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Defence Procurement

I beg to move,"That this House has considered the matter of defence procurement." May I start by expressing my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Corporal Sarah Bryant of the Intelligence Corps, Corporal Sean Reeve, Lance Corporal Richard Larkin and Paul Stout, who were tragically killed in an explosion during an operation east of Lashkar Gar on Tuesday? Their deaths are another stark reminder of the sacrifices that our people are making on our behalf. We must never forget them, nor must we allow their sacrifice to go unrecognised. In my first year in post, I have been increasingly impressed by the men and women of our armed forces, who are doing an outstanding job while deployed on operations around the world. I have seen their dedication and resourcefulness at first hand in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are, quite simply, outstanding professionals, and I know that the House will join me in paying tribute to their dedication and commitment. They are the best in the world and we are lucky to have them. Over the past few years, we have focused on providing our people with the best possible support on current operations. Providing them with the right equipment is essential if they are to do the job that we ask them to do. Since current operations began, we have spent more than £3.5 billion, through the urgent operational requirement process, on equipment to do just that. The money comes direct from the Treasury reserve and is additional to the Defence budget, which is 7.5 per cent. higher in real terms than it was in 1997. The recent Defence Committee report on defence equipment recognised that effort, and praised the speed with which we are delivering, through the UOR process, substantial amounts of vital equipment to our armed forces on the front line. Those efforts are also recognised by the most important audience of all: the troops themselves. According to Brigadier Carleton-Smith, currently commanding 16th Air Assault Brigade in Afghanistan,"““each soldier is much better equipped than he was in 2006 when the Brigade last served in Helmand. I doubt whether the British Army has ever put a brigade into the field as well equipped as 16 Brigade and it continues to improve with each deployment. The next brigade will probably be even better equipped.””"