Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria his Department used to select Plymouth and South Yorkshire as the initial locations for Defence Growth Deals.

The five Defence Growth Deals announced on 8 September 2025 by the Secretary of State for Defence covering Plymouth, South Yorkshire, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were assessed using a criteria that looked at the Defence Industrial Base and Ecosystem, the area’s strategic importance to defence, including strengths in specific D Industrial Strategy sub-sectors. It looked at Strategic Location and alignment with existing HMG regional growth initiatives. Finally it looked at Growth Potential such as measures to boost local productivity (e.g., training, R&D) and the overall labour market.