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 781–800 of 4,549 · this parliament
What assessment has he made of the capabilities of DARPA’s SPeed and Runway INdependent Technologies (SPRINT) program X-76 aircraft for the Royal Air Force.
The UK Ministry of Defence has an ongoing relationship with DARPA, which ranges from information sharing to active collaboration on specific projects. No specific engagement has been undertaken on the SPRINT Programme, nor assessment of the X-76 demonstrator aircraft for RAF roles.
Pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025 to question 89778 on Prisons: Construction, on what date did ISG Construction Limited cease on-site work at HMP Liverpool.
ISG Construction Limited ceased work on all Ministry of Justice sites on the date of their administration, 20 September 2024. This included HMP Birmingham, HMP Liverpool and HMP Prescoed.
Pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025 to question 89778 on Prisons: Construction, on what date did ISG Construction Limited cease on-site work at HMP Prescoed.
ISG Construction Limited ceased work on all Ministry of Justice sites on the date of their administration, 20 September 2024. This included HMP Birmingham, HMP Liverpool and HMP Prescoed.
What assessment has she made of the potential merits of paying officers planned overtime for extra work at the end of shifts.
The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) makes recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers, including overtime payments.The PRRB gathers and invites parties to submit evidence to inform their decisions. This includes both written and oral evidence from theGovernment, police employers and police staff associations. They weigh the evidence, consider independent research, and formulate detailed.The Government will give very careful consideration to any recommendations the PRRB makes on payments for planned overtime.
How many prisoners serving a life sentence have been released on licence since 5 July 2024.
The number of prisoners serving a life sentence who were released for the first time (i.e. excluding recall re-releases) from 5 July 2024 to 30 Sep 2024 was 68. The number of prisoners serving a life sentence prisoners re-released in the same period, having previously been recalled, was 73.In total, 141 prisoners serving a life sentence were released during this period.Data for periods after 30 September are routinely published in the Department’s Offender Management Statistics. First releases data is included in the ‘Prison releases’ tables and recall re-release data is included in the ‘Prison Recall’ tables. The latest quarterly publication is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2025.
For what reason was 12 Squadron deployed to Qatar in February 2026.
12 Squadron was deployed to Qatar in February 2026 following a formal request from the Qatari Government.
With reference to the press conference from the Prime Minister on 16 March 2026, which three squadrons of fighter jets are deployed to the Middle East.
As of 18 March 2026, 12 Squadron, operating Typhoon aircraft, is deployed to Qatar. 2 Squadron, operating Typhoon aircraft, and 617 Squadron, operating F-35 aircraft, are deployed to RAF Akrotiri.
What recent discussions she has had with her US counterpart on the Metropolitan Police’s Mutual Legal Assistance Request.
As a longstanding matter of Government policy, the Home Office can neither confirm nor deny whether a request for Mutual Legal Assistance has been made or received.This is to protect the integrity of criminal investigations and proceedings.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to bring Rectory Farm Cottage in Huntingdon constituency back into habitable condition.
Rectory Farm Cottage in Abbots Ripton, Huntingdonshire is a Grade II listed building (entry number 1309586 on the National Heritage List for England).There is no specific duty on owners to keep their listed buildings in a good state of repair, but local authorities have powers to take action where a designated heritage asset has deteriorated to the extent that its preservation may be at risk.Neither DCMS or our statutory heritage advisor Historic England, have received any information regarding the property or its current state of repair.
Whether the Royal Navy’s Phalanx CIWS is authorised to use lethal force.
As with all Armed Forces equipment capable of delivering lethal effect, the use of Phalanx is governed by strict Rules of Engagement. Internal directives relating to the use of weapons systems are operationally sensitive and are not disclosed.
What assessment has he made of the adequacy of 2 Force Protection Wing’s ORCUS counter-UAS equipment on preventing drone attacks on RAF Akrotiri.
