Written questions by Cartlidge.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of retiring Watchkeeper Mk 1 on the personnel of 47th Regiment Royal Artillery.

The Army will procure a modern Land Tactical Deep Find (LTDF) capability to replace the 14 years old Watchkeeper Mk 1 capability following its retirement from March 2025. This procurement will leverage lessons from Ukraine and emerging technologies to deliver a capability direct to NATO’s front line. Plans currently identify that 47 Regiment Royal Artillery will continue to deliver the Army’s Deep Find capability by turning their skills and experience from Watchkeeper Mk 1 to lead on fielding the new Deep Find capability. Plans for the Watchkeeper capability following its phased withdrawal from service are in development.

With reference to his statement of 20 November 2024 on Defence Programmes Developments, Official Report columns 287 to 289, whether he had discussions on military capability retirements with his US counterpart before that statement.

The UK and US enjoy a close relationship across a range of Defence matters, and our senior officials and military keep one another informed on important developments and decisions in a timely manner, which occurred ahead of this statement as a matter of course.

What the potential operational implications are of providing a military solution to alternative jungle training helicopter capability in Brunei.

The primary role of the Puma aircraft in Brunei is to provide search and rescue cover in support of operational training. Defence has taken measures to ensure continued output of operational training in the interim period before Puma's replacement, H145, enters service from 2026. Key Defence tasks will continue to be fulfilled.

What the potential operational implications are of retiring HMS Northumberland in March 2025.

The retiring of HMS NORTHUMBERLAND in March 2025 will have no impact on current operations. During her planned refit period, significant structural damage was discovered. This would have taken a major amount of time and financial resource to rectify and offered very limited operational return upon completion. As a result, her refit was judged to be uneconomical. HMS NORTHUMBERLAND and her sister Type 23 frigates will be succeeded by eight Type 26 Anti-Submarine Warfare and five Type 31 General Purpose Frigates. These are already in build and the first will be in service before the end of the decade.

With reference to his oral statement on Defence Programmes Developments of 20 November 2024, Official Report, column 287, whether he had discussions with (a) Lord Robertson and (b) other members of the Strategic Defence Review expert team on the decommissioning of capabilities before 20 November 2024.

As the Secretary of State for Defence explained in his oral statement these decisions were "all backed by the Chiefs and taken in consultation with the SDR Reviewers."

Where and when (a) Watchkeeper Mk 1, (b) Puma, (c) the 14 Chinook helicopters that are being retired, (d) HMS Northumberland, (e) HMS Albion, (f) HMS Bulwark, (g) RFA Wave Knight and (h) RFA Wave Ruler were last used on operations.

Defence has taken the decision to retire some ageing equipment, as we transition to new capabilities and make our Armed Forces fit for the future. HMS BULWARK was last operation in 2017; HMS NORTHUMBERLAND in 2022; HMS ALBION in 2023; RFA WAVE RULER in 2017; and RFA WAVE KNIGHT in 2022. A Watchkeeper Mk1 battery deployed Estonia in August 2024 as part of Exercise ATHENA SHIELD. Puma HC2 is deployed now in Cyprus and Brunei and will continue to provide operational support until retirement on 31 Mar 25. The 14 Chinooks being retired continue to provide operational output as part of the forward fleet – the available fleet available for operations. They will remain in service until their flying hours reach the next deep maintenance requirement period. Defence is considering a range of options to replace these platforms – this includes the commitment to numerous next generation capabilities such as Type 26 and 31 Frigates, and the Extended Range version of the Chinook helicopter.

With reference to his statement of 20 November 2024 on Defence Programmes Developments, Official Report columns 287 to 289, which Army ranks will qualify for the £8,000 retention payment.

All qualifying Substantive Regular UK Trained Army Personnel (TAP) soldiers ranking from OR2 (Private) to OR3 (Lance Corporal), entering their third year of service, will receive an Army Retention payment of £8,000.

What plans he has for HMS Northumberland after she leaves service.

As yet, no further decisions have been made regarding future disposal plans for HMS NORTHUMBERLAND. As with all decommissioned ships, a full suite of options is being assessed to ensure that the disposal achieves value for money and is policy compliant (safety, environmental and security).

What the potential operational implications are of retiring RFA (a) Wave Knight and (b) Wave Ruler in March 2025.

RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler were placed into extended readiness by the previous Government, and have not been available for operations since 2022 and 2017 respectively. Therefore, the retirements will have no operational implications.

When he plans to announce financial details of the increase to Continuity of Educational Allowance.

The MOD has now concluded its re-rating exercise for Continuity of Education Allowance. The next iteration of Joint Service Publication 752 (Tri-Service Regulations for Expenses and Allowances), to be released on 1 January 2025, will contain the new rates and is available via the gov.uk portal.

What estimate he has made of the cost of providing a (a) commercial and (b) military solution to alternative jungle training helicopter capability in Brunei.

The department will not comment on alternative options for jungle training due to operational sensitivity.

With reference to his oral statement on Defence Programmes Developments of 20 November 2024, Official Report, column 287, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of gifting the (a) 14 Chinook and (b) Puma helicopters to Ukraine.

Further decisions on Puma and Chinook will be made in due course and be communicated in the usual way. We continue to assess the feasibility and utility of Granting-in-Kind different capabilities to Ukraine.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the removal of Watchkeeper Mk 1 on the 47th Regiment Royal Artillery.

The Army will procure a modern Land Tactical Deep Find (LTDF) capability to replace the 14 years old Watchkeeper Mk 1 capability following its retirement from March 2025. This procurement will leverage lessons from Ukraine and emerging technologies to deliver a capability direct to NATO’s front line. Plans currently identify that 47 Regiment Royal Artillery will continue to deliver the Army’s Deep Find capability by turning their skills and experience from Watchkeeper Mk 1 to lead on fielding the new Deep Find capability. Plans for the Watchkeeper capability following its phased withdrawal from service are in development.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the retirement of Watchkeeper Mk 1 on the capability of the armed forces.

The Army will procure a modern Land Tactical Deep Find (LTDF) capability to replace the 14 years old Watchkeeper Mk 1 capability following its retirement from March 2025. This procurement will leverage lessons from Ukraine and emerging technologies to deliver a capability direct to NATO’s front line. Plans currently identify that 47 Regiment Royal Artillery will continue to deliver the Army’s Deep Find capability by turning their skills and experience from Watchkeeper Mk 1 to lead on fielding the new Deep Find capability. Plans for the Watchkeeper capability following its phased withdrawal from service are in development.

What the potential operational implications are of retiring Watchkeeper Mk 1 in March 2025.

The Army will procure a modern Land Tactical Deep Find (LTDF) capability to replace the 14 years old Watchkeeper Mk 1 capability following its retirement from March 2025. This procurement will leverage lessons from Ukraine and emerging technologies to deliver a capability direct to NATO’s front line. Plans currently identify that 47 Regiment Royal Artillery will continue to deliver the Army’s Deep Find capability by turning their skills and experience from Watchkeeper Mk 1 to lead on fielding the new Deep Find capability. Plans for the Watchkeeper capability following its phased withdrawal from service are in development.

What the status is of the planned multi-role support ships.

The Muti Role Support Ships programme is in the concept phase and aims to deliver the first of class by 2033.

What the potential operational implications are of retiring the Puma helicopters early for (a) the RAF, (b) RAF Akrotiri and (c) British Forces Cyprus.

The Puma aircraft based in the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) on the island of Cyprus have historically supported emergency response across the SBAs, as well as providing firefighting, troop movement, training and defence engagement tasks. Defence is exploring options to fulfil some short-term capability gaps, before the H-145 platform enters service from 2026. Defence's Strategic Objectives will continue to be fulfilled.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of retiring Puma helicopters in March 2025 on capability.

The MOD takes a rigorous approach in assessing the risk of any capability transitions. The Department is exploring options to fulfil some short-term capability gaps in Cyprus and Brunei before the H-145 platform enters services from 2026. Key operational tasks will continue to be fulfilled.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of retiring the Puma helicopters early on (a) Episkopi and (b) Dhekelia Garrison.

The Puma helicopters in the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) on the island of Cyprus have historically supported emergency response across the SBAs, as well as providing troop movement and defence engagement tasks to British Forces Cyprus, including Episkopi and Dhekelia garrisons. The MOD takes a rigorous approach in assessing the risk of any capability transitions. The Department is exploring options to fulfil some short-term capability transitions in the SBAs before the H-145 platform enters services from 2026. Defence’s Strategic Objectives will continue to be fulfilled.

What the potential operational implications are of retiring Puma helicopters in March 2025.

The MOD takes a rigorous approach in assessing the risk of any capability transitions. The Department is exploring options to fulfil some short-term capability gaps in Cyprus and Brunei before the H-145 platform enters services from 2026. Key operational tasks will continue to be fulfilled.