Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116533 on Ministry of Defence: Small Businesses, whether the SME Action Plan will allocate funding to be spent with UK SMEs.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to publishing an annual SME Action Plan. The MOD's Action Plan is a key element of Defence’s work to improve opportunities for SMEs. Work led by a senior civil servant and civil servants from The Defence Office for Small Business Growth (OSBG), are responsible for developing the Plan and its implementation.

The forthcoming Plan will set out key priorities on procurement policy and strategy, aligned with the Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Industrial Strategy. Our commitment to SMEs is demonstrated by the new £20 million fund offering accelerated contracts to innovative UK startups with little previous MOD engagement, and our target to increase spending with SMEs by £2.5 billion by May 2028.

The OSBG is engaged with SMEs to shape its delivery and ensure it reflects the practical experiences of SMEs seeking to do business with Defence. Once work on the Defence Investment Plan has concluded the plan will be published.

Taken together, these measures will substantially improve the support for SMEs from HMG compared to the situation in July 2024.