.

When he plans to publish the Defence Investment Plan.

We will publish the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) as soon as we can. We must take sufficient time to ensure that decisions in the DIP are robust and drive the necessary transformation of our Armed Forces described in the Strategic Defence Review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent information she has on the condition of Craig and Lindsay Foreman.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 9 March in response to Question HL15304.

What proportion of complaints made under JSP 831 were responded to within 24 weeks in each of the last five years.

Detailed information concerning the numbers, nature and timeliness of Service Complaints was published by the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces (SCOAF) in its Annual Reports which were laid before Parliament, and in the supporting Annual Statistical Tables that are available on the SCOAF website: https://www.scoaf.org.uk/annual-statisticals-tables Information on the numbers of complaints received by the SCOAF from LGBTQ+ personnel, and the number of staff hours and cost expended in working on complaints made to the SCOAF is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The office of the Armed Forces Commissioner was established on 1 April 2026, and no verified statistics are currently available.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority includes Brighton in its name.

The name ‘Sussex and Brighton’ for the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority reflects the make-up of the constituent councils. This is an approach taken in other areas, such as Cheshire and Warrington. The name of the Combined County Authority was a point that was raised by respondents in the consultation process on establishing the authority held last spring, which government carefully considered. Ultimately, the constituent councils have all agreed that the authority should be legally named the ‘Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority.

When does he plan to issue an update to the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

Awaiting answer.

Representing the Church Commissioners, what steps she is taking to support the campaign to rewild 30% of Church owned land.

Awaiting answer.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Shadow fleet set to be interdicted in UK waters in latest blow to Russia, published on 25th of March 2026, (a) how many Russian shadow fleet ships have transited British waters, (b) how many have been boarded and (c) how many have been detained.

Awaiting answer.

Whether she will examine the potential merits of extending tax relief for orchestras to include choirs.

The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, including orchestras, and supports them through funding and through the tax system. Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) provides tax relief on production costs and provided around £50 million of support in 2023-24. There is currently no other country in the world which offers such a tax relief for orchestras. In considering any changes to existing tax reliefs or introducing new ones, Government has to consider a wide range of factors, including the specific aims of the relief, the costs and complexity of designing and administering new provisions, and fairness. Decisions on tax are taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events, in the context of overall public finances.

What the nature of complaints received by the a) Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces and b) Armed Forces Commissioner was in each of the last five years.

Detailed information concerning the numbers, nature and timeliness of Service Complaints was published by the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces (SCOAF) in its Annual Reports which were laid before Parliament, and in the supporting Annual Statistical Tables that are available on the SCOAF website: https://www.scoaf.org.uk/annual-statisticals-tables Information on the numbers of complaints received by the SCOAF from LGBTQ+ personnel, and the number of staff hours and cost expended in working on complaints made to the SCOAF is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The office of the Armed Forces Commissioner was established on 1 April 2026, and no verified statistics are currently available.

How many complaints the a) Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces and b) Armed Forces Commissioner received in each of the last five years.

Detailed information concerning the numbers, nature and timeliness of Service Complaints was published by the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces (SCOAF) in its Annual Reports which were laid before Parliament, and in the supporting Annual Statistical Tables that are available on the SCOAF website: https://www.scoaf.org.uk/annual-statisticals-tables Information on the numbers of complaints received by the SCOAF from LGBTQ+ personnel, and the number of staff hours and cost expended in working on complaints made to the SCOAF is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The office of the Armed Forces Commissioner was established on 1 April 2026, and no verified statistics are currently available.

What the content was of the consignments with UK arms export codes ML10 and ML5 seized by Belgian authorities in Liege on 24 March 2026.

Awaiting answer.

What the nature is of complaints made to the a) Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces and b) Armed Forces Commissioner that have taken more than 24 weeks to respond to in each of the last five years.

Detailed information concerning the numbers, nature and timeliness of Service Complaints was published by the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces (SCOAF) in its Annual Reports which were laid before Parliament, and in the supporting Annual Statistical Tables that are available on the SCOAF website: https://www.scoaf.org.uk/annual-statisticals-tables Information on the numbers of complaints received by the SCOAF from LGBTQ+ personnel, and the number of staff hours and cost expended in working on complaints made to the SCOAF is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The office of the Armed Forces Commissioner was established on 1 April 2026, and no verified statistics are currently available.

How many of the complaints received by the a) Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces and b) Armed Forces Commissioner were submitted by LGBTQ+ personnel under JSP 831 in i) 2026, ii) 2025 and iii) 2024.

Detailed information concerning the numbers, nature and timeliness of Service Complaints was published by the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces (SCOAF) in its Annual Reports which were laid before Parliament, and in the supporting Annual Statistical Tables that are available on the SCOAF website: https://www.scoaf.org.uk/annual-statisticals-tables Information on the numbers of complaints received by the SCOAF from LGBTQ+ personnel, and the number of staff hours and cost expended in working on complaints made to the SCOAF is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The office of the Armed Forces Commissioner was established on 1 April 2026, and no verified statistics are currently available.

What recent steps he has taken on (1) Project Beehive, (2) the Marine Mine Counter Measures programme, (3) SeaCat and (4) the repairs to HMS Bangor.

Awaiting answer.

What proportion of complaints received by the a) Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces and b) Armed Forces Commissioner were responded to within 24 weeks in each of the last five years.

Detailed information concerning the numbers, nature and timeliness of Service Complaints was published by the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces (SCOAF) in its Annual Reports which were laid before Parliament, and in the supporting Annual Statistical Tables that are available on the SCOAF website: https://www.scoaf.org.uk/annual-statisticals-tables Information on the numbers of complaints received by the SCOAF from LGBTQ+ personnel, and the number of staff hours and cost expended in working on complaints made to the SCOAF is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The office of the Armed Forces Commissioner was established on 1 April 2026, and no verified statistics are currently available.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of using defence bonds as a way to finance capital-intensive commitments in the Strategic Defence Review.

This Government has announced a significant uplift in defence spending over the Spending Review period. This uplift is underpinned by our non-negotiable fiscal rules; reducing borrowing whilst investing in defence to keep the UK and allies safe. There are no plans to relax these fiscal rules, increase taxation or introduce defence bonds to support further defence spending.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Shadow fleet set to be interdicted in UK waters in latest blow to Russia, published on 25th of March 2026, which Royal Naval ships have been deployed to carry out this task.

The Royal Navy routinely deploys a range of maritime assets to monitor, track and, where appropriate, take action against vessels of concern in and around UK waters. For reasons of operational security, it is the Department’s longstanding policy not to comment on the specific Royal Navy ships deployed to undertake such tasks.