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To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to review the Defence Investment Plan.
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to review the Defence Investment Plan.
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is Government policy. The DIP is a Government document which was laid before Parliament on 30 June 2026 and summarises the major investment choices the Government has made for UK Defence.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Defence Investment Plan, published on 1 July, remains their policy.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Defence Investment Plan, published on 1 July, remains their policy.
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is Government policy. The DIP is a Government document which was laid before Parliament on 30 June 2026 and summarises the major investment choices the Government has made for UK Defence.
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the purchase price of the Ministry of Defence housing from Annington; how the monies paid to Annington are accounted for in Ministry of Defence and national accounts; and whether the purchase price will be transferred to the Defence Housing Service as a debt...
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the purchase price of the Ministry of Defence housing from Annington; how the monies paid to Annington are accounted for in Ministry of Defence and national accounts; and whether the purchase price will be transferred to the Defence Housing Service as a debt...
The total cost of the 2024 repurchase of 36,347 Service Family Accommodation properties from Annington Property Ltd, was £5.99 billion with additional transaction, advisory and legal costs of £ 6.6 million. The accounting for Annington Deal was completed in financial year 2024-25 in Ministry of Defence (MOD) accounts. How it was accounted for in national accounts is a matter for His Majesty’s Treasury.
Eliminating the liabilities associated with the leases created budgetary headroom to partially fund the purchase, meaning that the public expenditure impact of the measure, and the impact on public sector net debt, was confined to £1.7 billion. There is no debt in the MOD and therefore no debt to transfer to the Defence Housing Service.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Ministry of Defence is planning to delay planned investment in service accommodation; and if so, for how long.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Ministry of Defence is planning to delay planned investment in service accommodation; and if so, for how long.
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) confirms previous commitments to provide £9.2 billion over the next decade to deliver the Defence Housing Strategy and a generational renewal of military family housing. This work has started with 1,250 of the worst homes already upgraded, with more underway this year.
To meet today's threats, elements of the early years DIP funding have been re-prioritised to deliver rapid and critical capability upgrades by 2030.
The budget for family housing is currently approximately £3 billion for this Parliament and around £6 billion for next Parliament and the subsequent financial year, compared to around £4 billion and around £5 billion previously stated. This substantial investment in the early years of the DIP will enable us to continue to deliver improvements to military housing.
Lords motion to take note of the future capability of the United Kingdom's armed forces in light of the current international situation. Agreed to on question.
Lords motion to take note of the future capability of the United Kingdom's armed forces in light of the current international situation. Agreed to on question.
Lords question for short debate on what progress they have made towards drafting the Defence Readiness Bill recommended by the Strategic Defence Review; and whether they intend for the scope of the Bill to include national resilience more broadly to encompass preparations for other risks contained in the National Risk Register.
Lords question for short debate on what progress they have made towards drafting the Defence Readiness Bill recommended by the Strategic Defence Review; and whether they intend for the scope of the Bill to include national resilience more broadly to encompass preparations for other risks contained in the National Risk...
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the increase in defence expenditure they have announced since July 2024 has been spent on (1) housing costs, (2) munitions procurement, (3) wages for Armed Forces personnel, (4) Civil Service costs, (5) research and development, (6) procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles, (7)...
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the increase in defence expenditure they have announced since July 2024 has been spent on (1) housing costs, (2) munitions procurement, (3) wages for Armed Forces personnel, (4) Civil Service costs, (5) research and development, (6) procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles, (7)...
The Department sets out how it has spent its allocated budget in its Departmental accounts, which are published each year. In addition, the Defence Investment Plan will set out the investment priorities for the MOD for financial year 2026-27 onwards.
The defence budget has increased by £11.6 billion since 2023-24; however, this specific increase is not tracked in a way that allows a percentage breakdown across the categories listed.
Lords private notice question on what assessment they have made of the concerns raised by the Chief of Defence Staff in comments to the BBC regarding (1) the threat posed by Russia to the United Kingdom, and (2) the United Kingdom's defence capability.
Lords private notice question on what assessment they have made of the concerns raised by the Chief of Defence Staff in comments to the BBC regarding (1) the threat posed by Russia to the United Kingdom, and (2) the United Kingdom's defence capability.
Lords debate on King's speech (sixth day) on foreign affairs, international relations and defence. Motion on royal address agreed to nemine dissentiente.
Lords debate on King's speech (sixth day) on foreign affairs, international relations and defence. Motion on royal address agreed to nemine dissentiente.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to utilise industrial capacity in Northern Ireland to support the defence investment plan.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to utilise industrial capacity in Northern Ireland to support the defence investment plan.
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the defence investment plan.
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the defence investment plan.
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
To ask His Majesty's Government why the publication of the Defence Investment Plan has been delayed.
To ask His Majesty's Government why the publication of the Defence Investment Plan has been delayed.
