Written questions by MacCleary.

Whether his Department plans to undertake a refresh of the 2012 Defence Rotary Wing Capability Study.

Rotary Wing capability is vital to our Armed Forces' ability to manoeuvre and confront adversaries. We have kept our approach to Rotary Wing capability planning up to date through iterative updates to the Rotary Wing Strategy, last published in 2021, including considerations of usage of future and emerging technologies in Rotor Craft up to 2040 and beyond. Rotary Wing force design is a key consideration as part of the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan, the outcome of which will define the future capability plan.

Where the planned new munitions factories will be located.

Following the Secretary of State’s announcement in November 2025 that a number of sites are under consideration, work is ongoing with respect to specific site proposals. More detail will be available once the necessary preparatory work has been completed and further public announcements will be made in due course.

Whether he has had discussions with his Canadian counterpart on the export of Eurofighters for the RCAF.

The Secretary of State for Defence regularly engages with international counterparts to discuss a range of defence and security matters, including the sale of Eurofighter Typhoons. While the UK Government is committed to expanding the number of Typhoon users it would not be appropriate to comment on the specifics of ongoing commercial discussions or potential procurement decisions by other nations.

How many major procurement programmes are on hold pending the Defence Investment Plan.

There are currently no major programmes on hold pending the Defence Investment Plan. (DIP). The Department is working flat out to deliver the DIP, which will be published as soon as possible. The DIP is the first time in 18 years Defence has completed a single, comprehensive review of programmes and is backed by the Government’s largest sustained increase in defence investment since the end of the Cold War, spending £270 billion on defence in this Parliament alone.

How many aircraft does the Empire Test Pilots’ School currently (a) own or (b) lease.

QinetiQ, which operates the Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS) under contract with the Ministry of Defence, owns a fleet of 18 aircraft used in the delivery of the programme. The types and volume of leases change annually given the trading system in place for access to assets with other NATO Military Schools and Training and Evaluation units, coupled with access where possible to UK Military assets. For ETPS 2025, 21 additional assets were used under such leases.

How much revenue has been received from foreign military sales of Eurofighter Typhoons.

The UK Ministry of Defence has supported UK industry with successful export campaigns of Eurofighter Typhoon to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2006 - c.£6 billion), Oman (2012 - c.£2.5 billion), Qatar (2017 - c.£6 billion) and Türkiye (2025 - up to £8 billion).

Whether he plans to replace HMS Middleton when it returns from the Middle East to maintain the permanent naval fighting presence in the region.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 January 2026 to Question 106665 to the Member for Huntingdon (Mr Obese-Jecty).

Whether he plans to pursue further deals to export UK assembled Eurofighters.

The UK Government is committed to supporting the export of British defence equipment, including UK-assembled Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.As seen with the recent Typhoon export to Türkiye - worth c.£8 billion and supporting 20,000 UK jobs - these deals play a vital role in supporting the UK defence industry, sustaining high-skilled jobs, and contributing to the economy. The Secretary of State for Defence continues to work closely with international partners and allies to promote the Eurofighter Typhoon as a world-class multi-role combat aircraft.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 103848 on Defence Equipment, of the £10.4 billion industry spend in the UK how much was received by (a) subsidiaries of foreign suppliers and (b) British owned suppliers.

The £10.4 billion figure quoted for expenditure with UK industry is drawn from the Ministry of Defence’s Regional Expenditure statistics, which categorise spend by location of work rather than by company ownership. The underlying data does not capture information on the ownership structure of suppliers, therefore, the Department is unable to provide a breakdown of the spend as the “Location of Work” codes identify where contracted activity is carried out within the UK.

What estimate he has made of the revenue to be raised by foreign military sales of Eurofighter Typhoons to Turkey.

The UK Government is committed to supporting the export of defence equipment, including the Eurofighter Typhoon. The sale of Typhoon jets to Türkiye is worth up to £8 billion, supporting 20,000 highly skilled UK jobs. This deal represents the leading edge of our future relationship with Türkiye, making both our nations, Europe and NATO stronger, safer and more prosperous.

How many women have joined the armed forces in each of the last five years; and what proportion they represented of all new recruits in each year.

The attached table shows the Intake and Outflow of Female UK Service personnel (Regulars and Future Reserves 2020), for financial years 2020-21 to 2024-25.

How many women have left the armed forces in each of the last five years; and what proportion they represented of all outflow in each year.

The attached table shows the Intake and Outflow of Female UK Service personnel (Regulars and Future Reserves 2020), for financial years 2020-21 to 2024-25.

What the total amount of public funding allocated to military police services has been in each of the last five financial years.

The information requested is shown below.Where available, costs for the three Service Police forces for each Financial Year (FY) since 2015 are shown in the folloing tables. Royal Navy: FY18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25 Total£million10,449,70211,276,90410,827,52811,888,60313,028,53811,775,21811,879,05881,125,550 British Army: FY15/1616/1717/1818/1919/2020/2121/2222/2323/2424/25Total£million94,700,21696,560,16690,692,79792,815,97895,970,48891,402,78193,365,27591,749,54984,196,42289,592,304921,045,976 Royal Air Force: FY20/2121/2222/2323/2424/25Total£million75.88077.42783.27887.56593.556417.706 Notes: Under UK Financial Regulations the Ministry of Defence is not obliged to hold financial data for more than seven years.Changes to the budgetary arrangements used by the Services over time preclude the provision of data for some earlier years.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of regulations on sewage sludge.

