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 steps his Department is taking to help support British tech companies to scale up.

One of the top priority outcomes in the Defence Industrial Strategy, published on 8 September 2025, is to put the UK at the leading edge of defence innovation. To support tech companies to scale up we have launched the new UK Defence Innovation (UKDI), supported by a ringfenced annual budget of at least £400 million. UKDI will support and grow the UK technology sector, including improving companies’ access to innovation funding and advice, and drive pace and agility of defence innovation (Section 5.2). In addition, we are also streamlining the regulatory environment to make it fit for the current era of threat, removing barriers limiting faster delivery, scale up and innovation at wartime pace (Section 5.2.4).