James Cartlidge MP: written questions 2025
2176 published records · newest first.
Written questions
EU Budget: ContributionsTreasuryTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28552More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the total net fiscal impact of no longer paying fees associated with EU membership on overall UK public expenditure.
Answer: The Government has no overall estimate of the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU on public finances and it is not possible to accurately estimate the UK’s hypothetical contributions to the EU had it remained a Member State. As part of the Withdrawal Agre...
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMilitary AttachésMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28551More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Defence Attaché network for engaging with overseas partners.
Answer: The effectiveness of the Defence Attaché (DA) network is subject to continuous assessment through diplomatic feedback, and operational impact reviews and the intelligence reporting received from the host nation. The outcomes of the Strategic Defence Revie...
Answered 10 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMilitary AttachésMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28550More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to expand the Defence Attaché network.
Answer: The Ministry of Defence remains committed to strengthening our global defence partnerships and ensuring our national security interests are well represented abroad. Whilst we carefully prioritise locations where a greater presence will have the most impac...
Answered 10 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Defence: PayMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28549More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the total financial remuneration for Non-Executive Directors in (a) his Department, (b) Defence Equipment & Support, (c) the Atomic Weapons Establishment and (d) all other connected
Answer: The estimated financial remuneration for financial year 2024-25 for the Department’s public appointments (which includes a range of roles including non-executive board members, statutory officeholders and expert committee members, etc) is as follows: a) D...
Answered 19 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNATO: FinanceMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28546More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the new US Administration on NATO defence spending levels.
Answer: The Defence Secretary held an introductory call with the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on 31 January 2025. The Defence Secretary welcomed that 23 Allies are now hitting the 2% target but both discussed the need for all Allies to do more – to suppor...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordBrunei: ChinaMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28545More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the relationship between the Kingdom of Brunei and China.
Answer: The Secretary of State for Defence has not had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on this matter. The Ministry of Defence has discussed matters relating to the Kingdom of Brunei and the People'...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordBrunei: Armed ForcesMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28544More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on maintaining a military presence in the Kingdom of Brunei.
Answer: This Government is committed to maintaining our unique defence relationship with Brunei. His Majesty, the Sultan of Brunei, and the Prime Minister signed the five-yearly renewal of the Garrison Agreement in December 2024, which signals His Majesty the Sul...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: BillingMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28543More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken for his Department to process invoices for contracted work by SMEs in the defence sector.
Answer: The Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring its suppliers of all sizes are paid what they are owed promptly. The department aims to pay 90% of undisputed and valid invoices from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within five days. We are excee...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: Supply ChainsMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28542More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help improve the efficiency of procurement supply chains.
Answer: As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy, we will reform the Ministry of Defence procurement and acquisition processes to ensure we deliver the capabilities defence requires now and in the future, whilst reducing waste, supporting growth and ensuring co...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Defence: BillingMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28541More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that his Department pays contracted defence companies on time.
Answer: The Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring its suppliers of all sizes are paid what they are owed promptly. The department aims to pay 90% of undisputed and valid invoices from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within five days. We are excee...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Defence: ProcurementMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28540More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department's expenditure was with SMEs in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 financial years.
Answer: The proportion of the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) procurement expenditure that goes to Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises is published annually as part of the MOD Regional Expenditure Statistics MOD regional expenditure with industry: index - GOV.UK For F...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: Private EducationTreasuryTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28539More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November to Question 11947 on Armed Forces: Private Education, whether the decision to not offer any exemptions from the VAT policy for service families included an assessment of the exem
Answer: The Government greatly values the contribution of our serving military personnel. The Ministry of Defence has increased the funding allocated to the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to account for the impact of any private school fee increases on t...
Answered 10 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordNavy: Guided WeaponsMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28538More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with his French counterpart on the acquisition of additional Aster missiles for use by the Royal Navy.
Answer: Whilst the Secretary of State for Defence has not met recently with the French Defence Minister, negotiations to purchase Aster 30 have concluded and a Contract placement is expected imminently.
Answered 10 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordNavy: Guided WeaponsMinistry of DefenceTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28537More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on replenishing stocks of all types of Aster missile in use by the Royal Navy.
