Defence Spending

Lord Tunnicliffe Excerpts

Thursday 16th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

An additional £24 billion is going in now as a result of the spending review 2020. The £11 billion announced at the Spring Budget includes £4.95 billion over the next two years. That does not include the spending on our commitments to Ukraine, which was £2.3 billion last year and will be £2.3 billion in the coming year.

[Lord Tunnicliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, we have got figures, figures and figures. There is only one crucial question. The Defence Secretary said in February that the Government

“have hollowed out and underfunded our armed forces”.—[Official Report, Commons, 20/2/23; col.65.]

Yesterday, some new funding was announced. Do the Government believe that yesterday really represents a reversal of the Secretary of State’s analysis and, crucially, is sufficient to secure Britain’s national defence for the future?

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

I think the Secretary of State for Defence has been very positive about the money announced at the Budget and previously, and this Government have overseen the largest investment in defence since the Cold War. The British Armed Forces remain among the best in the world; that is why we are a leading NATO partner. Over the last 10 years, the UK has been NATO’s second largest defence spender, after the US, and we spent almost as much on defence as 20 other NATO members combined. Future Soldier, the Army’s response to the integrated review, will deliver the largest transformation of the British Army in more than 20 years. As the threat changes, we need to change with it, and we have set out a plan to do so.