Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Monday 1st June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

8. If he will take steps with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to issue defence bonds to help increase funding for military capabilities.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

14. If he will take steps with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to issue defence bonds to help increase funding for military capabilities.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)]

This Government are making the biggest increase in defence investment since the end of the cold war. This year alone, we have more than £11 billion more in the defence budget than in the last year of the previous Government. As the Prime Minister said in February,

“we are going to have to spend more faster”,

and we will.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

Building our military capability is vital in this world of increasing instability, where Putin continues to wage war in Europe—as we have heard—and Trump rips up the alliances that once kept us safe. Investment in deterrence is far better than fighting a war unprepared. Getting UK businesses access to the Security Action for Europe programme is vital, so will the Secretary of State confirm whether talks have restarted with the EU in that regard, and if so, what progress has been made?

[John Healey]

As I mentioned in a previous answer, we are indeed looking to participate in, and be able to take advantage of, the European Union’s loan scheme for Ukraine. That is a way in which we could accelerate getting good kit into the hands of the Ukrainians and ensure that British-made kit and British firms can make a big contribution to that.