Ukraine

Richard Foord Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. This will not just set new standards within NATO of interoperability and interchangeability, with effectively a combined Norwegian-UK anti-submarine force; it means that more frigates—a total of 13 anti-submarine frigates between the two nations—will be available to reinforce the northern flank of NATO to provide the sort of deterrence required to keep the Russian threat in check.

My hon. Friend must be very proud of her Scotstoun yard. I hope that she will recognise, as I do, that this deal will secure the future of 4,000 jobs in the UK for many years, 2,000 of which are in Scotland.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin is a fine example of public service, so I humbly agree with the Defence Secretary about the retiring Chief of the Defence Staff. When the CDS appeared before the Defence Committee in June, he said of NATO that

“The crucial thing is whether we are deterring Russia and whether we can face down the threats of Russia”.

He answered his own rhetorical question that we are, “absolutely”.

Following the strike in Kyiv that damaged the British Council and the EU’s diplomatic mission last week, can the Defence Secretary set out how the UK and NATO are deterring further symbolic attacks like this one?

Ukraine

Richard Foord Excerpts

Thursday 17th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

My hon. Friend is one of the most energetic and ceaseless supporters of Ukraine, and not just in this House. I know he has gone out with supplies to support civilians and comrades in Ukraine. I am glad that he was at the Ukraine recovery conference in Italy last week. If he is looking for the lessons that the UK Ministry of Defence is pulling from Ukraine, I will send him a personal copy of the strategic defence review.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

These plans for a so-called coalition of the willing are contingency plans. They are designed for a time when Putin agrees to a ceasefire in Ukraine, which, as the Secretary of State acknowledged, he shows no sign of doing. How does the prospect of Ukraine’s allies, such as the UK, deploying armed forces to Ukraine after a ceasefire incentivise the Kremlin to sue for peace?

[John Healey]

One of the signals that the coalition of the willing underlines to President Putin is that a large number of deeply committed democratic countries are willing to stand with Ukraine in its fight against his invasion, and are willing to stand alongside Ukraine in any peace to secure a long-lasting and just settlement. The single message that Putin should take is that Ukraine will keep fighting, that we will keep supporting it, and that the best way for him is now to accept that he needs to come to the negotiating table to talk and put an end to this fighting.

UK-France Nuclear Partnership

Richard Foord Excerpts

Thursday 10th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Maria Eagle]

My hon. Friend is correct. The strategic defence review and our ongoing commitment to increasing defence spending in this country give opportunity for our industry to benefit, obtain contracts and assist us in ensuring that we can defend our nation and NATO more fully and in a better way going forward. There will be jobs, skilled opportunities and growth in all parts of the nations and regions of the UK.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

The threats and nuclear sabre-rattling that we have heard from President Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is utterly unacceptable, and the response from the British and French Governments has been robust. For me, defence co-operation between the UK and France is always welcome. Will our Governments also seek to get a reaffirmation from other P5 countries, including Russia, of the Reagan-Gorbachev formula that

“a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”?

[Maria Eagle]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support for this extra co-ordination. The aim of all this is to make sure that NATO and Europe are safe from the threats that may come from Putin and his nuclear sabre-rattling, as the hon. Gentleman referred to. We believe that deterring those threats is the best way to ensure that we do not end up having to fight a war that would be catastrophic. That is where we are at present. I am not sure that President Putin is in the mood to agree that nuclear wars cannot be won, because he does issue nuclear threats every now and then. We need to ensure that he is deterred in his approach.

Oral Answers to Questions

Richard Foord Excerpts

Monday 19th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Luke Pollard]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that question. This Government are delivering for defence with increased defence spending. By April 2027, we will be spending 2.5% of our GDP on defence, which includes an extra £5 billion for defence in this financial year; that will rise to 3% in the next Parliament, when economic conditions allow. What we spend that money on is just as important, and that is what the strategic defence review, when it is published, will set out.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

At the end of March, the US Secretary of State told the Foreign Ministers of the Baltic states that the US wanted to continue participating in EU defence procurement initiatives. What has the UK discussed with the EU about any exclusion of US companies linked to the security and defence pact?

