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 421–440 of 4,549 · this parliament
Pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2026 to question 122290 on Ajax Vehicles, what recent assessment he has made of the suitability of SPz Puma to replace Ajax.
Work on Ajax is ongoing. As I have previously updated the House, we have commissioned a number of safety reports. These have now been received, and we are working through their findings. I will update the House shortly on progress, as I have done since Exercise Titan Storm.
With reference to her oral response to the hon. Member for Huntingdon on 5 January 2026, Official Report, column 25, by what date she will write to the hon. Member for Huntingdon.
A letter to the hon. Gentleman was sent on 28 April.
With reference to the Defence Diplomacy Strategy, Keeping Britain Safe: secure at home and strong abroad, page 30, by when does he plan to have established a new Defence Diplomacy Cadre for civilian policy professionals.
As part of the implementation of the Defence Diplomacy Strategy, the Ministry of Defence is establishing a Defence Diplomacy Cadre to increase training and education for our international facing policy staff. The cadre will be piloted with an initial focus on developing skills for staff in US facing roles. Lessons from the pilot will inform the work on the full Defence Diplomacy Cadre, which will leverage expertise within Defence and wider government on relationship building, negotiation, cultural awareness, and complex geo-political contexts, to further develop these skills in Defence, and empower staff in international facing roles.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of calls by the President of Argentina on 2 April 2026 for renewed negotiations with the UK over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.
No such assessment is required. The UK's steadfast support for the Falkland Islanders' right of self‑determination remains unchanged, and our position on sovereignty and the defence of the Falkland Islands remains equally steadfast and consistent.
Pursuant to the answer of 10 April 2926 to question 120448 on Type 45 Destroyers: Defence Equipment, on what date the first Type 45 destroyer will be fitted with Sea Ceptor CAMM.
The CAMM capability is being fitted to the Type 45 fleet under the Sea Viper CAMM programme, which will augment the existing Anti-Air Warfare capability of those platforms. Installation on the first vessel will be completed in late Summer 2026.
What assessment she has made of the potential a) merits of extending the R&D Expenditure Credit to include capital expenditure and the b) impact of that measure on allowing start-ups and pre-profit companies to invest and scale in the UK.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government made a number of commitments on R&D tax reliefs as part of the Corporate Tax Roadmap to provide the stability and certainty that help support investment decisions. The Government committed to maintaining the generosity of the rates in both the merged R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC) scheme and the Enhanced R&D Intensive Support (ERIS). This, combined with the commitment to cap the headline rate of Corporation Tax, means that companies doing qualifying R&D will continue to receive between £15 to £27 for every £100 spent on R&D. The RDEC rate of 20 per cent represents the joint highest uncapped headline rate of R&D tax relief in the G7 for large companies, and the ERIS scheme will provide around £1.3 billion per year to eligible R&D-intensive, loss-making SMEs. Overall, R&D reliefs will support an estimated £56 billion of business R&D expenditure in 2029/30, roughly a 20 per cent increase from £47 billion in 2022/23. Companies are not currently able to claim R&D reliefs on capital expenditure, but the Government keeps the whole tax system under review.
With reference to the Defence Diplomacy Strategy, Keeping Britain Safe: secure at home and strong abroad, page 30, what are the complementary International Security Fund programmes.
All of Defence's international security programmes are deliberately designed to be complementary, mutually supportive, and burden sharing, whether funded by the Ministry of Defence or cross-government funding, such as the Integrated Security Fund. The Cabinet Office publishes the Integrated Security Fund's Annual Reports on the Government's website in which further details can be found.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made on forming a cross-governmental Ministerial group on alternative methods.
The Ministerial Alternative Methods Strategy Delivery Group met for the first time in March and is scheduled to meet quarterly, with the next meeting due to take place in June.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made on achieving (a) equal and (b) better research and testing outcomes using alternative methods.
The strategy sets out a long‑term, cross‑government programme to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of non‑animal methods. By achieving the commitments set out in the strategy this government will achieve equal and better research and testing outcomes using alternative methods.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
With reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made on improving the approval processes around animal research and ensuring animals continue to only be used where there is no available alternative.
The Home Office has two key strands of work to improve licence approval processes under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulatory framework. First, it is working with the Animals in Science Regulation Unit, funders and wider stakeholders to progress implementation of recommendations provided by Dr Frances Rawle relating to approvals processes to ensure that animals continue to only be used where there is no practicable alternative.Concurrently, the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction is scheduled to provide recommendations to the Home Office to enhance the project licence application form for undertaking research involving animals. This will include advice aimed at strengthening the evaluation of replacement strategies.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
What progress he has made in updating the Government War Book.
The UK has well-developed contingency plans to respond to a wide range of eventualities. The plans and supporting arrangements have been developed, refined and tested over many years. They are risk-based, built on the principle of generic capabilities able to respond to a wide range of events, augmented by specific, niche capabilities, where needed and warranted by the risk.Developing plans for civilian assistance to the military in a time of conflict is a key component of the Cabinet Office’s Home Defence Programme (HDP). It is an ongoing programme of work which provides defence, security and resilience planning, focused on aligning military and civil effort in the event of a period of crisis and international hostilities affecting the UK. This work is informed by and reflects the recommendations from government strategies, including the Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy and Resilience Action Plan.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the UK supported the nomination of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN Committee for Program and Coordination on 8 April 2026.
The Hon Member is misinformed. The Asia-Pacific Group of states agreed within their group to put forward Iran, India, Japan and Pakistan as candidates for the four available regional seats on the committee in question. As per normal practice, those regional nominations went forward without a vote, with no expression of support from the UK.
