Oral Answers to Questions

Jeevun Sandher Excerpts

Monday 19th May 2025 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Dr Jeevun Sandher (Loughborough) (Lab)]

1. What steps he is taking to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are able to participate in defence procurement contracts.

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

6. What steps his Department is taking to increase support for SMEs in the defence sector.

--- Later in debate ---

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

The House will note that this afternoon we are without the Minister for Veterans and People, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns). He is halfway up Everest with a group of soldiers, raising funds for armed forces charities and raising the profile of veterans, and I am sure that the whole House wishes him well. Most of us also think, “Rather him than me.”

This Government have confirmed the biggest increase in defence spending since the end of the cold war, which will boost national security and make defence the engine for growth in every part of the United Kingdom. For too long, small businesses have felt left out of defence, but no more. We are setting new targets to ensure that smaller firms benefit from that increase in defence spending. We are setting up a new support centre to guide small businesses on access to defence and, for the first time, we are making British-based businesses a priority for British taxpayers’ defence investment.

[Dr Sandher]

I, too, wish the Veterans Minister the best of luck as he climbs Everest, and I am sure we all agree: rather him than us.

In today’s world warfare is changing dramatically. Drones costing $1,000 can destroy tanks worth $10 million, but the innovation cycle for those drones is rapid; they are designed to become obsolete within months. We need a dynamic SME sector to produce those drones, but defence SMEs are struggling to get the finance they need, with a lack of long-term contracts and a lack of guarantees. A multilateral defence bank could help to ensure that those firms get the finance they need. Will the Secretary of State please set out the discussions he is having to help to found that multilateral defence bank?

[John Healey]

My hon. Friend is quite right about the fact that capabilities are now changing in weeks, not months or even years. He is also right about finance. That is why I went to the London stock exchange last week and closed the markets—I think it was the first time a Defence Secretary has ever done that. I wanted to signal that this Government want a new partnership with not just industry and innovators, but investors, and that means changing the way in which defence does its work.