Written questions by Cartlidge.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December to Question 20237 on Ministry of Defence: Employers’ Contributions, whether the additional money provided to cover the cost of increased employer National Insurance Contributions will be included in the figure the Department uses to confirm the percentage of UK GDP spent on Defence.

HM Treasury has confirmed they will provide funding for the increased cost of National Insurance Contributions for the department. GDP percentage spent on defence will be calculated in the usual way.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 December to Question 18985 on Army, whether the Departmental priority to double the lethality of the British Army by 2027 includes the procurement of the precision strike missile system as a metric of measuring whether that target has been achieved.

The ambition set by the Chief of the General Staff to double the fighting power of the British Army by 2027 and treble it by 2030 exists within the Army as a principle to guide Army modernisation. It is not tied to specific programmes or procurements, but will incorporate the outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review.

What proportion of medically unfit personnel are non-deployable for reasons of dental health in the (a) RAF, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army.

This information is not held in the format requested.

Whether Germany’s decision to provide Ukraine with RCH 155 will have an impact on his Department’s approach to certifying RCH 155 for use by the British Army.

The Mobile Fires Platform project will deliver the Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm (RCH 155) Calibre Wheeled Artillery System through a jointly led collaborative procurement between the UK and Germany. The project does not anticipate any direct impact to RCH certification following Germany’s decision to provide Ukraine with RCH 155. Underpinning the collaborative approach of the UK and Germany is the commitment to exchange project related information that may afford a deeper understanding of the capability, to inform wider integration considerations. This may include an assessment of any potential lessons from the training and use of RCH 155 by Ukraine.

If he will make an assessment of the potential lessons that could be learned from the use of RCH 155 by Ukraine.

The Mobile Fires Platform project will deliver the Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm (RCH 155) Calibre Wheeled Artillery System through a jointly led collaborative procurement between the UK and Germany. The project does not anticipate any direct impact to RCH certification following Germany’s decision to provide Ukraine with RCH 155. Underpinning the collaborative approach of the UK and Germany is the commitment to exchange project related information that may afford a deeper understanding of the capability, to inform wider integration considerations. This may include an assessment of any potential lessons from the training and use of RCH 155 by Ukraine.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 23156 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases, on what dates each meeting took place; which Ministers in his Department were present at each meeting; and whether the (a) Diego Garcia military base and (b) terms of the proposed Chagos settlement were discussed with people representing the incoming US Administration.

The Government looks forward to working with the incoming US Administration in the months and years ahead. The Senate confirmation process is ongoing for members of President Trump's cabinet.

When he plans that the RCH 155 will reach minimum deployable capability.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 December 2024 to Question 16467 to the right hon. Member for Raleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois).

If he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the defence industry of lost output arising from protests at (a) Glasgow Govan shipyard, (b) Glasgow Scotsoun and (c) Samlesbury aerospace factory in each of the last 12 months.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 September 2024 to Question 4231.

Whether he plans to transfer the management of RAF Odiham from the Army to the Royal Air Force.

There is a joint Army and Royal Air Force (RAF) proposal to adopt an Air Base/Air Wing operating model at Benson and Odiham airbases. This would see the RAF take responsibility for running the Airbases, with helicopters from the Army’s Joint Aviation Command (JAC) continuing to operate from both sites. This will have no effect on operational outputs.

Whether he has reached agreement with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the financial year when defence spending will reach 2.5% of GDP.

The Government is committed to setting a path to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence in the spring and the Department engages regularly with His Majesty's Treasury on the issue.

What the contractual end date is for the principle members of the Strategic Defence Review team.

The Reviewers will make their final report to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Defence Secretary in the Spring of 2025. The Defence Secretary will then publish a version of that report to Parliament. It will then be implemented by the Department.

How many meetings he has held with the incoming US administration on the terms of the Diego Garcia military base as part of the Chagos settlement.

The Defence Secretary is regularly in touch with the US on a range of matters including the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. We look forward to discussing these matters with the incoming Administration in the usual way.

What proportion of the UK’s contribution to the cost of Chagos settlement will be funded from his Department’s budget.

As a former Defence Minister, the hon. Member will be familiar with the spending processes in the Ministry of Defence. Spending decisions will be taken in the usual way in due course.

Whether the delay to the publication of his Department's annual statistics on armed forces equipment will impact the scheduling of other departmental (a) reports and (b) reviews.

No. It is not anticipated that this delay will have any impact on the delivery of other departmental reports or reviews. All such reports or reviews would use the latest available published statistics.

What plans his Department has for procuring a replacement for the Hawk T2.

Ministers regularly discuss the future capability requirements of the Royal Air Force with the Chief of the Air Staff. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Huntingdon on 3 December 2024 to Question 15292.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the MySafety (DURALS) system in recording incidents involving defence personnel.

MySafety is the new pan-Defence safety occurrence reporting system which is being rolled out across Defence. Once complete, the introduction of MySafety will provide a standardised, more accessible, single safety occurrence reporting platform to Defence personnel, that focuses heavily on the user experience and offers greater functionality than current reporting systems. With MySafety, personnel are able to raise timely occurrences from the occurrence location using mobile electronic devices. It also offers improved data exploitation and analysis, enabling Defence to build a greater understanding of safety occurrences and learn lessons more quickly, thus enhancing safety in Defence. MySafety has already rolled out to the Army, RAF and UK Strategic Command. The majority of Defence organisations are expected to transition to MySafety during 2025. Early indications suggest the system is likely increasing reporting rates, however, comparisons with data from previous years should be avoided due to varying levels of operational and training activity.

Whether the Defence Recycling and Disposals Team have commenced commercial negotiations with potential buyers for (a) HMS Bulwark and (b) HMS Albion.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 January 2025 to question 22653.

With reference to the oral contribution by the Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry of 6 January 2025, Official Report, column 586, what the disposal plan is for (a) HMS Albion and (b) HMS Bulwark.

HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark are currently laid up awaiting disposal. Both ships require costly and time-consuming refits, and as such, were not considered a cost-effective use of taxpayers' money. The Royal Navy is exploring options to sell both HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark in a government-to-government sale. These vessels had, in effect, been retired by the previous Government. Their sale will save £9M a year in maintenance costs in addition to the receipt from the sale, unlocking as much funding as possible to invest in modernisation, as well as reinforcing relationships with international partners.

What information his Department holds on the number of occasions classified military secrets have been leaked on the online war simulation entitled War Thunder.

It has been the long-standing policy of the current and previous Governments that we do not comment on operational security matters. The Ministry of Defence takes the security of our assets extremely seriously and we have robust measures in place to assure the integrity of these arrangements. When any type of security incident is raised, it is reviewed by security personnel and subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.

What steps his Department is taking to help protect untrained military personnel from injury during training exercises.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to the health and safety of our people and we have robust policies and processes in place to safely manage our training activities. Defence activity can be inherently hazardous. This risk to our people is rendered as low as reasonably practicable and tolerable during training by ensuring that its design and delivery are subject to strict safety procedures, rigorous risk assessment and assurance. All Defence training is risk assessed and conducted within a Safe System of Training (SST), which sets the conditions under which training is delivered. Like a Safe System of Work, a SST puts in place control measures arising from a risk assessment, in order to manage identified hazards, which are broken down into four elements; safe person, safe equipment, safe place and safe practice. The SST also recognises that those undergoing training cannot be assumed to be competent until they have successfully completed their training and gained the necessary experience.