Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

How many non-commissioned ships are in service with the Royal Navy.

All ships in service with the Royal Navy are commissioned warships.

How many Gravehawk air defence systems have been purchased by (a) his Department and (b) Denmark.

The UK solely funded the development and production of the first two prototype GRAVEHAWK air-defence systems. The additional 15 GRAVEHAWK systems, of which the first batch will be delivered shortly, are each equally funded by the UK and Denmark.

How many NATO administered facilities are based within the UK.

The UK currently has six designated NATO facilities: Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) – Northwood HeadquartersNATO Joint Electronic Warfare Core Staff (JEWCS) – Royal Naval Air Station YeoviltonNATO Intelligence Fusion Centre (NIFC) – Royal Air Force Molesworth280 Signal Squadron, 1st NATO Signals Battalion - Blandford CampAllied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) – Imjin BarracksEuropean Regional Office of NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) – London

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2925, to Question 103528 on Ajax Vehicles: Military Exercises, how many instances of noise and vibration sickness occurred during each of the three exercises.

There were no incidents of noise or vibration symptoms reported on Health and Safety systems by personnel using Ajax on any of the three exercises.

Food and Rural Affairs, when was the River Great Ouse last dredged.

The Environment Agency (EA) does not operate a routine dredging programme for the River Great Ouse. Dredging was last undertaken in the 1970s and 1980s, prior to the EA’s establishment in 1996.

What is the delivery timeline of (a) Programme Euston and (b) the Royal Navy’s Additional Fleet Time Docking Capability.

Programme Euston is the Royal Navy’s solution to Additional Fleet Time Docking Capability. The programme aims to deliver a resilient out of water engineering capability at HMNB Clyde by the early 2030s. The next key milestone will be the submission of a Programme Business Case in mid-2026. Timelines are kept under regular review as part of the Department’s major programmes portfolio. For reasons of commercial and operational sensitivities, the department is unable to provide detailed timelines.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential benefit to flood alleviation of replacing St Ives sluice gates with a weir.

The Environment Agency is assessing the potential flood alleviation benefits and impacts of a range of options, including the replacing of the St Ives sluice with a weir, through the current project development. The project’s objective is to maintain the upstream water level for navigation and the option delivering the best value for money will be taken forward, in line with Government spending policies. The assessment for each option and associated flood risk impacts will be based on fluvial modelling.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the estimated cost is of fixing all sluice gates at (a) Brownshill and (b) St Ives.

The gate refurbishment project is currently undergoing phase 1 which includes inspections, surveys and testing to determine all aspects of phase 2 work required.

What contractual payments to General Dynamics for the Ajax programme have been made since 1 January 2025; and on which dates were they made.

The Ministry of Defence paid General Dynamics Land Systems UK £330 million in line with contractual obligations for the Ajax programme between 1 January 2025 and 12 January 2026. I am unable to publish details of the milestones and payment schedule as this may prejudice the Department's commercial interests.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 to Question 95908 on Ajax Vehicles: Noise, how many Ajax users have had their hearing (a) decline and (b) be downgraded following audiometer protocols after crewing an Ajax vehicle.

To obtain the information required to answer the hon. Member’s question in full would incur disproportionate costs due to the amount of data that would need to be obtained.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment was made by her Department of the recommendations within the Section 19 report regarding flooding in St Ives in 2024 prior to the decision by the Environment Agency to reclassify the locks as Flood defences from navigation assets.

The Environment Agency (EA) has reviewed a range of data and evidence relating to the St Ives Staunch Sluice and Lock, including hydraulic modelling and analysis of recent flood events. The EA’s assessment has confirmed that St Ives Staunch Sluice provides very limited flood risk benefit but remains important for maintaining navigation water levels. The decision to reclassify St Ives Staunch Sluice’s primary purpose to navigation reflects this evidence and aligns with the EA’s internal asset classification policy. The EA recognises that this change may cause concern locally, it does not affect the level of flood risk funding the asset is eligible for. It also enables St Ives Sluice to attract additional funding from Navigation which has supported the EA’s ability to progress the moderation case for St. Ives. The community can be assured that the current the condition of the structure does not increase flood risk to homes.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much has been spent on maintaining the eel pass at St Ives sluice in each year since 2015.

