James Cartlidge MP: written questions 2025
2176 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Ukraine: Peacekeeping OperationsMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69956More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the primary language will be in the three-star multi-national command headquarters for the Multinational Force Ukraine.
Answer: Over 30 nations are working together to provide support for MNF-U. We will be working using usual protocols for international collaboration. The planned working language is English.
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordUkraine: Peacekeeping OperationsMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69952More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement of 17 July 2025 on Ukraine, Official Report, col 475, whether the three star military officer who commands the multi-national command headquarters for the Multinational Force
Answer: The intent is for the three star command of the Multinational Force Ukraine to remain joint between UK and France. This will be reviewed once the detail of any ceasefire is known.
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordUkraine: Peacekeeping OperationsMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69951More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement of 17 July 2025 on Ukraine, Official Report, col 475, whether (a) the UK, (b) France, (c) another country will provide the three star military officer to command the multi-nat
Answer: It is currently planned that France and the UK will jointly provide the three star commanders. This will be reviewed once the detail of any ceasefire is known.
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordUkraine: Peacekeeping OperationsMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69950More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement of 17 July 2025 on Ukraine, Official Report, col 475, whether the two star military officer who will deploy to Kyiv to lead the Multinational Force Ukraine headquarters will b
Answer: Under current plans, the two star military commander in Kyiv will be an Army officer. Further details will be announced in the usual way in due course.
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordUkraine: Peacekeeping OperationsMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69949More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement of 17 July 2025 on Ukraine, Official Report, col 475, whether the two-star military officer who will deploy to Kyiv to lead the Multinational Force Ukraine headquarters has be
Answer: Yes, the two-star military officer to lead the Multinational Force Ukraine headquarters in Kyiv has now been selected. For security reasons we are not publishing further details about this role at this time.
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordUkraine: Peacekeeping OperationsMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69948More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence,with reference to his oral statement of 17 July 2025 on Ukraine, Official Report, col 475, what (a) British Army, (b) Royal Navy, (c) Royal Air Force and (d) other units are being held readiness to deploy as part
Answer: Defence holds forces from across the single Services at readiness for a broad range of contingencies and operations, including the Multinational Force Ukraine. Further information will be published in due course in the usual way.
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordUkraine: Unmanned Air SystemsMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69947More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement of 17 July 2025 on Ukraine, Official Report, col 475, how many and what proportion of the drones supplied to Ukraine were made by British companies.
Answer: Where the UK's drone industry can meet Ukraine's drone requirements, the Ministry of Defence sources from UK industry, and this is true of the majority of the spend on drone procurements for Ukraine. As stated by the Defence Secretary at the Ukraine Defen...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Defence: Public ExpenditureMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69946More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will quantify his Department’s (a) underspend and (b) overspend in financial year 2024-2025.
Answer: The Department's performance against its control totals for financial year 20245-25 will be set out in its Annual Report and Accounts, which will be published shortly.
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordFrance: Military AlliancesMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69945More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July to Question 67413 on France: Military Alliances, whether his Department recognises any distinction between strategic and sub-strategic nuclear capabilities.
Answer: The UK does not categorise nuclear weapon capabilities as either strategic or sub-strategic. The UK and NATO have said that any employment of nuclear weapons against NATO would fundamentally alter the nature of a conflict.
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Armaments Director: PayCabinet OfficeTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69944More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the proposed remuneration package for the new National Armaments Director has been revised since the post was first advertised.
Answer: The salary for the National Armaments Director role remains as advertised.
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: RecruitmentMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69943More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Armed Forces Recruitment Service contract contains diversity targets.
Answer: Defence remains committed to attracting, recruiting, retaining and developing the best talent from the broadest diversity of thought, skills, and backgrounds, to ensure our workforce is reflective of today’s society and able to meet current and future sec...
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: RecruitmentMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69940More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the contract for the Armed Forces Recruitment Service will include specific recruitment targets for the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy.
Answer: We inherited a retention and recruitment crisis from the last administration and it is the policy of this Government to recover numbers in our Armed Forces and to grow the size of the Army. To deliver this we will be working with the new provider of the t...
