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Written question asked by Stuart Anderson (Conservative) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Louise Sandher-Jones (Labour) on Monday, 14 September 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Defence: Finance

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what changes have been made to the plans set out in the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, in order to meet the UK's most recent NATO spending commitment.

Answer

The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) implements the UK’s ‘NATO First’ approach. It places NATO requirements at the heart of UK capability planning and has been developed to deliver the optimal UK contribution into NATO’s warfighting plans, driving vital transformation of our warfighting approach and modernisation of our Armed forces.

We are prioritising our focus on deterrence and warfighting in the Euro-Atlantic, taking tough decisions to ensure we invest in the best kit for our Armed Forces. We have always met our NATO spending commitments and remain one of the top defence spenders in the Alliance as NATO's third-largest cash spender on defence, based on the latest figures.

As set out in the DIP: The Government has committed to increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP in the next Parliament, with funding and plans to be set out at the next spending review where defence will be the number one priority. Alongside NATO allies, the UK has committed to reach 3.5% of GDP on defence spending by 2035.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
21456
Session
2026-27
Related items
Deposited Paper DEP2025-0341
Monday, 2 June 2025
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Subjects
Defence Finance NATO
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk