The UK cannot comment on specific reports. However, it is clear that Hamas has put Palestinians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and using civilians as human shields. The Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 23 November, where he met President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and other senior Israeli interlocutors to discuss the conflict. We are also clear that, in pursuing its legitimate right to self-defence against Hamas, Israel's military actions in Gaza must be carried out in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and Israel must take all possible measures to protect civilians.

I strongly congratulate my hon. Friend on becoming Chair of the Defence Committee and I look forward to working with him. I know that,

predating his appointment, he had a strong interest in accommodation, and I enjoyed visiting his constituency to look at the accommodation for Brize Norton. I will consider his point and write to him.

The Government is supportive of airport growth where it can be delivered within its environmental obligations.

Every development proposal should be judged by the relevant planning authority, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, including environmental impacts and proposed mitigations.

Airport planning applications need to take into account the European Commission Habitats Directive where they could lead to significant impacts on areas of nature conservation, which could include a Habitat Regulations Assessment of the implications of the plans for that site.

I have complete confidence that quick reaction alert will be resourced. The highest priority of the air force is to defend the homeland. I also have complete confidence that the combat air force, as currently structured, is capable of performing a very wide range of duties around the world. I pay tribute to the work of the Air and Space Commander and his team, who, through work on agile deployment, are finding that we can deploy Typhoon and F-35 ever more quickly to ever more austere operating environments. That drives the productivity of the force even further.

Royal Air Force pilots and ground crew are poised on quick reaction alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week,

all year round, ready to scramble within minutes. My hon. Friend would point out quickly that it would be remiss of me to say that that is solely the endeavour of fast jet pilots. Equally poised are those in his constituency who crew the tankers that must also deploy rapidly to support. QRA has been launched on five occasions in 2023 with every incident resolved successfully.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) Defra funding for financial year 2023-24 is £185.2 million RDEL (Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit) and £15.7 million CDEL (Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit). Indicative funding for 2024-25 has been set but is not yet confirmed and is expected to be agreed by January 2024. Future year funding beyond this is subject to the Government-wide spending review process which will determine the overall funding for Defra and APHA.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade maintains regular dialogue with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on a wide range of issues relating to agriculture and trade. The government will continue to prioritise trade facilitation in our FTAs to benefit UK exports.

Current avian influenza disease control policy considers the latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice, reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control. Defra’s approach to avian influenza is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain, published in September 2019. This document is currently under review and is being updated to reflect the recent legislative and policy changes that have already been implemented and an updated version will be published on gov.uk prior to the 2023/2024 high risk season. The Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain is supported by the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales, an updated version of which was published in March 2023.

It is important to note that, according to Great Britain's Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy, avian flu vaccination, barring those in licensed English zoos, is currently not permitted for poultry and captive birds. These steps represent our commitment to maintaining animal and public health.

In response to France's commitments on its autumn 2023 avian flu vaccination programme, my department has formed a task force to explore broader vaccination use as a preventive measure against avian influenza.

This group, consisting of Government and industry experts, will formulate potential domestic strategies, with considerations for trade impact and necessary mitigations to prevent trade barriers, potentially including suspension of import of animals and animal products from France. All proposed changes will be backed by robust risk assessments.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.

There have been four UK-wide exercises involving Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency including their operational partners and stakeholder organisations:

• Exercise Holly (July 2021) tested government’s response to an outbreak of African swine fever.
• Exercise Blackthorn (November 2017 to July 2018) tested the response to a major outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD).
• Exercise Willow (2016) examined the UK’s capacity to respond to a large cross-border outbreak of FMD.
• Exercise Walnut (2013) tested the response to an outbreak of classical swine fever.

We have also completed numerous operational, field and laboratory-based exercises to test and refine contingency plans on a yearly cycle, and our response capability has been tested by real-world outbreaks such as the ongoing outbreak of avian influenza.

APHA has approximately 430 veterinary posts and at the end of May 2023, 60 of these were vacant. Recruitment is underway and locum vets are being used while vacancies are being filled. Because of the nature of APHA work, veterinary resource needs can change rapidly. This was seen during last winter and the large avian influenza outbreak that required a prioritising resource allocation and the temporary expansion of the Agency’s workforce.

APHA has contracts in place to enable it to bring in more veterinary resource from private veterinary practices at times of peak demand and this was heavily used during the outbreak.

APHA also was also able to draw on veterinary resource from core Defra. There are other potential changes to APHA’s responsibilities which will require more veterinary resource. These changes are individually impact assessed to identify resource requirements. One such example is the new Border Operating Model where APHA is likely to need significant extra veterinary resource to check imported live animals. Defra provides APHA with additional funding to expand veterinary resource where needed.

I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to 47 Squadron. Its association with the Hercules now stretches to 45 years. Although its vital work at the heart of defence has often been unheralded, this squadron has served with professionalism and distinction throughout. I think that the whole House will join me in saying that the personnel and crews can be rightly proud, and they have our full thanks.

The UK Government regularly assesses the impact of Iran's destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial and military support to several militant and proscribed groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Such activity compromises the region's security, its ability to prosper and escalates already high tensions, with consequences for the international community. It is for this reason that we currently have over 350 sanctions in place against the Iranian regime. PIJ and other terrorist groups must cease their campaign of violence, for which there is no justification. As the Foreign Secretary said in his 14 May statement, we welcome the current Egyptian-brokered ceasefire and urge all sides to de-escalate tensions.

The Foreign Secretary wrote to his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen on 10 May to express the UK's enduring support for Israel's right for self-defence. In his 14 May statement, the Foreign Secretary welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and militant factions in Gaza, brokered by Egypt. The ceasefire must now be honoured to prevent the loss of further civilian life. The UK will support all efforts to promote dialogue and create a pathway towards sustainable peace.

Elementary flying training for Ukrainian pilots is being planned in a manner which will not impact core Sovereign UK pilot training.

We are one of the leading providers of military support for Ukraine and were the first country to donate modern main battle tanks and long-range precision strike missiles. In addition, we have provided millions of rounds of ammunition, hundreds of armoured and protected mobility vehicles and other equipment.

Across hundreds of flights delivering this support in the last year, the entire Air Mobility Force has been engaged in the movement of equipment, supplies and trained Ukrainian recruits.

Whilst the Hercules C-130J fleet will continue to drawdown, a number of the aircraft have sufficient remaining flying hours to enable an extended drawdown to 30 June 2023, maximising use of the fleet.

Atlas availability is being actively managed. There has been a steady improvement in aircraft availability and fleet resilience. Following direct intervention and a determined improvement campaign, the daily aircraft availability is approximately 25% greater compared to 18-months ago. A number of Atlas airframes will complete upgrade before the summer, adding to the available fleet.

Whilst the Hercules C-130J fleet will continue to drawdown, a number of the aircraft have sufficient remaining flying hours to enable an extended drawdown to 30 June 2023, maximising use of the fleet.

Atlas availability is being actively managed. There has been a steady improvement in aircraft availability and fleet resilience. Following direct intervention and a determined improvement campaign, the daily aircraft availability is approximately 25% greater compared to 18-months ago. A number of Atlas airframes will complete upgrade before the summer, adding to the available fleet.

Whilst the Hercules C-130J fleet will continue to drawdown, a number of the aircraft have sufficient remaining flying hours to enable an extended drawdown to 30 June 2023, maximising use of the fleet.

Atlas availability is being actively managed. There has been a steady improvement in aircraft availability and fleet resilience. Following direct intervention and a determined improvement campaign, the daily aircraft availability is approximately 25% greater compared to 18-months ago. A number of Atlas airframes will complete upgrade before the summer, adding to the available fleet.