Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 30 of his Department's Defence Investment plan, published 30 June 2026, what the new capabilities are of the Submarine Build Modernisation Programme.

The Submarine Build Modernisation (SBM) programme improves facilities, grows the workforce and modernises manufacturing to enable us to meet future submarine production demand. It also strengthens the supply chain to ensure continuous submarine production and delivery of the future SSN-AUKUS programme. Work is underway at key sites to increase capacity without stopping current production.