Defence Spending and Resilience

Debate between Lord John of Southwark and Lord Coaker

Monday 2nd November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord John of Southwark]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in their national conversation on defence spending and resilience; and what are the outcomes of that conversation to date.

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

My Lords, the national conversation on defence and resilience is now under way across government, helping build public understanding of the threats we face and a whole-of-society approach to resilience. Outcomes include a national resilience public awareness campaign, deeper engagement with industry and local partners and stronger preparedness across government, business and communities, alongside refreshed national defence planning.

[Lord John of Southwark (Lab)]

My Lords, it is clear from reports of increased sales of tinned food, bottled water, radios and torches that the Government’s message about national preparedness is getting through. However, are the Government confident that the public understand the level and seriousness of threats to our national security which prompted the Defence Secretary’s warnings on 22 October?

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for his important question. The remarks made by the Defence Secretary and others have started the conversation, which is leading to that increased awareness. Does that mean that everyone is aware of the threats that we face? I think there is still a job of work to do with respect to that.

In particular, I do not think we are going to see Russian paratroopers in Southwark, but, in respect of the threat to Southwark and across the United Kingdom in terms of cyber attack, disruption to trade, misinformation, threats that we all need to understand and be prepared for, there is a lot of work to be done.