Oral Answers to Questions

Tristan Osborne Excerpts

Monday 8th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Steve Yemm (Mansfield) (Lab)]

16. What steps he is taking to help strengthen the defence industrial base.

[Tristan Osborne (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab)]

18. What steps he is taking to help strengthen the defence industrial base.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Luke Pollard)]

Through the defence industrial strategy, the Ministry of Defence will strengthen the defence industrial base by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, fostering collaboration with industry and academia, creating jobs, enhancing exports support and adopting sustainable procurement practices. These measures will boost innovation, resilience and competitiveness while supporting national security and economic growth.

[Luke Pollard]

I thank my hon. Friend for celebrating the investment we are seeing. Foreign direct investment is a really important component part of building our ecosystem for defence industries. Britain is the very best place to invest in defence industries, with a talented population, increasing skills, increasing defence spending and a military that is respected the world over. We have a huge opportunity to do even more, and when I announce details of the defence industrial strategy shortly, I hope he will support that work as we seek to go further in using defence as an engine for growth in every part of the country.

[Tristan Osborne]

Medway has a proud tradition with its former dockyard in Chatham. Last week, I visited the BAE Systems aviation centre in Rochester in my constituency to see its graduates and apprentices. What more can be done to support graduates and apprentices in defence? Will the Minister take the opportunity to visit the BAE Systems site to look at that work in person?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for championing the BAE site in Rochester. We want more defence companies to invest more in skills. In the defence industrial strategy we are publishing today, we will not only make further investments in defence technical education colleges—with £182 million to deliver that—but provide additional support for school-based activities and university partnerships. I would be very happy to come to Rochester to see for myself the amazing work of the apprentices.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tristan Osborne Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Luke Pollard)]

All actions of the UK Government are in compliance with international humanitarian law. We want to see an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We have fewer than five personnel from Israel on non-combat academic courses currently, but we keep all our training under review.

[Tristan Osborne (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab)]

T5. Ministers will be aware of the recent launch of XV Excalibur in the south of England. It is an autonomous submarine vehicle that is the future of naval capability. What other investments are being made, under the strategic defence review, in autonomous vehicles, unmanned submarine technologies, and glider technologies?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. Excalibur will be an incredible autonomous asset. The strategic defence review sets out that crewed, uncrewed and autonomous systems will be standard across our armed forces, and at the heart of the review is investment in the people who will be manufacturing and standing behind those systems. That is why, when the defence investment plan comes out later this year, there will be more opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, primes and businesses right across the country to invest in our uncrewed and autonomous future in a hybrid military.

Nuclear-certified Aircraft Procurement

Tristan Osborne Excerpts

Wednesday 25th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Maria Eagle]

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says. We are committed to buying 138 F-35s in the next tranche of F-35s. We have substituted 12 F-35As for what would have been 12 F-35Bs, so there is that change to the mix, as recommended in the strategic defence review. One of the recommendations was that we should consider the mix, and we have considered it. Another was that we should rejoin the NATO nuclear mission; we have considered that and consulted, and we are acting. We have already implemented two of the major recommendations of the SDR. Given the welcome that the SDR had from Members around the House, we should all be glad to see the implementation of those recommendations.

[Tristan Osborne (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for the welcome announcement of the F-35A programme, which comes at a time when this Government are increasing defence spending at a rate not seen since the cold war. BAE Systems, in my constituency, is one of the companies leading on the programme to support avionics for our forces, and there is an outstanding invitation for the Minister to visit the company. Will she confirm that this announcement will mean a significant increase in jobs and opportunities, including apprenticeships for local people, young people, and constituents across my area and the country?

[Maria Eagle]

Yes. I have been reminded of my promise to visit; that is on the list, and the visit will move closer to the top of the list after today. I agree with my hon. Friend. If we are to deter potential aggressors and adversaries, it is key that we implement the findings of the SDR and increase our capability, and that is what we are doing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tristan Osborne Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

The hon. Gentleman has put his finger on a long-standing, deep-running weakness, namely a procurement policy under the last Government that did not recognise the UK steel industry as a strategic industry and was content for the amount of UK steel sourced for some new ships to be in the single figures. [Interruption.] Under previous procurement Ministers, the proportion was 4%. We will change that: the SDR will set out a plan to not just boost UK security, but strengthen the UK economy.

[Tristan Osborne (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab)]

T8. BAE Systems in my constituency recently announced an extra £200 million in avionics investment to support the F-35 programme, which will secure 200 extra jobs in the Warren Wood area. Will the Minister commit to reviewing our investment in our defence industry, to ensure that more jobs are secured by well-trained young people throughout the country? Will he also commit to visiting the site to witness that expansion and celebrate that success with our residents and community?

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

Yes, she will make a commitment to visit the site. I agree with my hon. Friend: our defence industrial strategy will enhance the incentives for long-term investment in the UK defence sector. It will encourage investment by private firms, alongside public money, align the imperatives of national security, and ensure that we have the necessary skills.