The Government recognises the need to ensure the safe and sustainable use of sludge in agriculture to help clean up our waterways and promote healthy soil. Noting the Independent Water Commission’s recommendation for reform, in early 2026 we will consult on reforms to how sewage sludge use in agriculture is regulated, including whether this should be included in the Environmental Permitting Regime.

What steps her Department is taking to support the financial sustainability of childminding roles in (a) East Sussex and (b) Lewes constituency.

It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life.From April 2026, local authorities will be required to pass at least 97% of their funding directly to providers, an increase from 96%. We will work with local authorities and others to ensure that, where they want to, childminders and other early years providers are paid monthly for the funded hours they provide, making their income more stable. Childminders, who often care for children of different ages, can use the funding they receive to support costs across all the children they look after. We expect this will also bring increased demand for childminder places, providing new opportunities for growth.From 1 November 2024, the government introduced new flexibilities to help childminders join and stay in the profession, supporting the government’s commitment to roll out expanded childcare entitlements and give children the best start in life.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure schools report safeguarding concerns during family court proceedings.

Keeping children safe is an absolute priority for this government, and schools and colleges play a critical role in this. They are supported by the statutory guidance, 'Keeping children safe in education' (KCSIE), which all schools and colleges must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.Local authorities, police, and health services share an equal statutory duty to work together, and schools and colleges must work with local safeguarding partners to protect children.KCSIE makes clear that all staff have a responsibility to identify and respond to any safeguarding concerns and stresses the importance of effective information sharing at the right time to ensure children receive the support they need. This includes ensuring clear processes and principles are in place for sharing information not only within the school or college and with children’s social care, but with safeguarding partners and other relevant organisations.

What steps she is taking to improve education on (a) sexual consent and (b) relationships.

The department published updated relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance in July 2025. It focuses on building healthy relationships skills from the start of primary school. It sets out that secondary schools should cover how to recognise, respect and communicate consent and boundaries in both platonic and romantic relationships.Pupils should be taught the law about the age of consent and that they have a choice about whether to have sex. Pupils should also be taught about their capacity to give, withhold or remove consent at any time, even if initially given.This government, in December 2025, has published a new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. We want to protect young people and drive forward education on healthy relationships and will be investing £11 million to pilot the best interventions in schools over the next three years.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of sexual assaults on individuals with learning difficulties.

We recognise that adults with learning difficulties may be particularly vulnerable to harm in home, care, and educational settings. We remain firmly committed to tackling rape and all forms of sexual offending, and to securing the best possible outcomes for victims.The cross‑government VAWG Strategy, published on 18 December 2025, sets out a comprehensive programme of action to address rape and sexual offences and to ensure that all victims receive the highest standard of support and protection.We are investing £13.1 million in the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP), which is leading the implementation of Operation Soteria. This work is ensuring that police forces strengthen their response to rape, improve victim safeguarding, and use every available tool to disrupt perpetrators and bring them to justice.We have also instructed all police forces in England and Wales to establish specialist rape and sexual offence teams by 2029, and we are working with the NCVPP to ensure these units operate consistently and to a high standard nationwide.As set out in our manifesto, we are committed to introducing free, independent legal advice for victims of adult rape, supporting them to uphold their legal rights.In addition, the Ministry of Justice will invest £550 million over the next three years to provide counselling, court guidance and children’s services for victims. This funding will be delivered via PCCs, who assess local need and are best placed to commission tailored services, including for victims with protected characteristics such as disability.

How many people have been arrested for being a supporter of (a) the Maniacs Murder Cult and (b) the Russian Imperial Movement in the latest reported quarter, July to September 2025.

Data on arrests, charges and convictions for the proscription offences in sections 11 to 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 can be found in the quarterly Home Office publication ‘Operation of Police Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000’. The most recent publication up to year ending September 2025, was published on 18 December 2025. This can be accessed on GOV.UK in the following link: Operation of police powers under TACT 2000, to September 2025 - GOV.UKData is not published on the specific proscribed organisation that the arrest, charge or conviction relates to, with the exception of Palestine Action. Since the proscription of Palestine Action on 5 July 2025, arrests linked to supporting this group have materially altered the volume and demographic makeup of terrorism-related arrests. To preserve the clarity and time-series compatibility, arrests and charges relating to supporting Palestine Action are shown separately, while still being included in the overall total of all arrests in the publication. The separation does not imply that this cohort has been treated differently to other arrests and charges.The investigation and prosecution of criminal offences, including determining whether an offence has been committed or not, is a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who are operationally independent.The Government is absolutely clear that support for proscribed organisations is unacceptable. Anyone expressing support for a proscribed organisation should expect to be investigated by the police.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the police to ensure hunting laws are fully enforced.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not had recent discussions with the police regarding the enforcement of hunting laws. The enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police. This is in line with their duties to keep the peace, protect communities and prevent the commission of offences, working within the provisions of the legal framework set by Parliament. It is for individual Chief Constables to determine how their resources are deployed, and it is for locally elected PCCs to hold their forces to account. This includes consideration of how the police tackle the crimes that matter most to residents and businesses in rural and urban areas alike.