Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Obese-Jecty this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 2,021–2,040 of 5,090 · this parliament
By when does he expect the results of the a) army inquiry and b) safety investigation into the Ajax programme.
We will always put the safety of our personnel first; therefore, it is appropriate that the investigations are given adequate time to allow the underlying issues to be identified. I will provide a written update to the House before the end of term.
What is the status of all Royal Navy frigates under construction and when is the first due to come into service.
As of December 2025, the Royal Navy has five of eight Type 26 City-class frigates and three of five Type 31 Inspiration-class frigates under construction at BAES and Babcock shipyards. The first Type 26, HMS Glasgow, is expected to enter service in the late 2020s, while the first Type 31, HMS Venturer, is planned to enter service by the end of the decade.
Following the selection of the Leonardo AW149 as the British Army New Medium Helicopter, a) how many platforms will be purchased, in b) how many tranches and c) over what delivery timeline.
A formal decision on the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) competition has not yet been made. The second stage of the NMH competition commenced on 27 February 2024 with the release of the Invitation to Negotiate to Airbus Helicopters UK, Leonardo Helicopters UK and Lockheed Martin UK.Only Leonardo Helicopters UK elected to submit a tender which has been evaluated but since the competitive procurement process is still active, commercially sensitive information, including aircraft numbers, delivery timeline and value, cannot be confirmed.Officials continue to consider the NMH business case as part of the Government’s approval process, with a decision to be made as part of the upcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Following the selection of the Leonardo AW149 as the British Army New Medium Helicopter, what is the total value and size of the contract.
A formal decision on the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) competition has not yet been made. The second stage of the NMH competition commenced on 27 February 2024 with the release of the Invitation to Negotiate to Airbus Helicopters UK, Leonardo Helicopters UK and Lockheed Martin UK.Only Leonardo Helicopters UK elected to submit a tender which has been evaluated but since the competitive procurement process is still active, commercially sensitive information, including aircraft numbers, delivery timeline and value, cannot be confirmed.Officials continue to consider the NMH business case as part of the Government’s approval process, with a decision to be made as part of the upcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Following the decommissioning of HMS Lancaster, how many frigates are (a) in service and (b) undergoing maintenance with the Royal Navy.
Following the decommissioning of HMS Lancaster, the Royal Navy will have seven frigates in service, one frigate (HMS KENT) is currently undergoing planned deep maintenance. New Type 26 and Type 31 frigates are in build in Scotland currently.
Under the Lunna House Agreement, by when will the Royal Navy adopt advanced Norwegian naval strike missiles and what existing capability will they replace.
The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is a Norwegian anti-ship and land attack missile, which has been acquired for the Royal Navy’s escort force. It replaces the Harpoon anti-ship missile, which went out of service in December 2023. The NSM is 20 years newer, has greater range, and is far more capable than the system it replaces.The Royal Navy completed its first successful launch of an NSM missile from HMS SOMERSET in Norway in September 2025 at Exercise AEGIR. Test firings are now complete and the NSM is expected to enter service later this year.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of funding SEND provision from within her Department’s existing RDEL core budget of £69 billion in 2028-29 on provision of existing Educational resources.
The government has set out its position on page 105 of the budget document, confirming that special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressure will be absorbed within the overall government departmental expenditure limits (DEL) budget from the financial year 2028/29 onwards such that we would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds.
How many of each Warrior variant are still in service; and with which sub-units.
As of 8 December 2025, there are 388 Warrior vehicles in service in the active fleet and those yet to start the disposal process: VariantTotalFV510191FV51159FV51270FV51332FV51436FV5150Total388 The Out of Service date for Warrior is 2027 with all vehicles to be withdrawn from service by the end of the decade. Any vehicles that remain beyond this will be classed as surplus to requirements. The Ministry of Defence does not provide a breakdown of equipment by unit or sub-unit for reasons of operational security.
What the timeline is for the Warrior disposal plan up to its out of service date in 2027.
As of 8 December 2025, there are 388 Warrior vehicles in service in the active fleet and those yet to start the disposal process: VariantTotalFV510191FV51159FV51270FV51332FV51436FV5150Total388 The Out of Service date for Warrior is 2027 with all vehicles to be withdrawn from service by the end of the decade. Any vehicles that remain beyond this will be classed as surplus to requirements. The Ministry of Defence does not provide a breakdown of equipment by unit or sub-unit for reasons of operational security.
Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 94926 on Ajax Vehicles: Health and Safety, if he will set out the criteria that will allow the pause to be lifted.
Investigations by the Defence Accident Investigation Branch supported by the Army Safety Investigation Team and General Dynamics are ongoing. Further detail will be available once the investigation has concluded. Any decisions on the pause will be made by Ministers.
What is the total cost to the public purse of the decision to extend the statutory override for the cost of SEND to 2027-28.