While ORCUS+ is not optimised to defeat One-Way Attack UAS, it offers an enhanced ability to detect, track and identify, increasing a kinetic system’s ability to defeat but no system can be 100% effective. This is why our defences in the Eastern Mediterranean now include Typhon and F-35 jets, air defence and counter-drone units, Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, and a further 400 air defence personnel are currently deployed to protect British lives and interests.
Which directive within the Ministry of Defence authorises the use of the Royal Navy’s Phalanx CIWS in a fully automated capacity.
As with all Armed Forces equipment capable of delivering lethal effect, the use of Phalanx is governed by strict Rules of Engagement. Internal directives relating to the use of weapons systems are operationally sensitive and are not disclosed.
Pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2026 to question 106075, what progress he has made on providing a full response.
An answer will be provided shortly.
What discussions he has had with Skycutter on the procurement of the Shrike 10 Fiber FPV drone.
The Department has no records of formal engagement with Skycutter on the procurement of the Shrike 10 Fiber FPV drone.
What the UK’s contribution is to the NATO Innovation Fund.
Following agreement by the Secretary of State for Defence and Chancellor the UK’s participation in the NATO Innovation Fund was announced on 30 June 2022. The fund invests in start-ups developing technology which fall into one of NATO’s defined EDT groups. It will be NATO’s venture capital fund. The fund’s objectives are: Foster a pipeline of dual-use technologies that can be adopted by NATO and participating nations;Crowd-in investment from private investorsBe commercially successful, providing returns on investment. The cost to the UK of participating in the fund is c£11 million per annum until financial year 2029-30.
Innovation and Technology, how much funding has been distributed from the National Security Strategic Investment Fund since 5 July 2024.
National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) invests in dual use companies across Quantum, Space, AI, and Emerging Technologies, on a range of cheque sizes, co-investing typically at Seed or Series A funding rounds. NSSIF tends to take a minority stake and not lead the rounds. As published in public accounts NSSIF invested via direct equity investments £8.6m in FY24-25. Accounts for FY25-26 will be published later in the year.Details of many of the companies in NSSIF's investment portfolio are published on NSSIF's website (www.nssif.gov.uk).
What progress he has made in delivering Atlantic Net.
The Royal Navy (RN) will be deploying new undersea warfare technology as part of Atlantic Net, a new initiative that will see the RN rapidly field and iterate undersea warfare technology in collaboration with a Commercial Mission Partner or Partners. The initial commercial competition closed in late Nov 25 with follow on technical assessment undertaken during Dec 25, this process down-selected from 26 compliant consortia to five. The RN has worked collaboratively with these five consortia over the past three months, investing £5.6 million to rapidly develop and evidence these capabilities further before the Atlantic Net Commercial Mission Partner will be selected and scaled, pending approval in the Defence Investment Plan.
How many Royal Navy T45 Destroyers have been upgraded with Sea Ceptor CAMM.
Sea Ceptor is already in service on all Type 23 frigates and work is underway to introduce it onto the Type 45 Destroyers, as well as the new Type 26 and Type 31 Frigates. This expansion of Sea Ceptor will further strengthen local air defence capabilities in the surface fleet.
Pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2026 to question 118315 on USA: RAF Akrotiri, what is the scope of the permissions the US have been granted to use RAF Akrotiri.
As the Defence Secretary previously stated, the UK has agreed to a US request for permission to use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia for specific defensive purposes to destroy Iranian missiles and launchers at source. For operational security reasons, we do not offer comment on information relating to foreign nation’s military operations. Permissions to utilise UK military bases are considered on a case-by-case basis and the decision to grant permission is dependent on the nature and purpose of their activity.
Pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2026, to question 117496 on Forced Marriage, by what date she plans to complete the additional study to explore the viability of the approach recommended by the University of Birmingham in producing a national prevalence estimate.
Published in December 2025, the “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls” committed to conducting an additional study to explore the viability of the approach recommended by the University of Birmingham in producing a national prevalence estimate for forced marriage and FGM.This study is due to conclude in March 2026 after which the Government will review the findings of both studies in the round and consider next steps, including publication.