Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support SMEs to tender for contracts issued as a result of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

The National Shipbuilding Strategy aims to re-energise the UK's shipbuilding industry by encouraging participation from the wider UK shipbuilding enterprise, ensuring that we receive bids from the widest range of suppliers possible. This will ensure that the UK remains globally competitive, and that the Ministry of Defence procurement process is as competitive as possible.

We are committed to making it easier to do business with defence, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As part of this we are working to improve our engagement with smaller businesses; making it easier for them to find opportunities and win defence business.

Since March 2016 we have implemented a range of measures to support SMEs, including revising our polices, advertising all our contracts above £10,000 online, and requiring our prime contractors to similarly advertise subcontract opportunities. Furthermore, we have introduced a new Supplier Portal page, bringing together the key information for suppliers of all sizes.