Answer: Negotiations to purchase Aster 30 have concluded and a Contract placement, via the multi-national procurement agency OCCAR, is expected imminently. The shorter-range Aster 15 munition is being phased out under the replacement programme Sea Viper CAMM.
Answered 10 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordChagos Islands: SovereigntyForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28536More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January to Question 25988 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, how much has been spent on the Chagos Islands negotiations by his Depar
Answer: The costs to which I referred in the Answer to Question 25988 have not been centrally aggregated between Departments or within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The negotiations began in 2022, and to identify the costs would incur dispropo...
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28535More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25988 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, how much and what proportion of spend to date on the Chagos Island
Answer: Costs, including those of staffing, legal counsel, travel and accommodation and other expenses arising from the negotiations have been incorporated into the budgets of those Departments involved in the negotiations. There has been no central aggregation o...
Answered 21 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces Compensation Scheme: Widowed PeopleMinistry of DefenceTabled 28 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26926More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department made a formal response to the Treasury's consultation on reforms to (a) inheritance tax and (b) the application of inheritance tax on Death in Service payments for armed forces personnel.
Answer: The Ministry of Defence has not made a formal response to HM Revenue and Customs’ technical consultation. The Ministry of Defence regularly engages with the Treasury on a range of matters, it is not practice to make a formal response to public consultatio...
Answered 7 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordArmy: TrainingMinistry of DefenceTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26784More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) in-year savings measures and (b) stockpile depletion on the delivery of live fire training in the Army.
Answer: There have been no specific in-year financial constraints imposed on the consumption of ammunition and therefore no impact on the delivery of live fire training.As the hon. Member will understand from his time in the Ministry of Defence, for reasons of op...
Answered 4 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordTyphoon AircraftMinistry of DefenceTabled 24 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26309More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the out-of-service date of the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 January 2024 to Question 25025 to the hon. Member for North Devon (Ian Roome).
Answered 3 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordArmy and Marines: TrainingMinistry of DefenceTabled 24 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26308More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made changes to Departmental expenditure on training for the (a) Royal Marines and (b) Army in the last 12 months.
Answer: In the last 12 months planned expenditure on Royal Marines training was reduced by 1.8% as part of wider Departmental action to manage pressure on in-year budgets, with limited impact on Royal Marines training outputs overall. Expenditure for the same per...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordUkraine: Military AidMinistry of DefenceTabled 24 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26307More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will improve the training estate to support Operation Interflex.
Answer: The Ministry of Defence works continuously to improve the Defence Training Estate on a capability and training needs basis. Work addressing areas of improvement highlighted by Operation Interflex, which stands to benefit the Defence Land Environment Train...
Answered 3 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordUkraine: Peacekeeping OperationsMinistry of DefenceTabled 24 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26306More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with the Prime Minister on sending British troops to Ukraine in peacekeeping roles.
Answer: The Defence Secretary has regular discussions with the Prime Minister about UK support to Ukraine. It would be inappropriate to comment further on speculation about the future. Our focus is on putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position in 2025 and...
Answered 7 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: Dental HealthMinistry of DefenceTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26054More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of medically unfit personnel are non-deployable for reasons of dental health in the (a) RAF, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army.
Answer: This information is not held in the format requested.
Answered 31 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordBoxer Vehicles: ProcurementMinistry of DefenceTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26053More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his formal target to procure RCH 155 within the 5-year limit for hardware platforms.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 December 2024 to Question 16467 to the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mark Francois). I explained that whilst the Mobile Fires Platform aims to achieve Minimum Deployable Capability (MDC) wit...
Answered 31 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Defence: Employers' ContributionsMinistry of DefenceTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26052More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December to Question 20237 on Ministry of Defence: Employers’ Contributions, whether the additional money provided to cover the cost of increased employer National Insurance Contribut
Answer: HM Treasury has confirmed they will provide funding for the increased cost of National Insurance Contributions for the department. GDP percentage spent on defence will be calculated in the usual way.
Answered 4 Feb 2025
Original Parliament record
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