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Written question asked by Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative) on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 11 June 2026. It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 June 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence: Public Expenditure

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Committee of Public Accounts Fifth Report of Session 2026-27 (HC95), paragraph 2, for what reason did the department not have adequate accounting records in relation to audit evidence that £6.1 billion of assets under construction had been classified correctly.

Answer

The Department did not maintain appropriate accounting records to support the classification of £6.1 billion of AWE assets under construction due to inadequate legacy record-keeping. Many of these costs are historic, some dating back to 15 years old, and were capitalised by the Department as infrastructure, but not subject to regular review to confirm their validity or current value.

Strengthened governance and review processes are now in place to ensure this expenditure is appropriately assessed, consistently classified, and aligned to correct accounting standards.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
8246
Session
2026-27
Related items
Subjects
Public expenditure Ministry of Defence
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk