The contract has been placed, significantly increasing .155 supply. However, I am not aware of the specific exercise referred to and have seen US senior commanders hold UK elements in high regard.

No final decision has been made on those platforms, but the Minister reassures that they are looking at this in the round. They are committed to supporting defence jobs across the piece, considering recruitment challenges and supporting British industry.

The former Secretary of State's comment, which the shadow Minister conveniently quotes in a limited way, was that successive Governments had failed to invest in the enablers that underpinned our war-fighting capability. It is to the credit of this Prime Minister and the two Conservative Prime Ministers who went before him that commitments have been made to grow our defence budgets, including under Prime Minister Johnson a £19 billion increase to the defence budget and under this Prime Minister another £5 billion in the last year or so. The shadow Minister also ignores this: when he says that NATO is increasing its rapid reaction force, that does not mean that in NATO armies are growing; it just means that the armies in NATO are committing ever more of the forces they have to NATO's high-readiness formations. The British Army is to the fore in that.

Military logistics made it impractical to provide armed escorts from multiple points to a single exit. Safety assessments were conducted, and advice was provided accordingly. The British military sustained the longest airhead of any western nation at Wadi Saeedna.

The Treasury balances an economic situation post-covid, ensuring we cut our cloth to return to economic credibility. I can be honest about past challenges in defence spending and clear on where money will be spent to secure the future for the armed forces.

My hon. Friend takes a close interest in armed forces; conversations on this subject are happening across Whitehall.

The Secretary of State has been clear throughout the integrated review process that we are a threat-led Department. As things stand, and as I have said at the Dispatch Box a number of times—I know that my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary has said likewise—a lot of what is in the IR is proving to be vindicated by the realities of the conflict in Ukraine. As we move towards Madrid, and NATO is increasingly clear about what it wants as an alliance as capabilities across all five domains, the UK continues to lead thinking, rather than being behind it.

My hon. Friend and I will debate keenly the future of the land battle, but I am not sure that what we have seen on our TV screens over the past few weeks has been a justification for large amounts of massed armour. I think it is entirely a vindication of a change in the way in which the land battle is prosecuted.

We have to recognise that modernisation is an important aspect of making sure our armed forces are fit to fight. There is simply no point in having mass in a hollow armed forces.

I am aware of the discussions and the proposal but I am not in a position to give any detail at the moment. I will look into it and write to him.

Edward Argar thanked NHS and social care workers and stated that the Government is committed to growing and supporting the NHS workforce. The pledge includes delivering 50,000 more nurses by 2025 through various initiatives such as retention and recruitment.

Acknowledges the importance of the point raised; stresses the critical nature of Government guidance on social distancing, self-isolation, and staying at home for public health and safety.

This Government are putting more money than ever before into armed forces accommodation. I am clear that some of the accommodation we ask our personnel to live in is nowhere near good enough. We have a new programme of inspections and we are determined to get a grip on the issue. I am confident that in the next 12 to 24 months, servicemen and women in this country will see a significant uplift in the standard of their accommodation.