Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage the use of small and medium-sized businesses in its defence procurement process; and what steps he is taking to improve the resilience of the defence supply chain.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a long-standing commitment to improve its engagement with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in order to broaden and strengthen its supply-base. The recently published Defence Industrial Strategy Statement of Intent recognises our intention to foster a more diverse community of suppliers and will prompt a refresh of our SME Action Plan. Alongside this, the Department is undertaking other initiatives to strengthen its supply-chain resilience, including securing access to critical materials, components and technologies, and a first-of-its-kind wargame to explore how industry and the MOD could sustain personnel on the frontline when faced with constant supply chain disruption.