Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure greater parliamentary scrutiny of the financial position of the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

AWE’s financial position is subject to regular parliamentary scrutiny through both the Ministry of Defence and AWE Annual Report and Accounts. These reports are laid in Parliament annually and independently audited by the National Audit Office (NAO), enabling Parliament to scrutinise AWE’s financial performance, risks, liabilities, and stewardship of public funds.

Subject to the approval of the House of Commons, the Government will also establish a new Commons-only Committee to scrutinise Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) expenditure and programmes. The Committee will have a tightly focused remit and will consider relevant NAO reports on DNE expenditure and programmes.