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Defence Industrial Strategy

I begin by associating myself and my colleagues with the tributes that the Secretary of State paid to our armed forces. This is indeed a very significant statement that will have far-reaching consequences for United Kingdom defence and its supporting industries. As has been acknowledged, we will all need time to study the 140 pages of detail, and I would also welcome the chance of a debate early in the new year on the strategy. But we certainly support the principle of ensuring that our armed forces have appropriate equipment at the right time and at the right cost; sadly, that has not always characterised defence procurement in recent decades. In giving industry clearer signals about what is essential to national security, how will the Secretary of State ensure proper ongoing public scrutiny of the new partnering arrangements and any other mechanisms, so that we can be confident that we are maintaining competitiveness and value for money at the point of acquisition and throughout the project’s life? Given the ongoing problems associated with technology transfer—from the United States, for example—to which he has alluded, how will he ensure that in the non-core sectors, we do not end up being over-dependent on other countries?