Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 21 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what the nature is of the support he plans to provide to businesses.

This Defence Industrial Strategy (published on 8 September 2025) emphasises the importance of supporting UK-based businesses, to build a thriving, resilient and competitive UK industrial base. The nature of the support we are providing UK-based businesses is set out in Section 4 and includes a comprehensive review of defence contracting, establishing a new Defence Office for Small Business Growth and dedicated SME Commercial pathway, and transforming the way we export through the new Office for Defence Exports and new Government-to-Government exports offer. There are further measures throughout the strategy to create the business environment needed to the UK defence industry to thrive and grow in priority areas.