New Medium Helicopter Contract

Lord Fox Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Coaker) (Lab)]

The noble Baroness will know that the final decision on the award of the new medium helicopter contract will be made through the wider defence investment plan. With respect to what she said about the defence industry being a desert, the Government have signed 1,000 major defence contracts since July 2024, 86% of which have been with British companies. Many contracts relate to lethal capabilities and are not published for national security reasons. We are spending billions of pounds on British industry; we want to grow its capacity and are doing all we can to support it. However, on the noble Baroness’s specific question about Leonardo, that will have to wait for the defence investment plan.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, I met Leonardo’s chair and CEO today. He told me that, as the Minister may know, Yeovil accounts for 3,300 direct jobs and an annual input into the local economy of £320 million. As the Minister also knows, that is our only sovereign capability for full helicopter construction and it has huge export potential. However, there is a real prospect that this will be the Government who close the gates on Westland for the last time. All this seems to hinge on the defence investment plan but, even if that plan is published soon, and even if it indicates that the medium-lift contract is going to be funded, the real question is when. Work does not need to start now, but it needs to be a secure prospect for Leonardo: it needs to have a solid workflow, which means that contract negotiations have to start very quickly. Does the Minister recognise that, without that kind of certainty and knowledge of workflow, the Yeovil site is in real jeopardy?

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

The noble Lord and I have spoken about this. I understand exactly the points that he has made with such passion, force and logic. I cannot say any more than that the final decision will be contained within the defence investment plan. The only thing that I will say to him is that we are spending billions of pounds on the defence industry, and that amount of money is increasing. Many noble Lords say it is not enough, but it is a hugely significant sum. I quoted the total CDEL figure last time and I will quote it again: in 2024-25, the total CDEL figure was £22.7 billion but in 2028-29 it will be £31.5 billion—a nearly £10 billion increase—and we are doing all that we can to ensure that as much of that money as possible is spent within the UK on the British defence industry. On the noble Lord’s specific question, as I said to the noble Baroness, I understand the importance of that factory and the jobs that depend on it, but the final decision will have to wait for the defence investment plan.