Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

With reference to the Ministry of Defence accounts 2024-25, what the retirement of Project Chinook and constructive losses of £129,469,000 relate to.

The figure of £129,469,000 recorded as constructive losses in the Ministry of Defence accounts for 2024-25 relates to the early retirement of 14 of the oldest Chinook aircraft and associated equipment announced in November 2024. This ageing equipment is being removed from service to optimise the sustainment of the remaining Chinook fleet. The associated financial adjustment ensures that the Department's accounts accurately reflect the revised date of retirement for these assets.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2025, to question 95176 on Ministers: Official Residences, whether tax is payable on residences owned by the State.

The High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) will be paid by property owners, and official residences operate through a range of different ownership structures, including leases and trusts. The details of the HVCTS are to be consulted upon shortly.

Pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2025 to question 98882 on Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement, how much funding has been allocated to Project Rarden in the defence budget in each year since 2000 including financial allocations carried forward for accounting purposes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to his Question 98882 which remains extant. There has been no money spent or specific work carried out under Project Rarden in the last ten years, there is no further data prior to this date. Project Rarden is a legacy project that introduced the Rarden cannon into service in the 1970s. The reference to Project Rarden in the 2024-2025 Ministry of Defence Accounts is an error – this will be corrected. I can confirm that this entry relates to ammunition capability which was funded as part of the Armoured Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) munition. The Constructive loss of circa £3.7 million is a result of Defence choosing not to pursue procurement of the APFSDS munition following initial trials.

Pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2025 to question 98882 on Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement, what the £3,777,000 in constructive losses related to Project Rarden in the 2024-25 Ministry of Defence Accounts is for.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to his Question 98882 which remains extant. There has been no money spent or specific work carried out under Project Rarden in the last ten years, there is no further data prior to this date. Project Rarden is a legacy project that introduced the Rarden cannon into service in the 1970s. The reference to Project Rarden in the 2024-2025 Ministry of Defence Accounts is an error – this will be corrected. I can confirm that this entry relates to ammunition capability which was funded as part of the Armoured Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) munition. The Constructive loss of circa £3.7 million is a result of Defence choosing not to pursue procurement of the APFSDS munition following initial trials.

What are the capabilities of the Raven air defence system.

The Raven air defence system is a bespoke system developed for Ukraine, funded by the UK, that uses the RAF's AIM-132 ASRAAM air-to-air missile. Raven is primarily intended to defend against Russian drones, fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, with some capability against cruise missiles.

What are the capabilities of the Gravehawk air defence system.

The Gravehawk air defence system is a bespoke system developed for Ukraine, jointly funded by the UK and Denmark, that uses the Ukrainian R-73/AA-11 air-to-air missile. Gravehawk is primarily intended to defend against Russian drones, but will also offer some capability against fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and potentially cruise missiles.

What progress he has made on waiving visa fees for the dependents of Commonwealth veterans.

This Government is committed to waiving visa fees for non-UK veterans, including Commonwealth citizens, who have served for four or more years, and their dependants. We are working closely with the Home Office to deliver this commitment.

Pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2025, to question 68113 on Army, what progress has he made in developing the next iteration of Project Asgard.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to his questions 68113, 73577 and 79396 which remains extant and explains the current position for the Army’s project ASGARD.

How many a) Raven and b) Gravehawk air defence systems have been provided for Ukraine.

13 RAVEN air-defence systems have now been provided to Ukraine, giving Ukrainian units the ability to rapidly defend themselves against Russian aerial threats.Two prototype GRAVEHAWK air-defence systems have been delivered to Ukraine so far. Of the additional 15 GRAVEHAWK systems on contract, the first batch will be delivered shortly, and will reinforce Ukraine's ability to protect key infrastructure from Russia's deep-strike barrages.

Communities and Local Government, what his Department's timetable is for publishing its response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation.

On Thursday 20 November 2025 the government published the response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 alongside the local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29. On Wednesday 17 December 2025 the government published the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-2027 to 2028-2029, with a 4-week consultation period, that is seeking views by 14 January 2026.

What are the capability differences between Challenger 2 and Challenger 3.

The Challenger 3 Main Battle Tank will deliver a significant improvement in capability over its predecessor, the Challenger 2. Enhancements include a digitalised turret fitted with the latest 120mm smoothbore gun paired with the most lethal ammunition available; world-class UK-designed armour and an Active Protection System; and improved automotive performance. New advanced sighting systems, sensors and processing capabilities will improve situational awareness and interoperability with other units.

What progress has he made in procuring the Patria 6x6 armoured vehicle.

In December 2025, the UK joined the Common Armoured Vehicle System research and development programme, a multinational initiative with Finland, centred around the Patria 6x6 armoured vehicle. The programme is in the assessment phase.

What assessment has he made of the potential merits of procuring the RCT30 turret for the Boxer platform.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question 6805 on 4 October 2024 which confirms the British Army has conducted operational analysis, lethality and survivability studies, which includes analysing potential turreted options. The British Army will continually review the capabilities, priorities and affordability choices that will be provided by BOXER and other platforms to ensure that its armoured Fighting Vehicle fleet best meets Defence and NATO's needs.

What steps she has taken to help tackle the use of AI in proliferating indecent images of children.

