Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rebecca Harris and Lord Hammond of Runnymede

Monday 11th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

16. What assessment he has made of the effect on the armed forces of a balanced defence budget.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Philip Hammond)]

A balanced budget gives our armed forces confidence that once a project is in the programme, it is real, funded and will be delivered, so that they can plan with certainty. The balanced budget is a firm baseline for the transformation to an armed forces that are smaller, but that will be adaptable, agile, well equipped with the best technology and supported by a Ministry of Defence that is re-focused around their needs.

[Rebecca Harris]

Will the Secretary of State give me a further assurance that in future we will never again return to an unbalanced defence budget, which saw us buying very expensive, high-ticket items while our brave personnel were going without some of the basic equipment they needed in theatre on the ground?

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend has put her finger on the problem: in the past we had an armed forces budget that was out of kilter, and were trying to support armed forces that were not properly resourced. The consequences were inadequate protective equipment and inadequate military equipment to do the job they were being asked to carry out. I believe that we have an absolute moral responsibility, when we ask people to put themselves in harm’s way, to equip them with the kit that they need to be as safe as possible in doing that.