Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve skills in the defence workforce.

As the War in Ukraine has proven, we are only as strong as the industry behind it. That is why the Defence Investment Plan reaffirms our £182 million commitment to enhancing defence industry skills across the UK.

As part of that, we are launching Defence Technical Excellence Colleges across the country, including Weston College in the South West, providing more funding to universities and colleges to increase capacity on defence-focused Higher Education courses; and supporting mid-career professionals to reskill and upskill.