Defence, Security and Resilience Bank

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Excerpts

Tuesday 19th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I welcome the noble Baroness’s conversion to spending more on defence; she had 14 years to do something about it but did not do anything. To ensure that the UK is prepared to respond to growing threats, the Chancellor has announced a £270 billion investment in defence over the course of this Parliament. We have already invested £5.6 billion more in defence this year alone compared with previous plans, and spending on defence is rising every single year of this Parliament. As the noble Baroness knows, NATO qualifying defence spending is set to rise to 2.6% of GDP by April next year. The Government have also set an ambition to spend 3% of GDP on defence in the next Parliament when economic and fiscal conditions allow. The defence investment plan will set out the MoD’s plans to ensure that resources are directed effectively to meet its priorities and deliver value for money for taxpayers. We are working hard to finalise that and it will be published shortly.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, will my noble friend confirm that much of the expenditure that he just referred to is in Scotland: in Edinburgh, in Fife, in the Clyde and in the islands? Does he think I am overoptimistic in hoping that the new Scottish Government will give some acknowledgement and credit to the UK Government for all that spending in Scotland?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I start by saying what a pleasure it is to take a question from my noble friend again and to welcome him back to the House. He is known for his optimism, so I hope I can join him in that. But he is absolutely right: 68% of defence spending goes to businesses outside London and the south-east, bolstering regional economies in Scotland and the north-west, which is why our defence industrial strategy that I was discussing earlier is so vital.