Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Brewer Excerpts

Monday 8th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alex Brewer (North East Hampshire) (LD)]

10. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the planned timetable for implementing the recommendations of the strategic defence review.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)]

The Government have accepted all 62 recommendations of the strategic defence review. Implementation of the review’s recommendations is already well under way.

[Alex Brewer]

With RAF Odiham celebrating its centenary this year, I am proud of the many close military ties that we have in my constituency of North East Hampshire. One of the recommendations of the strategic defence review is to improve accommodation, where we are letting our military personnel down. Given that there is widespread agreement with the Liberal Democrats on this issue, including in the other place, will the Secretary of State support bringing all military housing in line with the decent homes standard in today’s Renters’ Rights Bill vote?

[John Healey]

In the last year, we have taken huge steps to start to make good on decades of substandard housing for military personnel and their families. We have brought 36,000 military family homes back into public ownership so that we can plan exactly the sort of upgrade that the hon. Lady talks about.

On the rest of the SDR, we have announced the purchase of 12 F-35A aircraft, which will join the dual capable aircraft mission of NATO; we have launched our new £70 million campaign on cadets; and we have stood up the cyber and specialist operations command. Today, we are publishing the defence industrial strategy to make defence an engine for growth. This Government are delivering for defence and delivering for Britain.