Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) fiscal and (b) economic conditions have to be met for defence spending to be raised to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product.

The government’s aspiration is to invest 2.5% of GDP on defence, when the fiscal and economic circumstances allow. The Prime Minister has been clear that the target and path towards 2.5% will be set out at the next Spending Review.

The government has consistently prioritised defence spending. The Ministry of Defence was the first department to get certainty on its budgets in this Parliament. This settlement was the largest sustained spending increase in defence since the end of the Cold War, with a £24 billion uplift in cash terms over the four-year period. In March 2023, we also provided an extra £11 billion for defence and national security priorities over the next five years, with £4.95 billion over the next two years.