The Government recognises the serious and evolving threat posed by AI being misused to create child sexual abuse material. We know offenders will seek to exploit emerging technologies for their own sexual gratification.AI-generated child sexual abuse is not a victimless crime. The material often includes depictions of real children, escalating the risk of contact abuse. The volume and realism of this material can make it increasingly challenging for safeguarding partners to identify and protect children. Offenders can also use these images to groom and blackmail children.The Government announced in the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy that we will ban nudification apps and other tools designed to create synthetic non-consensual intimate images (NCII) to stop women and girls’ images being tampered with and exploited without their consent.This Government is also introducing specific measures within the Crime and Policing Bill to tackle AI driven child sexual abuse. These include:Criminalising AI models that have been developed to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM). These optimised models produce hyper-realistic indecent images that often contains the likeness of real children. This offence will carry a sentence of up to five yearsUpdating the existing law criminalising ‘paedophile manuals’ to cover AI as well. Manuals which provide guidance on how to use AI to create CSAM will be punishable by up to three years in prison.A new criminal offence to target moderators and administrators who run sites dedicated to child sexual abuse, including where these horrific images are created or advice is shared using AI. These crimes will now carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.A further amendment to empower authorised bodies- including AI developers and child protection organisations- to scrutinise AI systems to help improve safeguards and prevent them generating harmful content in the first place.These measures are part of this Government’s ongoing efforts to make sure offenders are held accountable for their actions and have no safe place to hide online.UK law is crystal clear: child sexual abuse material is illegal, whether AI generated or not. Producing, storing, sharing or searching for any content depicting child sexual abuse is a criminal offence.

For what reason a) RFA Lyme Bay and b) RFA Mounts Bay have not been put to sea.

As a matter of policy, the Department does not comment on the detailed operational readiness or tasking of individual ships.

Pursuant to the answer of 16th December 2025, to question 98210 on Submarines: Decommissioning, what is the process for defueling decommissioned submarines.

The twelve decommissioned, first generation Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR1) submarines awaiting defuel in Devonport will dock in a specialised, licensed dock in Devonport, following processes regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation. The used fuel will be removed, loaded into a qualified transport container and transported to Sellafield prior to long-term storage in the Geological Disposal Facility. Submarines will be dismantled after the fuel has been removed. Work is underway to prepare the dock facilities and associated resources in line with plans to recommence defueling in 2026. Dismantling of Swiftsure commenced in Rosyth in 2023. This demonstrator project will refine the disposal process and is on track to be dismantled by the end of 2026, achieving the commitment given to the Public Accounts Committee in 2019.  Lessons learned from these defuel and dismantling projects will provide more certainty around the schedule for defueling and dismantling the remaining 22 decommissioned submarines.

What progress has he made in procuring a new 155mm self-propelled howitzer for the Royal Artillery.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 November 2025 to Question 88294, which remains extant.

What is the out-of-service date of the 105mm light gun.

On current plans, the Out of Service Date for L118 105 mm Light Gun is 2030.

Pursuant to the answer of 16th December 2025, to question 98210 on Submarines: Decommissioning, what is the schedule for (a) defueling the 12 remaining decommissioned submarines and (b) dismantling all remaining submarines.

The twelve decommissioned, first generation Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR1) submarines awaiting defuel in Devonport will dock in a specialised, licensed dock in Devonport, following processes regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation. The used fuel will be removed, loaded into a qualified transport container and transported to Sellafield prior to long-term storage in the Geological Disposal Facility. Submarines will be dismantled after the fuel has been removed. Work is underway to prepare the dock facilities and associated resources in line with plans to recommence defueling in 2026. Dismantling of Swiftsure commenced in Rosyth in 2023. This demonstrator project will refine the disposal process and is on track to be dismantled by the end of 2026, achieving the commitment given to the Public Accounts Committee in 2019.  Lessons learned from these defuel and dismantling projects will provide more certainty around the schedule for defueling and dismantling the remaining 22 decommissioned submarines.

With reference to the Quarterly service personnel statistics: 1 October 2025, what assessment has he made of the cause of the decrease of personnel in the Full-Time Trained Strength (RN/RM & RAF) and Full-Time Trade Trained Strength (Army) in the 12 months to 1 October 2025.

UK Regular Armed Forces intake is now greater than outflow at the Tri-Service level and strength remained stable over a rolling 12-month period. Published stats (1 October 2025) show that since 1 October 2024, the total number of UK Forces Personnel has increased by 0.3% (increase of 516 to 182,063). Armed Forces inflow has increased by 13% when compared to previous 12-months. In the same period outflow reduced by 8%. There is no single reason why personnel leave the Armed Forces, but the personnel who completed the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey indicated reasons for leaving the Armed Forces included the impact of Service life on family and personal life and opportunities outside the Armed Forces. We are pleased to be reversing the trend of decline, with more people joining our Armed Forces than leaving for the first time in four years. But we know there is more to do to and are taking decisive action, including speeding up the process for those wishing to rejoin the Armed Forces, giving personnel the largest pay rise in decades and scrapping 100 outdated recruitment policies, and legislating the first-ever Armed Forces Commissioner to improve Service life.