Every parliamentary written question tabled by Stephen Gethins this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–7 of 7 · Ministry of Defence
When he plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry of 24 October 2025, with the transfer to his department accepted on 3 November 2025.
I responded to the hon. Member on 8 December 2025 (our ref: MC2025/27344).
What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support provided for families of serving personnel separating from their spouses.
Defence recognises the unique challenges faced by families of Serving personnel during separations. Families of Serving personnel are provided with access to a wide range of support, which includes housing assistance and guidance, emotional support, financial and legal signposting to charities and organisations. The support provided is designed to assist families through the emotional and logistical difficulties of relationship breakdowns. Joint Service Publication (JSP) 770 ‘Armed Forces Welfare Support Policy’ contains a chapter focussing on matters of separation and divorce and which provides a link to an online guide ‘Separation and divorce guide for military personnel spouses and partners’ which contains a wealth of support and guidance. JSP 770 also includes an annex ‘The Welfare HARDFACTS Handrail’ which is used by the chain of command and Service welfare teams to guide how they support affected personnel. The ‘Separation and divorce guide for military personnel spouses and partners’ can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/separation-and-divorce-guide-for-military-personnel-spouses-and-partners/separation-and-divorce-guide-for-military-personnel-spouses-and-partners
What steps he is taking to provide stable family homes for children of serving military personnel whose parents have separated.
Defence recognises the needs of separating families and provides specific policy on accommodation to meet the needs of entitled Service personnel and their spouse in these circumstances. The Ministry of Defence remains committed to widening entitlement to family accommodation to support personnel with non-resident children. The Modernised Accommodation Offer remains under review and we expect to be able to communicate future policy changes in the near future.
If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing unredacted access to the war records of ancestors of members of Polish forces who fought alongside the British Army in World War Two.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no plans to provide unredacted access to the records of service of Polish military personnel who served alongside British Forces during World War Two. The MOD assesses the release of information on a case-by-case basis in response to requests processed in accordance with Freedom of Information and Data Protection legislation, subject to any exemptions that may apply, to protect third-party personal data and information that is either sensitive or confidential.
When the Minister for the Armed Forces plans to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry of 28 January 2025.
We are committed to ensuring Government responses to correspondence are timely, accurate, and high quality. On this occasion there was an administrative error which has caused a delay, for which I apologise. However, I can assure the hon. Member that I will be writing to him imminently on the matter he has raised.
What steps his Department is taking to enhance its maritime surveillance capabilities, in the context of recent submarine activity in British waters.
Protecting the UK and responding to threats in our territorial waters is a critical component of the Defence mission to protect the nation, and we constantly monitor activity within UK waters to counter and deter threats. The Royal Navy (RN) seeks to exploit and deploy new technologies alongside existing systems to enhance our ability to detect subsurface threats, with programmes seeking to rapidly adopt remote and autonomous anti-submarine sensors. The details of future capabilities are subject to consideration through the Strategic Defence Review.
What steps he is taking to protect (a) undersea cables and (b) critical maritime infrastructure.
We are committed to maintaining and enhancing the security and resilience of critical undersea infrastructure including subsea cables. We continue to co-ordinate with HMG partners, particularly DSIT and DESNZ who own critical undersea infrastructure policy, as well as security partners, industry, and international bodies to assess and understand risks to this infrastructure.On 22 January 2025, the Secretary of State made a statement in the House about the malign activities of the Russian Spy Ship Yantar and efforts by the RAF, Royal Navy and the RFA to deter Russians loitering over UK critical underwater infrastructure.