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, whether the Strategic Defence Review will report based on a cost envelope of 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence expenditure.

The conclusion of the Strategic Defence Review regarding the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK Defence to meet the challenges, threats, and opportunities of the twenty first century must be deliverable and affordable within the resources available to Defence. This takes account of the commitment to increase spending on defence to 2.5% of GDP, which is included in the Terms of Reference of the Review, and the ambition to reach 3% of GDP in the next Parliament, as economic and fiscal conditions allow.