Whether Gordon Brown held discussions with the government of Mauritius in 2009 on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation
What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the maritime interdiction of Russian Shadow Fleet vessels in British waters on asylum applications from Russian service personnel.
The Home Office is working closely with other Government departments in relation to the Russian Shadow Fleet. It would not be appropriate to comment in detail on those discussions or on security matters.The Home Office monitors impacts of HMG actions, policy changes and world events on our assessment of asylum applications.
What progress he has made in implementing the Maritime Aviation Transformation Strategy.
The Maritime Aviation Transformation Strategy will ensure aviation remains capable and sustainable as the Royal Navy transitions to a Hybrid Navy of crewed, uncrewed, and autonomous platforms that will redefine maritime military power. Progress is being made across force generation, operating models and capability development.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Crest Nicholson’s option on the surplus land at RAF Wyton from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation on Project Fairfax.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold an option agreement with Crest Nicholson in relation to the surplus land at RAF Wyton. Instead, the MOD has a development management agreement with Crest Nicholson. This agreement supports the MOD’s promotion of the site for redevelopment by managing town planning, funding, and scheme implementation on behalf of the MOD. The MOD will continue to hold discussions with Crest Nicholson as work on the project develops.
What progress he has made on waiving dependent visa fees for foreign and commonwealth veterans.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 5 January 2026, to Question 101187.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made in positioning the UK as a global leader in alternative methods.
The Government is positioning the UK as a global leader in alternative methods by strengthening regulatory confidence through MHRA reform and investing in validation infrastructure and skills, supporting UK leadership by setting international benchmarks for how alternative methods are developed, assessed and adopted.As part of this, we are scoping opportunities for international engagement at both multilateral and bilateral level, including plans to bring together international regulators to discuss the expansion of existing partnerships, the establishment of new partnerships, and priorities of mutual importance.The Government will publish a delivery update later in 2026, alongside a set of key performance indicators covering all elements of the strategy.
Which number ships from the Type 26 production run will go to the Royal Norwegian Navy.
I refer the hon. Member to the response to Question 108598 provided on 4 February 2026. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-01-27/108598
With reference to Heading 9 entitled Court Martial Results for Indecent Images of Children in the Official Statistics entitled Murder, manslaughter, sexual offences and domestic abuse in the Service Justice System: 2025, published on 26 March 2026, what sentence was handed down in response to each of the 26 guilty verdicts.
The information the hon. Member has requested has been grouped together by defendant, as follows: Sentence of Defendant 1Charge 1: Dismissed from His Majesty's Service, 14 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years with a requirement to undertake 240 hours unpaid work and up to 30 Rehabilitation and Activity Requirement days.Charge 2: No separate penalty. Overall sentence: Dismissed from His Majesty's Service and sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a requirement to undertake 240 hours unpaid work and up to 30 Rehabilitation and Activity Requirement days. Subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offenders Register for five years. Sentence of Defendant 2On charges 1 to 3: Eight Months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months’ and subject to a Suspended Sentence Order with a requirement to undertake 210 hours unpaid work within 12 months and up to 40 Rehabilitation and Activity Requirement days. Sentences to run concurrently to each other. Dismissed from His Majesty's Service and reduced to the ranks.Subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offenders Register for seven years. Overall sentence: Dismissed from His Majesty’s Service and reduced to the ranks. Sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months, and subject to a Suspended Sentence Order with a requirement to undertake 210 hours unpaid work within 12 months and up to 40 Rehabilitation and Activity Requirement days. Subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offenders Register for seven years. Sentence of Defendant 3Charges 1 to 9: 18 Months’ imprisonment, suspended for two yearsCharges 10 and 11: Six month’s imprisonment, suspended for two years. To run concurrently with charges 1 to 9.Required to attend up to 25 Rehabilitation and Activity Requirement days. To attend up to 30 days of an accredited programme and undertake 140 hours unpaid work within the community.Dismissed from His Majesty's Service.Subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offenders Register for ten years. Overall sentence: Dismissed from His Majesty’s Service and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years with a requirement to attend up to 25 Rehabilitation and Activity Requirement days and undertake 140 hours unpaid work within the community. Subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offenders Register for ten years Sentence of Defendant 4Charges 1 to 5: 12 Months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years with a requirement to undertake 240 hours unpaid work to be completed within 12 months, up to 20 Rehabilitation and Activity Requirement days, programme requirement up to 42 sessions. Sentence for charges 1 to 5 run concurrently with each other.Subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offenders Register for ten years.Overall sentence: Sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a requirement to undertake 240 hours unpaid work to be completed within 12 months, undertake up to 20 Rehabilitation and Activity Requirement days and comply with a programme requirement of up to 42 sessions. Subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offenders Register for ten years.The defendant was no longer serving at the time of their Court Martial – therefore dismissal was not required as part of their sentence. Sentence of Defendant 5Charge 1: 122 Days’ Service detention, dismissed from His Majesty's Service and subject to the Sexual Harm Prevention Register and Sex Offenders Register for five yearsCharge 2: Same as charge 1 to run concurrentlyCharge 3: Same as charge 1 to run concurrently. Overall sentence: Dismissed from His Majesty’s Service and sentenced to 122 days’ Service detention and subject to the Sexual Harm Prevention Register and Sex Offenders Register for five years. Sentence of Defendant 6Charge 1: Six months' Service detentionCharge 2: No separate penaltyDismissed from His Majesty's Service Subject to the Sexual Harm Prevention Register and Sex Offenders Register for five years.Overall sentence: Dismissed from His Majesty’s Service and sentenced to six months’ Service detention. Subject to the Sexual Harm Prevention Register and Sex Offenders Register for five years.