Oral Answers to Questions

Maria Eagle Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)]

8. What discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts on increasing defence industrial capacity across the alliance.

[The Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry (Maria Eagle)]

The Defence Secretary raised this issue at the meeting of all NATO Defence Ministers in February and has held a number of discussions with NATO allies since, including with the US Secretary of Defence and in meetings with joint expeditionary force and E5 allies. European allies are stepping up within NATO, and the UK is leading efforts to increase defence spending and expand defence industrial capacity.

[Dr Shastri-Hurst]

I concur with my hon. Friend the Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge) that it is deeply disappointing that France has blocked European Union countries from allowing SAFE—Security Action for Europe—funds to be used for the procurement of British weapons. With that in mind, what has the Minister done to ensure that actions are being taken to guarantee a multilateral, NATO-wide procurement strategy, with the UK at its centre?

[Maria Eagle]

I have met a number of my equivalents bilaterally, but it is important to say that we welcome the ReArm initiative and that it is in all our interests for SAFE to allow member states to partner with the UK. We will continue to emphasise the need for EU defence financing and wider defence industrial initiatives to include third countries like the UK. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in answer to an earlier question, we want to conclude a UK-EU defence and security pact that will give us access to that scheme.

[Mr Calvin Bailey (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her response. Last week, the Defence Committee met the Chief of the General Staff, who highlighted the challenges of supporting our troops in Estonia. I highlighted the Rail Baltica project, which received significant funding from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility and NATO, and which links my constituency, via High Speed 1, right through to the Baltics using British steel. Will the Minister meet me to discuss supporting the expansion of HS1 capacity, as it is the type of opportunity that would support growth within our defence industrial capacity, improve our deterrence and increase our commitment to our European allies, while bringing high quality jobs to east London?

[Maria Eagle]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. As I hope hon. Members from around the House are starting to realise, if I am asked for a meeting my general answer is yes. I am very happy to meet him.

[Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)]

9. What steps he is taking to increase recruitment to the armed forces.

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[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

15. What steps he is taking to ensure small and medium enterprises are able to participate in defence procurement contracts.

[The Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry (Maria Eagle)]

SMEs can help us make defence an engine for growth in all our nations and regions. I want far more involvement from SMEs in our procurement, providing agility, innovation and resilience as we seek to ramp up our industrial production. That is why the Prime Minister recently launched a new defence SME support hub, and committed us to publishing a new target for MOD spend with SMEs.

[Amanda Martin]

Last week, as part of the armed forces parliamentary scheme, I had the privilege of visiting His Majesty’s Royal Naval Base in Portsmouth, to meet personnel and see equipment used by our armed forces that is made by Accuracy International and SIG Sauer, an SME firearms manufacturer in my constituency. Accuracy International employs more than 100 local people. What is the Minister doing to ensure that companies such as Accuracy International and SIG Sauer are given a fair shot in defence procurement and can continue to provide jobs in my city?

[Maria Eagle]

A fair shot—I commend my hon. Friend on her puns. Accuracy International has made a great contribution to UK defence and exports. I have been talking to defence firms, many of which are SMEs, during the defence industrial strategy consultation. I hope that the changes that we will make to speed up procurement and provide more access to opportunities will transform their chances of doing business with us, while making defence an engine for growth across all our nations and regions.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

We are shortly to appoint a national armaments director with a salary of more than £600,000 a year. I hope that that colossal salary comes with the mandate to be able to tear up the book on defence procurement as we rearm the nation. Will the Minister reassure me that when we get the national armaments director back to the Defence Committee in a year’s time, they will not say, “Well, we tried to change things, but they wouldn’t let me”?

[Maria Eagle]

I assure the hon. Gentleman that we are tearing up the way in which procurement works before the national armaments director moves into his place. It is one of the biggest jobs in government, which needs the right salary to attract the right person. I am clear that we will do things differently. The national armaments director will be held accountable for ensuring that we do so.

[Gurinder Singh Josan (Smethwick) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

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[The Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry (Maria Eagle)]

As the hon. Gentleman will probably know, Type 31s are being built at Rosyth and Type 26s are being built at Govan. We have got a programme for eight at Govan, and five so far at Rosyth—that is the current number.

[Oliver Ryan (Burnley) (Ind)]

As you know all too well, Mr Speaker, Lancashire has a proud defence manufacturing pedigree at the cutting edge of our British sovereign capability—you think manufacturing and you think Lancashire. Will the Minister for Defence Procurement continue to champion Lancashire’s defence jobs? Will she commit—I understand that this is cheeky—to replacing tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft with new, modern Lancashire-made Typhoons?

[Maria Eagle]

I commend my hon. Friend for asking that question. He will know that the strategic defence review is considering our current mix of fourth and fifth-generation aircraft. He will also know that, in addition to the Typhoon, 15% of the F-35s as well as 37% of the Typhoons are made in Lancashire, so there is work aplenty in Lancashire, no matter which aeroplane is bought.

[Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)]

T4.   My constituent Sam serves in Afghanistan and suffers from PTSD. Although he is entitled to compensation, his condition has left him struggling with the forms and, 10 years on, he has been told that he can have only £600, when he is entitled to thousands. Can the Minister explain what steps are being taken to ensure that those who give so much serving our country are helped to access the financial assistance they are entitled to, and not blocked by bureaucracy?

[James Asser (West Ham and Beckton) (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that expanding our military expenditure creates a golden opportunity to deal with the shortage of people going into science, technology and engineering jobs, and that as we expand the military budget, we should make sure that the defence industry expands the number of apprenticeships and builds a robust skills and training base so that young people can benefit from those jobs?

[Maria Eagle]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. Of course, there are skills shortages across much of manufacturing, not only in defence, so there is certainly going to be an issue. I can tell him that the apprentices I have met in the defence industry tend to smile the whole time. They are getting extremely good training for lifelong excellent jobs, so I am absolutely certain that we can get that across to young people and ensure that defence gets its fair share of the skilled people that we need.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

T5. With the UK frozen out of the EU rearmament scheme while defence contractors and security firms in Albania, Norway and South Korea stand to benefit, what estimates has the Secretary of State made of the potential loss of economic activity in the UK as a result?

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[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

T6.   The Hawk aircraft, most famous in the scarlet livery of the Red Arrows, is at the end of its service life. Can Ministers explain what steps they are taking to ensure that we replace it with a British-built sovereign capability?

[Maria Eagle]

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that Hawk is due to be out of service in the early 2030s. We are taking steps to consider what the alternatives might be, and we of will course consider any UK options that exist. I cannot tell him what the answer to that is yet, but it is under active consideration.

[Claire Hazelgrove (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Lab)]

Those who bravely serve in our forces should never lose their say in our country’s future, so I welcome the Government’s swift action to introduce the ability to use the veterans ID card as voter ID. May I ask the Minister what plans there are to ensure that veterans around the country are aware of this important change?

[George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)]

T7.  Mid Norfolk is a proud rural and military constituency with many employees working at RAF Marham and Swanton Morley barracks, which is home to the Queen’s Dragoon Guards and many cadets and veterans. A few years ago, we managed to secure the extension of Swanton Morley barracks, which had been scheduled for closure. Does the welcome defence surge mean that its closure, slated for 2031, might be reviewed?

[Maria Eagle]

I cannot give the hon. Gentleman an answer right now, but I am certainly happy to look into it and meet him, if he wants a meeting, or write to him.

[Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)]

I have a number of nuclear veterans in my Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency, as many colleagues do in their constituencies. What steps are Ministers taking to meet veterans, acknowledge their service and deal with the consequences of their service and their exposure to nuclear material?