Greg Smith
Main Page: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)Department Debates - View all Greg Smith's debates with the Ministry of Defence
Defence Investment Plan
Greg Smith Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
Order. I will only be able to run the statement until 4.15 pm, so Members will have to ask much shorter questions.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
Mid Buckinghamshire is proudly home to RAF High Wycombe and RAF Halton. Given everything in the defence investment plan on aircraft, drone innovation and the space field, coupled with the Secretary of State’s absolutely correct commitment to our defence personnel, training is critical. RAF Halton has been on a rollercoaster of closure as a training base. Where does the defence investment plan sit with the long-term future of RAF Halton?
Dan Jarvis
Let me make a point of consensus. The hon. Member is right to say that training is critical because it underpins our readiness, and that is precisely why I reprofiled some of the spend to ensure that we can maximise our readiness, given the nature of the threats that we face. I will look carefully at the other points he raised, as I have done previously, and come back to him.