[Luke Pollard]

It is certainly true that right across Europe, there are European and American firms providing the capabilities we need to keep our people safe. It is right that we continue those discussions with our European friends to look at how UK firms can participate, because UK firms are already present around Europe, providing resources, as indeed are our American friends. We all need to spend more on defence and we all need to renew our capabilities. We are working together to ensure that we have the frameworks and structures to enable that renewal of our forces to take place.

UK Airstrike: Houthi Military Facility

Richard Foord Excerpts

Wednesday 30th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

It does indeed, Mr Speaker. My hon. Friend has been steadfast from the Back Benches as a strong voice for Ukraine, and I welcome his support for the actions the UK Government have offered, and for our leadership. On the effectiveness of Russian action and interventions in Yemen, I am more concerned to ensure that any military action that this Government sanction is effective, and that the outstanding military personnel who are involved return safely. I am happy to report to the House that that was the case last night.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

On 17 March, I asked the Foreign Secretary why the UK had taken a kinetic role in strikes against the Houthis under the previous US Government, but have not taken an active role in those carried out by this US Government. We have since seen those leaked Signal messages in which the US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, lamented the lack of European involvement in the strikes on 15 March. How much has the involvement of British jets in these strikes come as a response to the allegation by Pete Hegseth of European freeloading?

[John Healey]

The strikes that we conducted last night were a result of the fact that America, our closest ally, has been coming under near daily attack from the Houthis; that shipping has more than halved through that Red sea route; and that 50% of UK businesses now say that they have been impacted by conflict in the middle east. I make no apology for defending Britain’s interests, and the interests of our allies.

Ukraine Update

Richard Foord Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

I can indeed. I have been making that argument for some time, before and since the last election. My hon. Friend, who has unique experience, makes the same argument. Ukraine tells us that the nature of warfare is changing. It is changing faster than ever, driven by technology. We have to adopt and incorporate those lessons for our future ability to equip our own armed forces so that they are fit to fight in the way that will be required to deter adversaries and keep us safe.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

I congratulate the Defence Secretary on co-chairing the 27th meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group. While it was good to see the German Defence Minister also chairing, that role was carried out until 9 January by the US Secretary of Defence. Defence Secretary Hegseth did attend earlier this month, but it was remote attendance across a secure platform. If we see in the coming weeks any reduction in US air defence support for Ukraine or other matériel, how might the UK respond?

[John Healey]

The hon. Gentleman has been in the House long enough to know that I cannot possibly—and I will not start to—respond to such hypotheticals. Part of the challenge of the new US Administration to European nations such as the UK was to say, “Step up.” We were stepping up, but we have done more, and we will do more. One of the particular requests from the US Administration was that we take on convening and chairing the uniquely important and successful Ukraine defence contact group—which, the hon. Gentleman is right, was established and chaired up until the change of Administration by the US. We agreed to do that alongside the Germans. That is why the 27th contact group was convened and co-chaired by me and the German Defence Minister.

Royal British Legion

Richard Foord Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Westminster Hall

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Jeremy.

Mid and east Devon has a very strong veteran community. Although the national average for people who have served is 3.8%, there are 4,616 households in Honiton and Sidmouth with at least one veteran—6.3% of the population. It speaks volumes about Devon’s connections to the armed forces and the duty we all feel to support not just those who have served, but their families. Often it is the family who bring a serviceperson out of the armed forces, but the family are then supported by the Royal British Legion when the veteran is looking for a place in society where they can belong.

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

The duty of service is often earned by the whole family of service personnel—parents, partners and children who make sacrifices in supporting those who serve their country, who are fearful for them, and who miss time and memories. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the work of the Royal British Legion in supporting families is so vital and needs to be recognised?

[Richard Foord]

Absolutely. I would add that the Royal British Legion is fantastic at bringing in volunteers—people who have not served, but on whom the RBL depends. We have some really strong local branches in Cullompton, Honiton, Kilmington, Sidmouth, Sidbury and Sidford, Beer and Seaton. They are all fantastic examples of commitment from not just veterans but people who have not served. The Axminster branch, for example, has won significant awards, including the Crediton cup and the national RBL award of the Lister trophy. On 11 November last year, it was striking to see how the branch encourages veterans’ stories to be passed on to children in the town and the community, which would not otherwise happen.

