Defence Industries: West Midlands

Alex Ballinger Excerpts

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered defence industries in the West Midlands.

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. Global threats are evolving, making defence investment more critical than ever. A strong defence underpins our security and sovereignty, but we must scale up to meet the modern challenges. The warning flags were raised in 2014, yet the UK lacked a long-term strategy. The defence industry drives innovation and economic growth, but skill shortages and supply chain volatility risk holding it back. Our armed forces are only as strong as our defence sector.

Across the west midlands and the UK, the defence industry provides security, supports thousands of jobs, and fuels innovation in areas such as AI, cyber and advanced manufacturing. The region is home to major players, including Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Babcock, with BAE Systems alone working with 11 small and medium-sized enterprises, including one in my constituency of Tamworth.

The Government’s renewed focus on defence as part of their industrial strategy is welcome. I also support the recent commitment to the largest defence spending increase since the cold war, meaning that we will spend 2.5% of GDP on defence. With post-war alliances shifting, we must continue investing in our defence capabilities.

[Alex Ballinger (Halesowen) (Lab)]

I recently visited Somers Forge in my constituency—it is the 10th oldest SME in the United Kingdom, and has been supplying defence equipment since the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. It was great to meet with its team, and see the important work that it does. Does my hon. Friend agree that our defence industrial strategy will help SMEs access defence investment and boost businesses such as Somers Forge in the west midlands?

[Sarah Edwards]

I absolutely agree. This industrial strategy is essential in making sure we have the focus to support our businesses right across the region, and in making sure that they are successful.

The upcoming defence industrial strategy must prioritise British businesses, including SMEs, ensuring that investment creates jobs and strengthens our national security. Currently, nearly 18,000 people work in defence SMEs in the west midlands, and the Ministry of Defence spends £1.6 billion annually in the region, making it the UK’s third largest defence hub. By backing UK industry, and fostering co-operation between Government, business and workers, we can build a defence sector fit for the future.

--- Later in debate ---

[Luke Pollard]

That is an excellent question. It comes down to how we implement the defence industrial strategy that my colleague, the Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, is leading within the Department. That needs to tie in with the whole-of-Government and whole-of-society effort for our national defence, which is something Parliament will need to speak more of in future. To defend our nation and support our allies, we will need this mission to be held passionately not just by people in uniform and the Ministry of Defence. We will need every Department to understand its contribution to that mission. When we invest in skills, we will have the opportunity to do that.

I am grateful that my hon. Friend mentioned the Type 26 builds in Scotland. As the MP for Devonport in Plymouth, where the Type 26s will be based, I know how incredible these frigates will be, how they will deter Russian submarine activity in the north Atlantic, and how they will contribute directly to the security of our nation and our allies.

To build those frigates, we will need to invest in skills on a long-term basis. We are looking at how we can have multi-year budgets, to invest more in skills and supply chains, rather than having the annual cycle. Frankly, and as the Defence Secretary has made very clear, defence needs to spend money better than it has in the past. That is why he started a programme of defence reform to make sure we reform not only how we fight and how we are configured, but also how we procure. The recruitment for a new national armaments director is a significant part of driving the defence reform needed to support SMEs as well as primes.

[Alex Ballinger]

We are talking about procurement. Just this week I met Members of the European Parliament in Brussels to talk about our collective response to Ukraine. One of the challenges that Somers Forge in my Halesowen constituency faces is the struggle with European supply chains and the trade barriers between the UK and Europe. As we go through a new reset with Europe, will the Minister commit to push for greater access for defence industries to the European market?

Defence Programmes Developments

Alex Ballinger Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

I regard defence as largely beyond party politics, so I am happy to extend, on a cross-party basis, that invitation to a meeting to the hon. Lady. What I cannot undertake to do is to promise to deliver a cross-ministerial meeting, but if she is happy to start with me, then that is what we can do.

[Alex Ballinger (Halesowen) (Lab)]

As one of a number of Royal Marines on the Labour Benches, I really welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to the Royal Marines in the forthcoming SDR. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth Moor View (Fred Thomas), I served on HMS Albion, but that was 15 years ago. I think we all recognise that the battlefield has changed and that it is important we have the financing available to invest in the technology of the future. On reform, I notice that only two out of 49 major defence programmes are on time and on budget at the moment. What steps is the Secretary of State taking on defence reform to ensure the failures we saw under the previous Government can never be repeated?