The Environment Agency (EA) is the asset owner for the St Ives eel pass. Historically, the EA’s maintenance work has also been combined with routine operational checks to ensure the sluice gates at St Ives function correctly, rather than issuing a separate work order solely for inspecting the eel pass. Operational checks involve activities such as verifying gate movement, mechanical integrity, and overall system performance to maintain safe and reliable operation.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason was the lock structure at St Ives on the River Great Ouse closed in 2024.

St Ives lock was not subject to closure during 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the total cost is of the Mildenhall eel pass.

Turf Lock Fish passage project at Mildenhall was developed and funded in partnership as part of the catchment-based approach to help improve our water environments. The project was delivered over 5 years as part of the Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF) Capital Programme. Through this fund the Environment Agency adopted a catchment approach, focusing on local communities, partner needs and looking for shared benefits supporting the environment and local communities.

Who is next in the Nuclear Firing Chain after the Prime Minister; and under what circumstances is the Prime Ministerial Directive superseded.

As the honourable Member should know and in line with the policy under successive governments, the most sensitive operational details of our continuous at sea deterrent are obviously not disclosed publicly.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the feasibility of using the Water Environment Improvement Fund to maintain the sluice gates at (a) Brownshill and (b) St Ives.

The Water Environment Investment Fund (WEIF) is designed to improve the health and resilience of water environments through a partnership-led, catchment-based approach. Its focus is on delivering environmental enhancements, supporting biodiversity, and securing multiple benefits for local communities. Maintenance of Flood and Coastal Risk Management (FCRM) assets is funded through dedicated flood risk management budgets, prioritised according to asset condition and the level of flood risk benefit provided.

Whether the Royal Marines will be included within the scope of the Armed Forces Foundation Scheme.

At the present time, there are no plans to include the Royal Marines in Tranche 1 of the Gap Year. However, Tranche 1 will help to understand the impact and measure success, informing the future shape of the scheme. The Royal Navy is developing a one-year scheme opening with Tranche 1 in March 2026 as a profession-agnostic employment scheme for sailors. Our intent is to offer broad employment across operational surface platforms in non-technical activities and potentially in the future, some shore-based roles, where the cohort will have received the minimum training feasible to be safe and effective at sea. This is an exciting opportunity to live and work alongside sailors on ships deployed on missions at sea, contributing to tasks that keep the ship running, and learning skills that could be developed into future careers, such as conducting supervised engineering watchkeeping tasks, seamanship activity, communal duties and whole ship tasks.

When is the assembly of Ajax-family vehicles due to be completed at Merthyr Tydfil.

Assembly of all 589 Ajax platforms is forecast to be completed by December 2028.

What assessment he has made of the potential risk of new vessels, intended to support operations at HM Naval Base Clyde, procured by Serco as part of the Royal Navy harbour and support craft element of the Defence Maritime Services Next Generation programme may be built in China.

Vessels being procured as part of the Defence Marine Services-Next Generation In-Port Services will not be built in China and future maintenance of the vessels will take place in the UK. This Government is stepping up our support for UK shipbuilders. We are looking closely at the subcontracting supply chain as part of our Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology Action Plan, which will set out our plans to ensure that we are maximising our use of UK industry as an engine for growth.

What is the current status of the shipborne rolling vertical landing programme.

Equipment to enable UK F-35Bs to undertake Shipborne Rolling Vertical Landings (SRVL) is fitted to HMS Prince Of Wales (PWLS) and underwent initial trials in 2023; the results of those trials continue to be analysed by a commercial partner. When complete, this will enable the Ministry of Defence to make an accurate assessment of the benefits and cost of further developing the SRVL system for operational use.