David Rickard of the Honiton branch was the winner of the prestigious RBL 75th anniversary cup in February, and all of Honiton was very proud. The Kilmington branch has 120 members, despite the village having only 1,000 residents. We have a thriving RBL community in Devon. I am massively grateful for all that its members do, and I am grateful to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth for giving me the opportunity to thank them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Richard Foord Excerpts

Monday 10th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

The deal with the Mauritians is designed to secure the long-term operation and the legal base, and to guarantee our ability and that of our allies in the US to continue to operate from Diego Garcia for at least the next century.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

Earlier in topical questions, the Veterans Minister said that the strategic defence review would be published in the next couple of months. Can he confirm that it will be published by the end of April?

[Al Carns]

It is a fair correction. I said “in a couple of months” and then “in the spring”.

Cadet Forces

Richard Foord Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Peter Swallow]

I really welcome that intervention, which demonstrates the role that the cadets play in every corner of the United Kingdom and shows how important it is that opportunities for young people are shared across our regions and nations.

I return to the Remembrance Sunday service in Bracknell, which I was proud to attend. There I saw young people who had given up their Sunday mornings and woken up far earlier than any teenager wants to at the weekend to do something important: to remember. In October, I visited the Bracknell Army Cadets, alongside my hon. Friend the Minister for Veterans and People and Councillor Georgia Pickering, Bracknell Forest council’s armed forces champion. I hope that the Minister will not mind my saying that he offered deep inspiration to the young people he spoke to, sharing his own personal stories of service, bravery and sacrifice in the armed forces. I hope he will also not mind my saying that I believe that the cadets, in turn, inspired him with their stories, their drive and their thoughtful questions.

In November I was privileged to visit Brackenhale school and meet its combined cadet force contingent. It was a real pleasure to see how staff, students and volunteers are rightly passionate about the impact that CCF has in creating a sense of belonging and teamwork among students, as well as supporting their wellbeing. There is an assumption that only private schools have CCFs; Brackenhale, however, is a state school. To challenge another stereotype, almost half of cadets in Berkshire are female.

It is crucial that the benefits of participation in the cadet forces should be open to all. As of April last year, almost 150,000 young people were involved in the cadets across the country, with 90,000 in the Army, Air, Sea or volunteer Cadets and 50,000 in the CCF. In the south-east, our cadet forces are supported brilliantly by the South East Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, or SERFCA. I pay tribute to its outstanding work in supporting the cadets and the community of Bracknell. Its commitment to defence is truly inspirational.

The cadets provide a range of unique opportunities for young people to gain qualifications for CV enhancement, skill acquisition and personal development. For many, membership of the cadets had been a lifeline, providing positive guidance in times of crisis. For others, it is simply a fun thing to do and an opportunity to try new experiences with friends.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

I received some correspondence from John McMillan from Sidmouth. He and his two brothers joined the Air Training Corps in the 1970s. Two of them went on to serve with the Royal Air Force and John himself went on to become a commercial pilot with British Airways, despite there being no previous connection to aviation whatever in his family. Does the hon. Gentleman recognise the value of the cadets to social mobility and providing opportunities?

[Peter Swallow]

I absolutely agree. In fact, in 2021, the University of Northampton published an independent report into the cadet forces, led by Professor Simon Denny. Based on data gathered from more than 5,500 cadets, the report highlighted the strong benefits of cadet membership, including improved career prospects and, as the hon. Member said, social mobility.

The report stressed that the positive impact of the cadets was particularly strong for those who suffered economic and other disadvantages. Cadets tend to have a higher sense of self-esteem, heightened aspirations, a heightened sense of social responsibility and a higher respect of authority than their peers. Participation in CCF, the Denny report states, is also associated with improved school attendance, preventing serial absenteeism and changing young people’s life outcomes in the long run. It has also proven to boost communication, resilience, leadership and social skills, all of which businesses and employers look for in young people. That, in turn, makes the cadets a wonderful tool of social mobility, supporting children from different backgrounds with different needs, including those with special educational needs, and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The Denny report found that cadets eligible for free schools meals had higher self-confidence than their non-cadet peers.

