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My hon. Friend is right that SMEs are often the drivers of productivity and innovation. We recently announced that we will be setting targets for an increasing share of defence contracts to go to SMEs, alongside the formation of a new defence innovation office.
My hon. Friend is right that SMEs are often the drivers of productivity and innovation. We recently announced that we will be setting targets for an increasing share of defence contracts to go to SMEs, alongside the formation of a new defence innovation office.
The Government’s commitment to use defence procurement to strengthen our industrial sector is welcome. Will the Secretary of State please outline how the Government are supporting local manufacturers across the UK and ensuring that defence contracts contribute to long-term industrial growth and job creation? In particular, how are they encouraging and supporting companies such as Pargat Housewares in my constituency, which is a private, ethnic minority-owned business and one of the UK’s largest producers of pots, pans and bakeware using advanced and extremely energy-efficient techniques?
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his position as parliamentary private secretary to the shadow Defence team—it is good to see him asking questions. The short answer is yes.
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his position as parliamentary private secretary to the shadow Defence team—it is good to see him asking questions. The short answer is yes.
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David Reed (Exmouth and Exeter East) (Con):
Could I ask for a progress update on the recruitment for a national armaments director, the creation of a military strategic headquarters, and the release of the defence industrial strategy, and crucially, will they all be in place and established in time to contribute to the recommendations of the strategic defence review?
It is certainly true that we need to rebuild relations with important European allies, and that we need to do more collaboratively on big programmes. That is at the heart of the UK-German defence agreement that we have already signed as a new Government. We have also said that we will set out to strike a UK-EU security agreement, and aspects of that may be relevant.
It is certainly true that we need to rebuild relations with important European allies, and that we need to do more collaboratively on big programmes. That is at the heart of the UK-German defence agreement that we have already signed as a new Government. We have also said that we will set out to strike a UK-EU security agreement, and aspects of that may be relevant.
As we meet today, EU Foreign Ministers are reportedly discussing that Chinese manufacturing is now providing drones to the Russian war machine, specifically drones made in Xinjiang. Does that not further the need for Europe to deepen its own defence industrial base, and specifically, should we be securing an administrative arrangement with the European Defence Agency to that end?
I thank the Defence Secretary for his statement this afternoon and for early sight of it.
We welcome the treaty that he signed on behalf of the UK last week with Japan and Italy, and we warmly welcome the decision to locate the GCAP government
headquarters in London. The treaty is the...
I thank the Defence Secretary for his statement this afternoon and for early sight of it.
We welcome the treaty that he signed on behalf of the UK last week with Japan and Italy, and we warmly welcome the decision to locate the GCAP government
headquarters in London. The treaty is the...
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to update the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy 2021, published on 23 March 2021.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to update the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy 2021, published on 23 March 2021.
Events since the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy (DSIS) was published and the UK's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine have reinforced the key themes of the DSIS - the need to consider industry as a capability in its own right, and closer and earlier dialogue with industry.
The DSIS has been reviewed alongside the Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper refresh and the Defence Command Paper will outline further how the Government will deliver DSIS.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the potential benefits to UK (a) defence and (b) industrial capability of utilising microreactor technologies for defence tasks.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the potential benefits to UK (a) defence and (b) industrial capability of utilising microreactor technologies for defence tasks.
The Ministry of Defence is considering potential use cases for micro nuclear reactors in defence. There is obvious potential as both a low carbon, high density energy source and one that can offer new operational freedoms from a traditional fossil fuel supply chain. No Ministry of Defence funding has yet been allocated to defence industry for research and development of this technology.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has appointed a Defence Industrial Adviser.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has appointed a Defence Industrial Adviser.
The Defence Industrial Adviser was a temporary role appointed in September 2022 which came to an end in December last year, and which was created under the previous administration. As planned, the responsibilities have reverted back to the previous office holders.
I thank the Defence Secretary for his welcome to my hon. Friend the new Member for Batley and Spen (Kim Leadbeater). I will ensure that his kind remarks are known to her.
The Prime Minister has promised an extra 10,000 jobs in defence each year for the next four years. Buying British is the best way to deliver that promise so that we design and build for ourselves in Britain: it strengthens our economy and it strengthens our sovereignty. The defence equipment budget is now £19 billion. What proportion goes not to Britain, but to US suppliers?
I thank the Defence Secretary for his welcome to my hon. Friend the new Member for Batley and Spen (Kim Leadbeater). I will ensure that his kind remarks are known to her.
The Prime Minister has promised an extra 10,000 jobs in defence each year for the next four years. Buying British is the best way to deliver that promise so that we design and build for ourselves in Britain: it strengthens our economy and it strengthens our sovereignty. The defence equipment budget is now £19 billion. What proportion goes not to Britain, but to US suppliers?
Many suppliers in this country may not be entirely UK in their country of ownership, but the Ajax, for example, is made in St Athan by General Dynamics, and Boxer is made in Shropshire by a combination of BAE and the German Rheinmetall. We often insist that a significant proportion of those projects are made in the UK: for example, over 65% of the Boxer vehicle’s components are UK-made, including the metal
frame made in Stockport. That provides British jobs, even if sometimes the countries of ownership are international. It is important to have international components because, as hon. Members have mentioned in previous questions, we also want to sell abroad. If we shut everyone else out, we should not be surprised if they do not buy from us.
The Defence Secretary ducks and dives to avoid the answer, but the highly authoritative Defence Analysis has the figures: 31% of Britain’s defence budget now goes to US suppliers, up from 10% only five years ago. Britain can make the best, but it requires the Government to give it backing. In the past month alone, the Defence Secretary has rejected the world-leading UK-built Brimstone missile and bought US instead. Is it not the truth that Ministers are making big promises to UK industry while the big money still goes abroad?
The Defence Secretary ducks and dives to avoid the answer, but the highly authoritative Defence Analysis has the figures: 31% of Britain’s defence budget now goes to US suppliers, up from 10% only five years ago. Britain can make the best, but it requires the Government to give it backing. In the past month alone, the Defence Secretary has rejected the world-leading UK-built Brimstone missile and bought US instead. Is it not the truth that Ministers are making big promises to UK industry while the big money still goes abroad?
The truth is that the right hon. Gentleman does not seem to understand defence procurement or how things are manufactured. For example, 15% to 20% of the global components for all 3,000 of the F-35 aircraft—the rear part of the aeroplane—are made in Lancashire. Many of the highly complex, highly expensive defence projects are a collaboration. Typhoon is often championed on both sides of the House: that is an international collaboration between Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. When the right hon. Gentleman mentions the word “supplier”, he is of course deliberately confusing that with the actual number of jobs and the ownership of their business. Let us ask the question: how many people are working on American companies’ business but based in the UK? He will find that most of them are here in this country.
On this day, when we mark a full year since the country first went into lockdown, may I use this statement to pay
tribute to the men and women of the armed forces, who have done so much to help the country through this pandemic? I also pay tribute to...
On this day, when we mark a full year since the country first went into lockdown, may I use this statement to pay
tribute to the men and women of the armed forces, who have done so much to help the country through this pandemic? I also pay tribute to...
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's involvement was in approving the GEC-BAE merger in 1999.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's involvement was in approving the GEC-BAE merger in 1999.