Topical Questions

Answer from Ben Wallace

I can write to the hon. Lady with the exact proportions. All I can say is that there has been a significant increase recently, with the deployment to Mali of our forces to assist in the United Nations mission there. We also have a number of forces deployed in Somalia, assisting that fragile state in trying to come to terms with the consequences of the civil war.

Answer from Ben Wallace

I have listened to my right hon. Friend's consistent messaging over the last few months. I think the thing that we can all agree with is that, as he said at the weekend, “we must modernise—but first let's agree the threat—& then design the right defence posture.” That is exactly what we have been doing.

Answer from Ben Wallace

I have listened to the right hon. Gentleman. We are 6,000 under. The strength is 76,500 from the 82,000 that was pledged. Until the covid break, we were on target to fulfil the pipeline and target for recruiting. We will continue to invest in people. Next week there will be announcements that put people at the heart of our defence review.

Answer from Ben Wallace

The right hon. Gentleman seems to forget that for the past three or four decades, every Government has been over-ambitious and underfunded defence policy. I point him to the National Audit Office report into the processes of his Government in 2010 to show that we have promised soldiers equipment they never got.

Answer from Ben Wallace

I am sorry that that has been my hon. Friend's experience. I think in the public sector it is cyber-security, but in key parts of the armed forces there are higher proportions of women. That is why the state signed up and sponsored the CyberFirst campaign to stimulate interest among girls at school.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

The hon. Lady refers to two bits of potential industrial action. I have written to her about RAF Leeming in the last month. Obviously, it is a source of concern when employers and employees fall out, but I am not going to get into discussions on the specific action involved. We urge all those involved to come to an agreement.

Answer from James Heappey

The UK Government are committed to working with the Government of India and increasing our efforts to combat shared threats. In particular, the UK is focused on increasing bilateral maritime co-operation in the Indian ocean and on ensuring a closer defence industrial relationship in line with Prime Minister Modi's made in India policy. We are also committed to uplifting our defence education and training relationship to enable us to work together more effectively.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

I am not going to prejudge in advance of the announcements that are going to be made. They will all be made in the next eight days or so. The hon. Gentleman will be able to see for himself, but I assure him that we have gone through the numbers very closely and there is a lot of new money coming into defence—a £24 billion increase in the amount of money being spent on defence.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

Many constituencies and many constituents will benefit from it. I know my hon. Friend is a fierce advocate for Leonardo helicopters in his part of the world. In that particular case, we really value our strategic partnership arrangements and recognise the contribution that they make to UK prosperity.

Answer from Ben Wallace

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that question. First and foremost, I can give him some reassurance that not only are we continuing to move our submarines from the south to the north to invest in basing in Scotland—for submarine basing, and submarines pose just as lethal a threat to our adversaries as any surface fleet—but we continue to patrol the high north, recently in the Barents sea, and earlier in the year when we returned for the first time since the cold war, joining NATO allies to make sure that those vital trade routes are invested in.

Answer from James Heappey

My hon. Friend is right to ask about the actions of the ICC. We of course respect the independence of the ICC, but we expect it to exercise due prosecutorial and judicial discipline. We continue to engage with the ICC and international partners to make those points.

Answer from Johnny Mercer

Under Op Courage, the new NHS pathway for all veterans' mental health, there is an ability to monitor waiting times in almost real-time data, and I am absolutely committed to meeting those targets. There is significant investment going into it. I will always argue for more investment in something that has historically been underinvested in for so long. But I am confident that, as we stand here today, we have a world-class offering of mental health provision for our veterans.

Answer from Ben Wallace

The recent conflict demonstrated the lethal impact of unmanned aerial vehicles and traditional artillery when combined. This has shown vulnerabilities in armoured forces which cannot be ignored.

Answer from Ben Wallace

The intention is to comply with court orders but actions must also adhere to UK law and sanctions.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

Warton plays a key role in combat air sector and Tempest is crucial, with over 1,800 engineers involved now.

Answer from Johnny Mercer

The Armed Forces Bill is an opportunity to enshrine the armed forces covenant, and level up veteran experience.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

Advice is being shared with Annington to facilitate the transfer of supply and potential sales to social housing providers.

Answer from Johnny Mercer

The Secretary of State works tirelessly on this issue and examines all possibilities, including ex gratia schemes.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

The MOD's definition of 'content' is by value, and we are proud of UK manufacturing contributions.