Crucially, cadet forces ensure that young people, and the country as a whole, are more familiar with the fantastic work of our armed forces. It is important to remember that the cadets are not a recruitment tool for the services, but it is certainly true that, by expanding an understanding of what it means to serve in the armed forces, the cadets give more young people the opportunity to consider whether a forces career might be for them. The armed forces face a recruitment and retention crisis, with targets missed every year out of the past 14. I cannot emphasise enough that cadets are not a recruitment tool, but when we are facing such a significant challenge, anything that can be done to raise awareness of what it means to serve must surely be part of the overall solution.

Whatever path cadets take after they leave their troop, it is undoubtedly a good thing that they have come to understand more deeply the important role our armed forces play in keeping this nation safe. For example, two recent graduates of the Bracknell Army Cadets have gone on to become paramedics, and are looking to come back as adult volunteers after they have completed their paramedic training.

As we recognise the incredibly positive impact of cadet forces on young people, it is also critical to acknowledge the adult volunteers who make the whole thing run. The volunteers are instrumental in mentoring young cadets and instilling in them the values that go on to shape their futures. Their contribution to the lives of these young people is truly invaluable, and we simply could not run the cadets without them. Some of the volunteers I spoke with during my visits to local cadet forces had military backgrounds themselves, but many had no prior experience with the armed forces; they were simply interested in supporting young people, or were volunteering because of the impact that the cadets had had on their route to adulthood.

More than 26,000 adult volunteers work across the five cadet forces. To be an adult volunteer requires a huge commitment, which is too often overlooked. As the Denny report found, adult volunteers each provide around 400 hours of volunteering per year—a total of 10.4 million hours a year for all volunteers. Many of the volunteers I spoke to spend their weekends running activities for the cadets while undertaking training so that they can perform in their roles better. Running regular sessions each week also takes up much time, and many struggle to juggle their commitment to the cadets with their jobs. That is all in the context of performing a highly complex role, working with children, with all the issues around safeguarding that they need to stay on top of.

I ask the Minister: what more can be done to ensure that the valuable role of adult volunteers in the cadets is recognised, through awards, recognition and other policies? What more can be done to ensure that they can more easily balance their work and other commitments with their dedication to the cadets? As I say, without adult volunteers, cadet forces cannot run. In these challenging times, with the rising cost of living, volunteers are too often forced to deprioritise their commitment to volunteering because they are being pulled in too many directions. In CCFs, school staff are already under significant pressure in their day jobs, so what can be done to ensure sufficient numbers of volunteers to support our valuable cadet forces?

The funding of the five cadet forces is complex, and each is independent of the others, but it is estimated that the Ministry of Defence spends around £180 million on the cadet forces annually. The Denny report notes:

“There is no single figure that can be said to identify the return on investment. However, where calculations of financial return can be carried out based on models produced by HM Government, their sum is vastly more than the annual cost of the Cadet Forces.”

The report concludes:

“Spending c. £180 million a year on the Cadet Forces is an excellent use of taxpayers’ money.”

With that in mind, will the Minister set out more clearly how the five cadet forces are funded and to what extent the funding has kept pace with inflation over time? The Department for Education recently ended a £1 million scheme that aimed to support school staff instructors in state schools. What has that funding cut meant for CCFs on the ground? Given the broader context of the funding pressures that have been affecting each of the combined forces over the last decade, will the Minister set out what continued support there is for CCFs? Under the previous Government, much emphasis was placed on expanding access to school-based CCFs. Will the Minister say whether similar schemes have been looked at to support the other cadet forces, to drive an increase in the number of cadets serving in the Army, Air, Sea and volunteer Cadets, as well as in CCFs?

As I have already stressed, although cadets are not a recruitment tool into the armed forces, they are an incredibly important tool for expanding social understanding of the military. Has the Minister looked at the role of the cadet forces in raising awareness of the value of our armed forces and the indirect impact they have on addressing the retention and recruitment crisis? I ask all of this in the context of the review into the cadets that he is conducting. Will he please set out further what the review is looking at, and how it will tie into the strategic defence review? The Minister is a proud champion for the wider armed forces community, including the cadets, so I very much look forward to hearing him speak on this important topic.

