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 1,181–1,200 of 4,549 · this parliament
What is the full scope of Project Goshawk.
Project GOSHAWK is a Taskforce Kindred project to rapidly develop and trial a low-cost air defence interceptor for Ukraine, to reliably defeat aerial drones, loitering munitions, and missiles at varying speeds, altitudes, and trajectories.
With reference to page 16 of the Police reform white paper “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” (CP1489), by when will she establish a new Performance Unit in the Home Office.
A new Police Performance Unit was established in May 2025 with a temporary head appointed on a part time basis. The permanent head, a retired Deputy Chief Constable, has occupied the post since January 2026.This Unit will assess police force’s performance to identify areas of high and poor performance, driving sustained and sustainable improvements where necessary, to ensure the public is effectively protected.
What information his Department holds on the criteria for foodbanks to be included within official foodbank statistics.
The department’s official statistics on food bank use are published via the annual Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics, Households below average income (HBAI) statistics - GOV.UK using data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS), Family Resources Survey - GOV.UK. They measure whether a household has used a food bank in the past 30 days or 12 months. Respondents are asked whether they have used a food bank in the past 30 days/12 months. The questionnaire instructions make it clear that informal support with food supplies via family and friends and vouchers provided by local authorities and other organisations that are not food banks should not be counted as food bank use.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on (a) the official termination date of Lord Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the United States of America and (b) the last day Lord Mandelson was paid for this role.
I refer the Hon. Member to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.
Which a) current or b) former Government Ministers were involved in the appointment of Lord Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the United States.
I refer the Hon Member to the evidence given by the Cabinet Secretary and Permanent Under-Secretary to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 3 November 2025, specifically Q310: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/16673/html/.
What information his Department holds that was provided by the (a) security and (b) intelligence services regarding the appointment of Lord Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the United States.
It is long-standing practice that UK Security Vetting, the body responsible for National Security Vetting across government does not disclose information provided by the security and intelligence services.
What information his Department holds on the vetting process related to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the United States.
I refer the Hon Member to the evidence provided by Sir Oliver Robbins to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 03 November 2025, Q277, the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12th February, and the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the terror threat posed by the forthcoming Universal Studios theme park on (a) traffic, (b) firearms and (c) neighbourhood policing in the tri-force area of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, also known as Martyn’s Law, will require certain public premises and events to be prepared and ready to keep the public safe in a terrorist attack. The Act applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and establishes a minimum legal security standard of protective security at larger premises and events for the first time.Decisions around the types and numbers of officers deployed, including traffic, firearms and neighbourhood police officers, are operational decisions for Chief Officers to determine in line with their strategic assessment of threat and risk.In line with the British model of policing by consent, the use of firearms by the police should always be a last resort, however, where an operational need arises, specialist armed officers are available to be deployed. National capability is kept under constant review by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.Forces in England and Wales regularly review their Neighbourhood Policing resources based on the current and planned risks and threats in their local policing area.
Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the AI Enabled Cyber Defence project.
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.
Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the Advanced Reasoning for Decision Advantage project.
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.
Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the AI Exploitation for the Digital Targeting Web project.
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.
Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the Autonomous Mission Execution project.
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.
Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to question 108885 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what is the full scope of the Underwater Acoustic Foundation Model project.
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely provide detailed or ongoing commentary on the development, deployment, or performance of AI related projects. Releasing such information could reasonably be expected to prejudice UK national security and Defence capability by revealing sensitive details about current or emerging systems, their maturity, and operational relevance.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of operating in Ukraine and the High North simultaneously on (a) British Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force resources.
Defence continually reviews all current and planned commitments in line with established protocols to ensure they can be fully and appropriately resourced by the single Services. This process includes ongoing dynamic assessment and the allocation of resources as new requirements emerge. Defence’s planned commitments in relation to Ukraine and the High North have been properly resourced, deconflicted, and present no identified concurrency risks across the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force. Any additional requirements arising from future commitments will be assessed through established processes and resourced accordingly to ensure Defence maintains the highest standards of operational output.
With reference to page 12 of the Police reform white paper entitled From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), what assessment she has made of the potential merits of decoupling the police allocation formula from overall police officer numbers for each force.
The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. An effective, well-supported police service is central to achieving this. That is why forces should have the right resources to tackle crime and keep communities safe.As announced in the police funding settlement and Police Reform White Paper, we are abolishing arbitrary officer headcounts from 2026-27, and are instead prioritising the introduction of a neighbourhood policing grant. This will ensure that forces are putting uniformed officers out into the community, where people want to see them, fighting crime on our streets.For 2026-27, the police funding settlement announced that a total of up to £363 million will be available to forces through the neighbourhood policing grant, to support the delivery of an additional 1,750 neighbourhood policing personnel by 31 March 2027.The Police Reform White Paper also set out our plans for a new Police Workforce Strategy, which will provide the structure and direction needed to modernise the policing workforce at a national level and build a profession fit for the future, while ensuring forces retain the flexibility to meet the specific needs of their local communities.
What is the remit of the fleet experimental squadron.
Information on the remit of fleet experimental squadron can be found here: https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2025/april/29/20250430-creation-of-dcto.
For what reason has he cancelled the contract with NP Aerospace to provide x-ray scanners for Army bomb disposal units.
The contract was terminated following careful consideration and agreement from key internal stakeholders as the best value for money way forward for the Army. The termination does not create a capability gap as an interim solution is already in place.
Pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2026 to answer 107227 on Challenger Tanks: Exports, what progress he has made in exploring export opportunities for Challenger 3 and its capabilities.
The Department continues to explore opportunities for the export of Challenger 3 capabilities with significant progress made to date. Providing further detail at this time would compromise commercial sensitivities.
What additional capabilities will be included in Ajax Capability Drop 4 over Drop 3.
It would not be appropriate to release a complete list of criteria as it could, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability of our Armed Forces. Additionally, I will await the findings of the current investigations before making a further decision the future of Ajax.
With reference to page 12 of the Police reform white paper entitled From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” (CP1489), what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals for vetting standards to allow police forces to retrospectively suspend police officers under investigation for (a) domestic abuse and (b) sexual offences.
The recently published police reform White Paper sets out the Government’s plans to further strengthen the police vetting and misconduct systems These reforms will, for the first time, place police vetting standards into legislation. These new regulations will include robust measures which will enable forces to exclude individuals from policing who have a caution or conviction for relevant violence against women and girls offences, and will be subject to consultation with the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales (PABEW) Police forces have existing powers to suspend police officers who are subject to an allegation, but must first consider temporary redeployment to alternative duties or location. We will therefore strengthen these arrangements, placing greater requirements on police forces to suspend officers who are under investigation for crimes such as domestic abuse or sexual offences. Subject to the statutory consultation process, we intend to make these changes this summer.