The statutory override is an accounting measure, designed to keep Dedicated Schools Grant deficits separate from local authorities’ wider financial position. The extension of the override to the end of the 2027/28 financial year does not affect local authorities’ statutory duties to provide support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), nor does it change how much they spend to fulfil those duties. As these duties remain unchanged and, as with the previous government’s decision to extend the statutory override to the end of 2025/26, the extension itself does not result in any additional cost to the public purse.The government recognises many local authorities are likely to continue to accrue deficits due to their spending on high needs, as we have seen in recent years, as they ensure that there are sufficient resources to secure provision for children and young people with SEND in mainstream or in specialist education. We will set out our plans to support local authorities with historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.
What assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the submissions from (a) Greece, (b) Slovakia, (c) Romania and (d) Czechia on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through the EU TRIS process.
The Technical Regulatory Information System notification is a standard process which applies under the Windsor Framework. It is not an approval process. The Government’s position remains that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will apply in Northern Ireland and is consistent with both our domestic and international obligations.
With reference to his comment given to British Forces Broadcasting Service following reporting of medical discharges relating to operating in Ajax vehicles that Medical discharges are not attributed to individual vehicles or pieces of equipment, what assessment has he made of the correlation between medical discharges and use of Ajax.
As a former member of the Armed Forces the hon. Member will know that the nature of military service exposes Service personnel to a wide range of hazards. For example, noise from weapons systems, Armoured Fighting Vehicles and helicopters over a full career often make a ‘condition’ attributable to service in general, rather than a specific cause or event. It is therefore inherently difficult to make direct linkages or define what is reasonably attributable to Ajax, or any other specific contributing factor, and medical discharge. We are currently undertaking reviews into the medical injuries sustained by Ajax crews and more details on the findings will be published in due course.
What is the full scope of the five point action plan to tackle release inaccuracy announced by him on 11 November 2025.
Releases in error are never acceptable, and we are bearing down on those errors that do occur. Releases in error have always existed, and are another long-term symptom of the prison system crisis this Government inherited. While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are taking decisive action to address this issue to reduce the risk of future mistakes. On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan. This includes:a new Justice Performance Board which will give a comprehensive view of performance across the criminal justice system;the introduction of an urgent query process to allow prisons to quickly escalate warrant-related queries;a multi-million pound investment in new technology to reduce human error;the simplification of release policy to reduce the scope for errors through the implementation of the Sentencing Bill; andan independent system-wide review, led by Dame Lynne Owens, which will report its recommendations in spring next year.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mitigating the financial risk of the removal of the statutory override from local authorities regarding the requirement to balance budgets in 2028.
At Autmn Budget 2025, the government clarified that ambitious Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform plans will be set out early in the new year and that funding for SEND will be managed within the government’s overall departmental spending limits from 2028-29. Therefore, we do not expect local authorities to need to fund future SEND costs from general funds, once the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28. We recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of historic and accruing DSG deficits on their accounts. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government engages regularly with local authorities and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on the impact of the deficits and the extent to which they are expected to grow. We will set out further details on our plans to support local authorities with their historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.
Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 94926 on Ajax Vehicles: Health and Safety, when the review into the Ajax programme will a) start and b) conclude.
On 22 November, during a routine training exercise, around 30 soldiers operating in Ajax reported being affected by noise and vibration exposure. As a result, I directed the Army to pause all use of Ajax for training and exercising, while a safety investigation is carried out into the events. Those investigations are ongoing and I will update the House at an appropriate point. I am putting in place a Ministerial led review into the Ajax programme, which will assess how effective the Department has been at implementing the actions of previous reviews, and seeking anything further that is required regarding safety. It will be conducted by experts who are not part of the AJAX programme, including Malcolm Chalmers, to provide a more independent view. It will be overseen by me and report to the Defence Secretary. It will be conducted at pace, but it will not be rushed. We will have the Terms of Reference before Christmas.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the growth in the availability of open source Chinese AI platforms on the UK.
The Government continues to monitor global developments in AI, including open-source platforms. Open-sourcing AI models decentralises control, enabling more developers to innovate, experiment and deploy systems for diverse purposes.This approach can deliver significant benefits by fostering innovation, competition and transparency. However, decentralisation also introduces security risks. Open model releases may allow malicious actors to remove safeguards and fine-tune models for harmful purposes.Consumers and businesses should choose the AI system most suitable for their purpose, considering whether they trust the organisation hosting the model and handling of potentially sensitive queries. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published guidance to help individuals use AI tools safely, including advice on understanding how personal information is processed and shared.As part of its research to understand the capabilities and impacts of advanced AI and develop and test risk-mitigations, the AI Security Institute (AISI) takes a leading role in safety-testing open and closed AI models wherever they come from.
What the deadline is for the submission of a development consent application for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
It will be for scheme promoters to decide when to submit a development consent order application for a third runway scheme.
By what date she plans to complete the review into airport funding.
There is no current review into airport funding.
What assessment she has made of the feasibility of new terminals for the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport being built and operated in competition with those run by the airport.
Information about terminals and other airport infrastructure would be provided as part of a development consent order application.