--- Later in debate ---

[Al Carns]

I thank the right hon. Member for that comment. I am absolutely committed to ensuring that the funding for cadets continues, but also that funding is broadened out and going not just to certain schools, but to state schools and the more disadvantaged across society. Interestingly, I went to a state school and always wanted to join the cadets, but there was no cadet force available for me to join, so we have to spread the opportunity as well as possible. Interestingly, because of covid, and indeed a variety of other reasons, cadet funding went down from 2019 to 2024. It has stabilised now. We are doing a review of the cadets, which will be wrapped into the strategic defence review when it comes out. There will be more to follow in that case.

That is probably a good segue into some of the challenges. Establishing and running a cadet unit, either in the community or in a school setting, is not always easy, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell mentioned. There are issues with funding and human resources. With cadet numbers growing, attracting and retaining enough capable and motivated individuals to deliver the cadet experience is an ongoing challenge. We continue to work to encourage adults to join the cadets. We have recently made it an essential criterion for those companies that wish to achieve the gold standard of the employer recognition scheme that they show support to cadets and cadet force volunteers. Similarly, through the Cadet Vocational College, there is a range of opportunities for adult volunteers to gain nationally accredited vocational qualifications.

I would like to come to some of the questions posed by my hon. Friend. The role of adult volunteers, in addition to the other commitments that they have, piles a lot of pressure on some adult volunteers, but it is offset in some cases by the qualifications and benefits they can get. However, we need to do much more work to attract more people into the system. I was really interested and proud to see many of those volunteers receive MBEs in the last set of honours. All the uniformed adult volunteers are eligible for award of the Cadet Forces Medal after 12 years of service, and I saw many people wearing it with pride when I went to see the Sea Cadets in my constituency.

We are looking at whether there are sufficient numbers of volunteers, and I would like to see a process whereby we make it more attractive to be a volunteer. How can we ease that burden? How can we help them to balance their personal or professional life and their volunteer service? We will work on that in the future—it is coming out in the review. This is an issue that came out really strongly from the Army Cadets, the RAF and the Navy. How do we make it more attractive and how do we get more veterans, for example, to support the cadet services?

We are talking about the funding of cadet forces, and I mentioned broadening it out from private schools to state schools and the more disadvantaged areas and making it slightly more targeted to ensure better social mobility, and, importantly, looking at more innovative ways to support the funding and linkages to local units and support organisations that are close by. My hon. Friend also mentioned the cuts to CCF as a whole. I would reflect on the overall spending, which has stabilised —it has gone down over £11 million since 2019. We are looking at ways to ensure that there are more cadets and more opportunities for those who take part, but that will come out in the strategic defence review in due course. If my hon. Friend is content, I will move on to my closing remarks.

This Government are convinced—and I am convinced by what I have seen when visiting cadets all over the country, with Members from both sides of the House—that the benefits of the cadets are absolutely non-debatable. The benefits—not only for the young people who participate, but for the volunteers and society as a whole —and the statistics show that it is a spend-to-save programme.

The cadet forces represent excellent value for money. The research has found that defence expenditure on them results in a significant return on investment, not only in monetary terms but through the broader societal benefits. Although they are sometimes difficult to gauge, the analysis suggests that those benefits—for society, defence, and the young people and adult volunteers involved—are absolutely unequivocal. Therefore, while maintaining our current ambition to increase the number of cadets in schools, we are also looking to significantly grow the number of community cadets and broaden the programme to support youngsters throughout the UK to enrich their lives by choosing to join the cadets.

[Richard Foord]

In November last year, the Department for Education announced that it would end its £1.1 million grant for the expansion of cadet forces. Will the Ministry of Defence backfill, or make good on, the £1.1 million that the DFE intends to cut?

[Al Carns]

I thank the hon. Member for that question. I have had multiple discussions with the DFE about how, when the SDR comes out, we can ensure that there are opportunities for cadet forces across all schools, or as many as possible. That is definitely at the forefront of my mind, and it is included in the broader wrap of defence spending that will be pushed out in due course, after the strategic defence review.

To summarise, by providing as many opportunities as possible, we can support youngsters throughout the UK whose lives are enriched by choosing to join the cadets. It is a spend-to-save model, which, at a time of societal and geopolitical uncertainty, helps us to do our part by building community coherence and reconnecting Britain with its armed forces.

