Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, if he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of the increase in defence spending for financial year (a) 2024-25, (b) 2025-26 and (c) 2026-27.

The announced pathway to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027 has not changed the Ministry of Defence's budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26 as set out in the Autumn Budget.

His Majesty's Treasury is currently undertaking the second phase of the Spending Review, which will be announced on 11 June 2025. This will set Departmental budgets for three years from 2026-27 for RDEL and four years for CDEL.

The 2.5% commitment will be funded by reductions in ODA to 0.3% of GNI from 2026-27 onwards and does not require the Government to change the spending envelope.