[John Healey]

My hon. Friend refers to the regular reporting of the Major Projects Authority. The fact that only two out of 49 major defence projects can be said to be on time and on budget means that the Department is not delivering effectively for the taxpayer or for our forces. That is why defence reform, far reaching and deep, is required.

Armed Forces Commissioner Bill

Alex Ballinger Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Alex Ballinger (Halesowen) (Lab)]

I echo other hon. Members who have said how nice it is to hear from so many servicemen and women in this House, and so many hon. Members who represent service communities, who are collectively behind this Bill.

Just over a week ago we observed Remembrance Sunday, a solemn day to honour the courage, dedication and sacrifice of our armed forces. That annual act of remembrance is a poignant reminder of the immense debt of gratitude we owe those who serve. It is therefore fitting that the Government have in the same month introduced the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill, which rightly recognises that improving the lives of service personnel and their families is not only a moral duty, but a necessity if we are to recruit and retain the people we need.

Over the past decade our armed forces have faced significant challenges, compounded by underfunding and a series of cuts. Research has laid bare the reality: optimism among the armed forces has reached record lows, and recruitment and retention are in a state of crisis. Annual surveys of service personnel consistently reveal high levels of dissatisfaction with service life. Nearly 60% report low morale and less than half express satisfaction with their service experience. Those figures speak volumes about the pressing need for reform and meaningful change.

I know how bad it has become, because I come from a service family. I grew up living on an RAF base and I followed my dad and brother into the armed forces. In recent years we have all seen the deterioration in the experience of service life, with the state of accommodation in particular being a huge problem. For example, my brother, after 20 years’ service in the Royal Air Force, was expected to live in accommodation that had rising damp and sewage leaking into part of the premises. His family, with a young daughter, was expected to live in a house with black mould and broken plumbing. That is unacceptable. We would not expect prisoners to live like that, and we should not expect our brave servicemen and women and their families to live in such conditions.

I have spoken to many people in my constituency and elsewhere who have a similar story: poor housing and a lack of action from those who have responsibility. That is why it is so important to have an Armed Forces Commissioner to advocate on behalf of service personnel such as my brother when their voices go unheard. This commissioner will provide a powerful and independent voice for service personnel and the families who support them. They will report directly to Parliament, ensuring accountability and transparency in addressing the needs and concerns of those who serve, and the framework will give service personnel confidence that their voices are heard, their issues are taken seriously and they have a robust advocate working on their behalf.

Every year we stand together as a nation to pay tribute to those who have given their lives in service to our country, but that tribute must go beyond words and ceremonies; it must be matched by concrete actions by the politicians entrusted with representing their interests. As a veteran, I understand how deeply service shapes not only those who serve, but their families. I am proud to stand here today both as an MP and as a former Royal Marine to lend my full support this Bill at Second Reading. This legislation is a step in the right direction and a step towards ensuring that every member of our armed forces knows that their sacrifices are valued and that they are supported by a system designed to protect their interests and those of their families. For too long, those needs have gone unmet. This Bill is an opportunity to change that.

Ukraine

Alex Ballinger Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

One of the Government’s great assets is my hon. Friend the Minister of State because of the work that he does with many other countries. Whenever discussions are required or evidence is gathered he speaks to many of the countries that may find that they have within them companies that might be involved in those supply chains. Wherever that happens, my hon. Friend is on it, and he is leading the charge to ensure that where we can identify those supply chains, we take the action that is necessary to close them down.

[Alex Ballinger (Halesowen) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his very welcome statement.

As we approach 1,000 days since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, it is increasingly clear that Ukraine’s survival depends on the west increasing its manufacture of munitions. Can my right hon. Friend say a little more about boosting our defence industrial supply chains, including in the west midlands, where defence manufacturers are keen to contribute?

[John Healey]

My hon. Friend is right. The importance of the British defence industry is not just in the greater security that it gives us as a nation but as part of the economic boost that will drive growth in future. One feature I was pleased to see at the recent Government investment summit was the confirmation that defence would be one of the eight economic growth sectors that would receive priority policy focus and support as we develop that for the future. That is in the interests of Ukraine immediately, and it is in our own interests in future. It is how we can combine both the strengthening of our national security and the boost to our national economy.