Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the proportion of his Department's budget that will be been spent on the Chagos treaty in each remaining year of the current Parliament.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
No payments are due under the terms of the UK-Mauritius agreement until the Treaty has been ratified.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has conducted an assessment of the implications for NATO should implementation of the Defence Investment Plan be delayed.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government is committed to the implementation of the Defence Investmeny Plan (DIP).
The DIP implements our ‘NATO First’ approach, placing NATO requirements and interoperability at the heart of UK capability planning. The decisions we have taken will increase the UK’s readiness for the future fight, whilst sustaining our contribution to NATO operations and deterrence activity.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK drone transformation to strengthen Armed Forces backed by more than £5 billion, published on 29 June 2026, whether the £5 billion to be spent on drones over the next four years is in addition to the £4 billion to be spent on autonomous systems announced by his Department on 2 June 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This government has increased military drone and autonomous system spending as part of the £298 billion Defence Investment Plan.
The Defence Investment Plan allocated over £5 billion to military drone and autonomous systems, increasing spending from £4 billion to £5 billion over the next four years. This will cover programmes across the Maritime, Land, and Air domains to support the transformation of our Armed Forces, and includes a multitude of capabilities, ranging from the Hybrid Naval Fleet to One-Way Attack Drones.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the hearing of the Defence Committee on 7 July 2026, HC 530, whether his Department has made an assessment of General Sir Richard Barrons' comments on the financial gap between the level of funding required to implement strategic defence review requires and the proposed level of funding.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan provides full funding for the recommendations set out in the Strategic Defence Review. The Government accepted all of the Review’s recommendations, and significant progress has already been made in delivering them, including the establishment of the Military Intelligence Service and the publication of the Defence Diplomacy Strategy.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Select Committee session on the Defence Investment Plan on 7 July 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential risks to UK national security arising from the delay in the implementation of capabilities identified in the Defence Investment Plan.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has ended the underfunding and hollowing out of our Armed Forces that we inherited from the last administration.
Backed by £298 billion of investment over the next four years, the Defence Investment Plan will deliver a step change in capability, transforming our Armed Forces and realising the vision set out in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review.
We have not waited for the publication of the Defence Investment Plan to take action. Since July 2024, we have awarded more than 1,400 defence contracts, with 94% of their total value going to UK-based businesses, strengthening our defence industrial base and supporting jobs and growth across the country. Last year alone, we spent more than £31 billion with UK industry – an above inflation increase in spending.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the hearing of the Defence Committee on 7 July 2026, HC 530, whether his Department has made an assessment of the change in the threat posed by Iran to Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
For reasons of operational security, we do not comment on specific threat assessments relating to Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia or on the security measures in place there.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April to Question 122757 on Ministry of Defence: Finance, whether the (a) Government document and (b) plan referred to will be separate documents.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided to Question 122757 on 30 April 2026 which sets out the Government's position on this matter. As referred to in Question 122757 the Defence Investment Plan is both a government document and plan.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK drone transformation to strengthen Armed Forces backed by more than £5 billion, published on 29 June 2026, how much of the £5 billion will be spent in each of the next four years.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan is backed by a Ministry of Defence budget totalling £298 billion over the next four years and sets out over £180 billion of investment in the integrated force across all domains, including £5 billion on drones.
Individual annual settlements across domains, and the programmes and platform within them, will be subject to future planning cycles.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with NATO allies on eliminating defence trade barriers.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Through NATO defence industrial and armaments forums, and bilateral meetings, the United Kingdom regularly engages with Allies on reducing unnecessary barriers to defence trade and industrial cooperation, including export control processes, technology transfer arrangements, standardisation, and interoperability requirements. In the Ankara Summit Declaration Allies reaffirmed their commitment to continue work to eliminate defence trade barriers and strengthen defence industrial cooperation.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Defence Investment Plan will include details of the financial contributions from all Government Departments.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan sets out Defence’s planned investment in the capabilities, infrastructure and industrial capacity required to deliver the outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review. The Plan focuses on Defence expenditure.
Defence works closely with other government departments to support wider national security objectives. Normal government fiscal and departmental processes reflect cross-government spending arrangements.