Question put and agreed to.

Defence Procurement: Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Richard Foord Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer, and I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland), who has done us all a great service in securing this debate. I want to use my limited time to draw attention to some fantastic SMEs, including one in particular that is based near Honiton in the south-west.

The south-west has an absolutely fantastic defence industry, which is powering up the region and making for some fantastic industrial developments. The Ministry of Defence employs about 33,000 people directly in the south-west, but of course there is also a huge, integrated supply chain that supports many more jobs besides. It is surely the aim of the new Government to have a more innovative and resilient supply chain.

Supacat has been producing vehicles in Dunkeswell in Devon for more than 40 years and is at the forefront of designing and supplying cutting-edge tactical military vehicles. Its high-mobility transporter vehicles have been used by British forces in Afghanistan and on UN deployments in Mali. More than 95% of its supply chain comes from UK-based SMEs, 85% of which are in the south-west. It currently has a contract with Defence Equipment and Support; the Ministry of Defence is buying 70 Jackals and 53 Coyotes, as the Minister will know.

In the past, there has sometimes been an instinct to buy off the shelf and from overseas, which would be a huge mistake in relation to the procurement of vehicles for the impending short-range air defence—SHORAD—programme. That instinct to look overseas in the first instance weakens investment, reduces long-term job security and, ultimately, puts future domestic procurement at risk. Supacat has more than 150 skilled workers in Devon, but its future depends on orders that will be delivered beyond November 2025.

The Defence Secretary intends the new defence industrial strategy to boost world-class production and manufacturing, and I understand that supporting UK exports will be key to that. It is incumbent on us to buy from fantastic companies such as Supacat, if we then look to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Czechia and Ireland to buy the Jackal, as they have done. To conclude, there are some fantastic SMEs, including Supacat at Dunkeswell, and I commend to that company the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) for securing this important debate. He is a huge champion for SMEs in his constituency and for national security in general.

I will begin by pointing out that defence primes are not evil. They do not set out to harm British national security. They do amazing things, and some of the things we are proudest of in Britain—sovereign capabilities —are delivered by those primes. It is no surprise that a huge proportion of defence spending goes to them, because some of the capabilities that they deliver—things that give us our unique edge in the world—are the most expensive things on the British balance sheet.

Primes do not have to be negative in the context of SMEs either, because they can offer SMEs something that we all know is missing: the ability to communicate with the Government. By joining with primes, SMEs are sometimes able to advertise their ability to the Government in a way that they would not be able to otherwise.

[Richard Foord]

To reinforce the hon. Member’s point, the way that Supacat has teamed up with Babcock in Plymouth in recent years to scale up its skilled workforce by 60% is an example of what he is describing.

[Fred Thomas]

The hon. Member is absolutely correct. It is not quite in my constituency—it is in the neighbouring constituency, Plymouth Sutton and Devonport—but I agree.

In terms of SMEs, primes can also offer a service to the Government and the Ministry of Defence. If we had a massive change in system, which would be extremely hard to execute, and the MOD was suddenly able to procure directly from SMEs across the country, we would have an enormous challenge of integrating the different capabilities into a usable platform. Half of the things would not be able to talk to each other; they would be made to do their one task and we would then try to put on top of them a second radar system or some piece of satellite that could speak down to whatever comms link we were using. That is enormously expensive. However, primes can do that integration. They can go to the Government and say, “You have a demand signal to do something,” rather than to have a particular capability—to monitor the North sea, for example—and then go out to the SMEs in different constituencies that hon. Members have highlighted so fantastically, gather various bits of capability and knit that into one big package to sell to the Government. That would feel more expensive and slower to the Government, but it could be cheaper in the long term, in some instances.

That said, I and colleagues are overwhelmed almost daily by individuals in the UK defence industry reaching out on LinkedIn or by email, begging the Government to listen to what they are offering. They are patriotic people who think they can save us money and give us strategic advantage by delivering a piece of capability, when we currently spend obscene amounts of money on something that sometimes does not work well or produce the desired effect. I would love the Minister to give us a sense of what the Government are going to do differently from previous Governments to actively offer a forum for those SMEs to pitch their capabilities. I am immensely proud of the Secretary of State and the Minister who joins us today for their work so far—