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordFrance: Nuclear WeaponsCabinet OfficeTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69455More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 July 2025 on Lancaster 2.0, HCWS812, if he will list each member of the new UK-France Nuclear Steering Board.
Answer: The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. The steering group will be made up of senior officials from other Ministries and organisations as required....
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordFrance: Nuclear WeaponsCabinet OfficeTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69454More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 July 2025 on Lancaster 2.0, HCWS812, when the new UK-France Nuclear Steering Board will first meet.
Answer: The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. The steering group will be made up of senior officials from other Ministries and organisations as required....
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordFrance: Nuclear WeaponsCabinet OfficeTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69453More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 July 2025 on Lancaster 2.0, HCWS812, how regularly the new UK-France Nuclear Steering Board will meet.
Answer: The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. The steering group will be made up of senior officials from other Ministries and organisations as required....
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordFrance: Nuclear WeaponsCabinet OfficeTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69452More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 July 2025 on Lancaster 2.0, HCWS812, who will chair the new UK-France Nuclear Steering Board.
Answer: The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. The steering group will be made up of senior officials from other Ministries and organisations as required....
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMembers: CorrespondenceMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69425More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Minister for Defence Procurement plans to respond to the hon. Member for South Suffolk's letter dated 1 July 2025.
Answer: I responded to the hon. Member’s letter of 1 July 2025 on 29 July 2025. This was within 20 working days of receipt, in accordance with longstanding policy.
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Armaments Director: ContractsCabinet OfficeTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69424More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the contract for the acting National Armaments Director has been extended in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answer: Andy Start continues to be the acting National Armaments Director. The substantive appointment of the National Armaments Director is underway.
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordUnmanned Air Systems: ProcurementMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69423More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64478 on Unmanned Air Systems: Procurement, and with reference to the 50,000 drones to Ukraine announced in his oral statement of 17 July 2025 on Ukraine, col 476
Answer: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) considers each parliamentary question (PQ) and oral statement on their own merits and responds accordingly. An important factor in our consideration of PQ responses is the impact of the response on operational security, inclu...
Answered 15 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: FinanceMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69422More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Defence Investment Plan will be published before the rise of the House on 18 December 2025.
Answer: We expect to publish the Defence Investment Plan this autumn, before the Christmas recess period.
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: FinanceTreasuryTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67928More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July to Question 66215 on Defence: Finance, what is the total financial quantum of the amount of money which will count towards Defence spending in 2027 as a result of the inclusion of t
Answer: The Government has committed to spending 2.6% GDP on NATO qualifying defence spending by 2027. By 2027, the full Single Intelligence Account (SIA) budget will count towards NATO qualifying defence spending. Details of the SIA budget from 2026 to 2030 can ...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: FinanceTreasuryTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67927More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July to Question 66218 on Defence: Finance, whether all of the £5.1 billion stated under the column for 2027/28 as the Single Intelligence Account budget, in Table 5.1 of the document re
Answer: I direct the Hon. Member to my answer to question 66218, which sets out that the Single Intelligence Account budget is not being added to the defence budget.However in 2027/28, the Single Intelligence Account budget will counted as NATO qualifying defence...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordFrance: Military AlliancesMinistry of DefenceTabled 14 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67796More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, on what date the newly signed declaratio
Answer: Detailed planning of the Combined Joint Force (CJF), evolving from the currently existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is currently under way with French colleagues following the UK-France declaration announcement. We are working to define a...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordFrance: Military AlliancesMinistry of DefenceTabled 14 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67413More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution in response to an Urgent Question from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk on 10 July 2025, Official Report, column 1117, whether his Department classifies the gravity bomb t
Answer: The UK and NATO have said that any employment of nuclear weapons against NATO would fundamentally alter the nature of a conflict. The UK therefore does not support the classification of nuclear weapons as either strategic or tactical.
Answered 17 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordFrance: Military AlliancesMinistry of DefenceTabled 14 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67412More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's joint press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, what discussions he h
Answer: France does not participate in NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group. This is a matter for the French Government.
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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