The department is working to finalise the Defence Investment Plan, which we will publish as soon as we can. We need to ensure investment choices are right for both now and the future. It is the first zero-based review of Defence's budgets in eighteen years and goes significantly further than the last Government's Equipment Plan by looking across every budget line, including people and infrastructure.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Executive Order “Prioritizing the warfighter in defense contracting”, published by the President of the United States of America on 7 January; and whether a similar decision in respect of stock buybacks and excessive corporate distributions would be appropriate...
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Executive Order “Prioritizing the warfighter in defense contracting”, published by the President of the United States of America on 7 January; and whether a similar decision in respect of stock buybacks and excessive corporate distributions would be appropriate...
The Executive Order highlighted by the noble Lord outlines potential actions placed upon contractors deemed to be underperforming by the United States Government. Under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on February 24 2025, the UK Government has similarly strengthened its ability to take action against underperforming suppliers through a more centralized, transparent system.
Under the Procurement Act 2023 (the Act) the UK Government has strengthened its ability to deal with underperforming suppliers. The Act introduced commercial levers to manage systemic underperformance via an expanded exclusions regime. This regime ensures that a suppliers’ historic conduct, including poor performance, breaches of contract or serious misconduct, can be assessed and addressed appropriately. Discretionary exclusion grounds allow contracting authorities to take proportionate action where suppliers have demonstrated significant or persistent poor performance, including any self-cleaning demonstrated by the supplier. Where a supplier is an excluded or excludable supplier, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) must or may restrict their participation in future competitions, depending on the nature of the exclusion, and in the most serious cases a Minister of the Crown may place a supplier on the debarment list, following investigation. This creates a transparent, consistent approach to managing poor performance risk across MOD and wider Government.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s placement in the recent NATO rankings of defence spending as a percentage of GDP.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s placement in the recent NATO rankings of defence spending as a percentage of GDP.
The UK is the third largest cash spender in NATO and this Government has increased defence spending as a proportion of GDP as well as committing to the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.
Defence spending will rise to 2.6% of GDP from 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament. At the Hague Summit last July, the Prime Minister also committed to spending 5% on national security.
My Lords, the defence investment plan will set out how we will deliver the vision set out in the Strategic Defence Review. It will be a coherent, fully costed and affordable plan against the defence budget. Over the course of this Parliament, the Government have committed to the greatest sustained investment since the Cold War, with over £270 billion going into defence. We have set a further ambition to spend 3% in the next Parliament and joined NATO allies in a commitment to spend 5% on national security from 2035.
My Lords, the defence investment plan will set out how we will deliver the vision set out in the Strategic Defence Review. It will be a coherent, fully costed and affordable plan against the defence budget. Over the course of this Parliament, the Government have committed to the greatest sustained investment since the Cold War, with over £270 billion going into defence. We have set a further ambition to spend 3% in the next Parliament and joined NATO allies in a commitment to spend 5% on national security from 2035.
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether there is a shortfall of £28 billion in the budget of the Ministry of Defence over the next four years.
The defence investment plan will deal with choices according to the budget that it has set for it. Even if you increase the budget, you still have to make choices about what you spend that money on. The Chief of the Defence Staff and the other chiefs are involved in this, discussing what capabilities we need, with the budget that we have, to ensure that we have the war-fighting readiness we need. Those choices are taking place.
Considerable sums of money are being spent at present—billions of pounds. I keep repeating this: under current plans, the total budget in 2024-25 was
£60.2 billion; in 2008-29, on current plans, it will be £73.5 billion. Billions of pounds of additional money is being spent. We are seeking to ensure that we spend it properly and appropriately to fight the wars of the future.
The defence investment plan will deal with choices according to the budget that it has set for it. Even if you increase the budget, you still have to make choices about what you spend that money on. The Chief of the Defence Staff and the other chiefs are involved in this, discussing what capabilities we need, with the budget that we have, to ensure that we have the war-fighting readiness we need. Those choices are taking place.
Considerable sums of money are being spent at present—billions of pounds. I keep repeating this: under current plans, the total budget in 2024-25 was
£60.2 billion; in 2008-29, on current plans, it will be £73.5 billion. Billions of pounds of additional money is being spent. We are seeking to ensure that we spend it properly and appropriately to fight the wars of the future.
I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. The Chief of the Defence Staff has rightly warned the country about the growing threat from Russia and other countries and the need for adequate preparation. In response to questions about the £28 billion shortfall on Monday before the Defence Select Committee in another place, the Chief of the Defence Staff, while not directly answering the question, said:
“Right now, we are in a position where we are forecasting to spend more than the budget we have”.
Does it not follow that without extra cash from the Treasury, over and above the sums the Minister has just referred to, the Government may have to postpone or abandon major programmes?
