Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew Snowden this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 123 · Ministry of Defence
What proportion of work undertaken under the Typhoon Engine Support Solution contract will be carried out within the UK.
The Typhoon Engine Support Solution (TESS) contract is the UK national support solution for the EJ200 engine. Within the TESS contract, Rolls-Royce, as prime contractor, sources spares and repairs from the other Partner Nations within the EuroJet (EJ) con...
How many RCH 155 systems the Army plans to procure under the Mobile Fires Platform programme.
The UK is procuring 72 RCH 155 platforms under a contract worth nearly £1 billion, supporting at least 500 British jobs.
What assessment he has made of the contribution of the Fleet Helicopter Support Unit contract to Royal Navy readiness.
The Fleet Helicopter Support Unit (FHSU) contract makes a significant contribution to Royal Navy readiness by providing essential maritime rotary‑wing support, including training, safety and readiness checks and wider aviation generation tasks. A new FHSU...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken to publish the Defence Investment Plan on armed forces morale.
Work to finalise the Defence Investment Plan is continuing at pace, and the Prime Minister has been clear that he is determined to publish the DIP before the NATO summit in July. Morale in the Armed Forces increased in the last survey, and we have announc...
Whether any of the courses funded by the Strategic Priorities Grant will require students to obtain security clearance.
The Strategic Priorities Grant funds additional capacity from home-fee students in level 4 to 6 engineering and computing courses. The nature of these undergraduate degrees and technical qualifications does not require access to classified information and...
What assessment he has made of the geographical distribution of the additional student places funded through the Strategic Priorities Grant competition.
As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy skills package, the Ministry of Defence is investing £80 million into the Strategic Priorities Grant. This is administered by the Office for Students (OfS), who are responsible for designing and evaluating the co...
What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of family accommodation for defence personnel.
As of 1 June 2026, 96.2% of Service Family Accommodation properties meet or exceed the Decent Homes Standard.The Department is delivering a step change in the quality and management of military housing through implementing the recommendations of the Defen...
If he will make it his policy to ban meat products from all defence establishments which have been produced using non-stunned slaughter.
The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter. We respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. The National Procurement Policy Statement underscores the government...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Swedish fighter jet agreement on the future of the Global Combat Air Programme.
The UK and Sweden are proud to work together on Gripen. The recent export successes are a testament to UK and Swedish expertise and will provide hundreds of millions of pounds of benefits to our supply chain businesses. We will continue to support Gripen ...
If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Swedish fighter jet deal on defence jobs in (i) the UK and (ii) Lancashire.
The Sweden-led export of Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine will provide Ukrainian forces with modern, agile, and highly capable multirole air combat platforms. It also represents a step change in defence industrial cooperation. This initiative will strengthe...
With reference to his Department's press release entitled Government backing future British defence unicorns published on 19 May 2026, what steps he is taking to ensure fair competition between established firms
The defence unicorns were selected by the Defence Secretary through the Commercial X function to deliver specific projects which align strongly with the objectives of the Defence Industrial Strategy, including the need to innovate at wartime pace, grow th...
What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the readiness levels of the armed forces.
We inherited a hollowed out and underfunded Armed Forces. The Strategic Defence Review sets out a path to war fighting readiness, and the Defence Investment Plan will set out the capabilities required to deliver the Strategic Defence Review. The readiness...
For what reasons the Defence Investment Plan has not yet been published.
We are working to finalise the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). We will publish it as soon as we can, but our aim is to ensure decisions in the DIP are robust and support the development of both current and future capabilities, helping to drive the transfor...
Whether former reservists subject to recall under the Armed Forces Bill will apply retrospectively to Reservists who served before the bill passed.
Former reservists who left before the Armed Forces Bill 2026 was passed will not be subject to recall retrospectively. However, those who have left service may choose to opt in to recall liability if they wish. Those personnel who are currently serving wi...
If he will provide an estimate as to when the Medical Navy Persistent Operational Deployment System (NavyPODS) will be available for use by the Royal Navy.
The Medical Navy Persistent Operational Deployment System (NavyPODS) is currently in development as part of the Royal Navy’s wider efforts to enhance deployed medical capability and increase operational flexibility. Delivery timelines remain subject to on...
How much funding has been allocated to the Defence Digital and Cyber Bursary scheme since its inception; and what proportion of that funding has been spent to date.
To date, £2 million has been allocated to this scheme, of which £1.2 million has already been spent. A further £0.8 million is scheduled to be released within the next two weeks to support the latest intake.
How many students have enrolled in the Defence Digital and Cyber Bursary scheme in each academic year since it was launched; and how many of those students are based in Lancashire.
285 new students have enrolled in the latest cohort, taking the total number of students to 500. This follows an announcement in October 2025, where the Ministry of Defence expanded the scheme to 500 fully funded places for college-age students across Lancashire. This information is provided below: CohortAcademic YearIntakeStatusCohort 12024-25100GraduatedCohort 22025-26115Year 13 studentsCohort 32025-26285Year 12 students and latest cohort All students are based in Lancashire, through partnerships with Digital Skills for Defence (DS4D) and the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub.
What proportion of the £400 million allocated to UK Defence Innovation in 2025-26 will be available to firms outside the designated factory locations, including in the North West.
UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) will support high-tech businesses across the UK, including the North west. The ringfenced budget of £400 million for 2025-26 will focus on novel technologies, including dual-use systems. UKDI will invest in structures to support business growth and to increase investment into SMEs, start-ups, and non-traditional defence suppliers to support a diverse and agile supply chain across the UK.
With reference to paragraph 2.6 of the report entitled The UK’s F-35 capability, HC 989, published by the National Audit Office on 11 July 2025, what steps are being taken to address personnel shortfalls within the F‑35 programme.
We inherited a retention and recruitment crisis from the last Government and are determined to fix it. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has introduced a programme of surging recruitment for the RAF so that it returns to workforce balance across every specialisation. This activity includes a significant focus on the engineer profession where, over the last two years, the RAF has offered joining bonuses and increased the capacity of Technical Training Schools to enable more recruits to be trained. To improve retention, the RAF has implemented a Financial Retention Incentive for engineers. The recruitment and retention of personnel remains one of the top two priorities for the Chief of the Defence Staff.
With reference to paragraph 22 of the report entitled The UK’s F-35 capability, HC 989, published by the National Audit Office on 11 July 2025, if he will set out the updated estimate of the whole‑life cost of the (a) equipment, (b) personnel, (c) infrastructure, (d) fuel, (e) ammunition and (f) total cost of the F‑35 programme.
The F-35 programme reports costs to the Departments and National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) policy as a Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). My Department will address the Public Accounts Committee recommendations in the formal Government response to the Committee in due course.