Martin Wrigley
Main Page: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)Department Debates - View all Martin Wrigley's debates with the Ministry of Defence
(1 day, 23 hours ago)
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Al Carns
I thank my hon. Friend for hosting that visit. The two key programmes are Op Courage, which has had 30,000 referrals already, and Op Restore, to help veterans with muscular and skeletal problems. I point any veteran to the gov.uk page that describes all the support that they can get via the NHS and others.
Martin Wrigley (Newton Abbot) (LD)
Small and medium-sized enterprises in my constituency tell me that research and development funding has dried up since last December. What hope can the Minister offer to ensure that SMEs continue their vital innovation to keep the UK safe, and to help them turn their swords into ploughshares?
Maria Eagle
The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the importance of SMEs in improving our industrial base and bringing agility and new ideas to our defence industrial production. He can be assured that there will be SME involvement in our industrial strategy to the extent that it is possible. We intend to make sure that SMEs, not just the primes, get a better in at the MOD and are able to get the work.