The Government explain it by using the figures I have just outlined. There is billions of pounds of additional money. You cannot alter the fact that it is going from the figure I just gave to the noble Lord, Lord Young, to the figure it will be. The noble and gallant Lord knows far better than me that choices have to be made within that budget about what capabilities you will spend it upon. One of the choices that confronts us is what lessons we learn from Ukraine, and what capabilities we need to ensure that we fight the war of the future and not the war of the past. That is part of the discussion that is going on at present.
The Government explain it by using the figures I have just outlined. There is billions of pounds of additional money. You cannot alter the fact that it is going from the figure I just gave to the noble Lord, Lord Young, to the figure it will be. The noble and gallant Lord knows far better than me that choices have to be made within that budget about what capabilities you will spend it upon. One of the choices that confronts us is what lessons we learn from Ukraine, and what capabilities we need to ensure that we fight the war of the future and not the war of the past. That is part of the discussion that is going on at present.
My Lords, the Minister is quite right, but he knows as well as the rest of us that those are meaningless figures: what really matters is how much you can buy for the money you are spending. Given the accounting changes that have taken place over the intervening years, we are currently spending a lower percentage of GDP on defence than we were in 2010, when we were not facing the very serious threats to European security that we see today. How do the Government explain this?
I agree with the last point about making sure that the public have greater awareness of the threats faced, and the national conversation. The noble Lord has asked me about that before, and we are seeking to do something about it.
Within the current budgets, we have signed more than 1,000 defence contracts since July 2024, 86% with British-based businesses, and spent more than £31 billion with UK industry. If the noble Lord were Secretary of State for Defence, he would have a budget and would have to make choices about which capabilities he believed were necessary to bring the country to the war-fighting readiness we need. Those are the discussions at the present time. I know there is frustration about the delay to the defence investment plan, but I would rather have a plan that is affordable and meets the needs of our Armed Forces and defence industry, so that we can fight the wars of the future.
I agree with the last point about making sure that the public have greater awareness of the threats faced, and the national conversation. The noble Lord has asked me about that before, and we are seeking to do something about it.
Within the current budgets, we have signed more than 1,000 defence contracts since July 2024, 86% with British-based businesses, and spent more than £31 billion with UK industry. If the noble Lord were Secretary of State for Defence, he would have a budget and would have to make choices about which capabilities he believed were necessary to bring the country to the war-fighting readiness we need. Those are the discussions at the present time. I know there is frustration about the delay to the defence investment plan, but I would rather have a plan that is affordable and meets the needs of our Armed Forces and defence industry, so that we can fight the wars of the future.
Is not the reality that the defence investment plan has been delayed because of concerns inside government and the Cabinet about its affordability, especially given the commitment to increase our own sovereign capacity? In that context, is not the reality that cuts will have to be made to achieve that, and simply to fulfil the current budget? Will the Government recognise that we need to have a much clearer and honest declaration of exactly what is needed? The public need to know what the threat is and why we need to spend more on it.
My noble friend will know the importance of his question. That is why reform has taken place within the Ministry of Defence with the establishment of the National Armaments Director Group. The new National Armaments Director is in post and is addressing the very real problems and concerns my noble friend has rightly pointed out.
My noble friend will know the importance of his question. That is why reform has taken place within the Ministry of Defence with the establishment of the National Armaments Director Group. The new National Armaments Director is in post and is addressing the very real problems and concerns my noble friend has rightly pointed out.
My Lords, I welcome the Government’s commitment to increasing defence spending. It is not just about the quantum; it is also about dealing with project overruns and delays, cancelled
projects, poor management and the contract overspending that we saw under the last Government. What will this Government do to make sure that our defence spending is actually well spent?
Many decisions will be subject to the defence investment plan. The noble Viscount has been an advocate of the GCAP programme for a number of years and was berating me a few months ago regarding whether the Government support the programme. He knows that the Government support it, and he has seen the importance of the relationship between Japan, Italy and the UK. The specifics of that contract will have to wait, but the overall support for GCAP is there and has been well stated in this Chamber and beyond.
Many decisions will be subject to the defence investment plan. The noble Viscount has been an advocate of the GCAP programme for a number of years and was berating me a few months ago regarding whether the Government support the programme. He knows that the Government support it, and he has seen the importance of the relationship between Japan, Italy and the UK. The specifics of that contract will have to wait, but the overall support for GCAP is there and has been well stated in this Chamber and beyond.
My Lords, I am not sure whether the Minister actually acknowledged the shortfall of £28 billion as identified by the Chief of the Defence Staff and the other chiefs. I understand that we must wait for the defence investment plan, but can he say whether the shortfall, or cash squeeze, that the Ministry of Defence is facing is the reason for the delay in GIGO’s award of its first contract to Edgewing with regard to the GCAP trilateral fighter jet project?