Topical Questions

Question

Legislating to tackle vexatious claims and put our brave armed forces personnel first was a manifesto commitment of this Government, and a landmark piece of legislation that I was proud to support. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that legislation needs to be brought forward to protect our Northern Ireland veterans and address the legacy of the troubles?

Question

May I, from the Opposition Benches, strongly endorse the concern and condemnation the Defence Secretary has expressed over the actions of the Belarus authorities? May I also say that we strongly support the work of Operation Tangham, but in the light of recent press stories, can I ask the Defence Secretary for his assurance that if he takes any decision to commit combat troops to Somalia, he will report such a decision to this House first?<br/>May I ask about the Army's fighting vehicles? The Defence Secretary wrote off over £1 billion of taxpayers' money in March when he scrapped the Warrior. Weekend reports say that the MOD has also paid out £3.2 billion for the Ajax, and so far received only a dozen delivered, and those without turrets. A figure of £4 billion is the total size of the Government's levelling-up fund over the next four years. Given that the Secretary of State has conceded this afternoon that delivery is the MOD's Achilles heel, will he accept that Parliament now needs a system of special measures for the MOD so that British forces and the British taxpayer get much better value from his Department?

Question

Thank you Mr Speaker. I welcome the recent deployment of Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels to Jersey, to conduct maritime security patrols. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that quick response demonstrates the importance of having our Royal Navy vessels more continuously deployed at sea?

Question

With UK forces leaving Afghanistan, it is all the more important that we do all we can to stand up for those Afghan interpreters, and others, who put their lives on the line for our troops. I have Afghan interpreters in my constituency who have not seen their wives and children for years, due to ongoing issues with the MOD resettlement scheme. Will the Minister admit that that is an issue, and work with the Home Office to sort it out?

Question

I am pleased to hear what the Department is doing to support defence jobs. Does the Minister agree that promoting the use of world-class UK-made steel in MOD projects would be an excellent support to jobs in Scunthorpe?

Question

During the 2019 election, The Prime Minister promised that he would not cut the armed service “in any form”, yet the integrated review funds another 10,000 fewer in our armed forces by 2025. We can have an interesting discussion about whether or not force strength is the best use of that money, but does it fundamentally undermine confidence in our democracy when the Government seek election promising to protect the size of our armed forces, knowing full well that they have no intention of doing any such thing?

Question

I welcome my right hon. Friend's recent announcement that the Ministry of Defence will procure 148 Challenger 3 tanks, which will be the UK's first digitised tanks. Will he outline how those new armoured vehicles will help to deliver the modern, adaptable and expeditionary fighting force that he set out in the defence Command Paper in March, and will he keep me in mind should they need test-driving?

Question

The world-class Cranfield University is committed to assisting the goals set out in the integrated review regarding sustaining strategic advantage through science and technology. How do the Government propose to capitalise on their science and technology resource investment if the large-scale complex and secure facilities and equipment have not been invested in, so are not in place to conduct the research?

Question

Over the past year or so, my office has been inundated with concerns from residents about low-flying military aircraft all over North Norfolk. Let me be the first person to understand that we need military training to keep us safe, but would the Minister perhaps meet me to discuss further how we can allay those concerns and work out a communication plan for my residents?

Question

Can the Secretary of State say how many infantry battalions have less than 70% fully deployable soldiers?

Question

I welcome recent reports that the RAF contributed to an important 10-day operation in April, clearing Daesh terrorists from the Makhmur mountain region, which is a Daesh stronghold in northern Iraq. With approximately 10,000 Daesh terrorists still at large across Syria, will my right hon. Friend confirm that the UK remains committed to Operation Shader?

Question

I congratulate the new Veterans Minister on his promotion to the Ministry of Defence. In doing so, may I ask him to resolve an issue that I was told six months ago would be sorted out, which is the roll-out of the veterans' ID card? This has been rolled out to personnel leaving the armed forces, but not to existing veterans. It was announced by his predecessor-but-two. His predecessor told me it would be resolved in due course. Six months on, it would be good if veterans in my Ogmore constituency and across the UK had an answer.

Question

The fifth Astute class nuclear submarine was delivered a month ago after many delays and ballooning costs over the last half decade. Given those delays, will the Secretary of State clarify if he still believes that these submarines can be delivered by the MOD by the current deadline of 2026? Can he give us assurances that there will be no further increase in cost?

Question

Over the past two years, there have been 443 nuclear site event reports at the Faslane nuclear base. Capita, which provides specialist firefighting services on site, plans to reduce the number of firefighters by 15%, a move that has been branded as an accident waiting to happen by the Unite trade union. Will Ministers intervene to reverse these cuts, given the obvious security and safety concerns this reduction raises?