Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2026, to Question 10654, on Defence: Finance, what is the definition of critical infrastructure used as part of the 1.5% NATO target that the Government uses; and whether there is a longer guidance note on what spending is and is not included.

As confirmed in the answer to Question 10654, NATO provided a breakdown of the types of spend that could be included within the 1.5% commitment. This included Critical Infrastructure.

In 2023, NATO published a report on the EU/NATO taskforce on the resilience of Critical Infrastructure. Within that report, it noted that Critical Infrastructure enables the fulfilment of the organisation's core tasks of deterrence and defence, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security.

It is for each NATO ally to determine whether they have eligible Critical Infrastructure spend to include as part of their 1.5% commitment.