Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

With reference to the Policy paper: “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”, Published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in implementing the full recommendations of the Rawle Report.

The Home Office is working with the Animals in Science Regulation Unit, funders and wider stakeholders to progress implementation of the Rawle report recommendations. Specifically, the Animals in Science Committee, a ministerial advisory body, has been commissioned for advice on leading practice in delivery of the responsibilities of Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies (AWERBs); addressing a key finding from the Rawle report.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

Pursuant to the answer of 13 April 2026 to Question 123069 on Type 83 Destroyers: Procurement, when the concept phase of the Future Air Dominance System (a) started and (b) is due to be completed.

I refer the hon Member to my response to question 106653.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2026 to question 122289 on Ajax Vehicles: Merthyr Tydfil, what future exports the Ajax programme will be able to generate.

As previously stated, future exports of the Ajax platform is a matter for General Dynamics Land Systems UK.

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.

For what reason the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister visited Australia in April 2026.

The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister visited Australia in April 2026 to build critical policy and security links with state and regional authorities in Australia. This included defence visits for the AUKUS programme, and discussions with Ministers at both Federal and State level and with private sector stakeholders on support for British businesses, bolstering regional security and learnings about harnessing technology to modernise public services based on learnings from the Australian government their successes and challenges as pioneers in providing online government services. State-level meetings included understanding the context for the roll out of the New South Wales state digital ID pilot and visiting South Australia to highlight the extent of UK-Australian cooperation, focusing particularly on secure growth, including opportunities presented by the AUKUS programme.

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.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2026 to question 122290 on Ajax Vehicles, what recent assessment he has made of the suitability of CV90 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.

What discussions he has had with the telecoms industry on countering the threat posed to undersea telecommunications infrastructure by Russian sub-threshold interference.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to a collaborative approach between government and private sector to work together on national resilience. Supporting the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology’s lead on telecoms security, the Secretary of State for Defence has engaged with private sector partners including the telecoms industry to discuss undersea telecommunications infrastructure. These discussions form part of a broader effort to protect critical national infrastructure from a range of threats, including Russian sub-threshold interference.

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.

What progress he has made on identifying the origin of the drone that struck RAF Akrotiri on 1 March 2026.

The full assessment of the drone that struck RAF Akrotiri is completed. Due to damage to the airframe, it is not possible to identify the exact point of origin.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2026 to question 122290 on Ajax Vehicles, which alternative platforms have been assessed since Initial Operating Capability was paused.

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.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the level of the Service Pupil Premium to match the Pupil Premium.

Service families make extraordinary sacrifices for our country. The department continues to support Service children in a range of ways, principally through the Service Pupil Premium, targeted funding that state schools in England are allocated so that they can provide pastoral and academic support, tailored to the specific needs of Service pupils to mitigate disruptions from frequent school moves and parental deployments.The government keeps the Service Pupil Premium under regular review to ensure it is meeting the intended objectives and providing value for money. We will continue to monitor how funding streams support children’s outcomes and consider future funding decisions as part of the normal budget and spending review processes.It should also be noted that schools which experience major changes in their pupil cohort from year to year, including those serving Armed Forces communities, attract additional funding through the “mobility factor” in the schools national funding formula. In the 2026/27 financial year, schools will attract £985 for eligible primary pupils and £1,415 for eligible secondary pupils, above a threshold of 6% of the schools’ pupil numbers, where more than 6% of the school’s pupil numbers are classified as mobile.

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.

Whether the Defence Investment Plan will be a ten year plan from the 2025-26 financial year.

The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is the next step in turning the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) into action. It is a 10-year plan, and the first zero-based review of Defence’s budgets in eighteen years and goes significantly further than the last Government’s Equipment Plan by looking across every budget line, including people and infrastructure.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.