Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage innovation by defence suppliers.

This Government announced a step change in our approach to innovation in the Strategic Defence and Security Review. We are developing plans to work with existing defence and non-traditional defence contractors, as well as international partners, to develop new technologies and innovations to stay ahead of our adversaries as technological advance becomes more widely accessible.

We have also refreshed our policy to help small and medium enterprises as vital defence innovators, and we invest 1.2% of a growing defence budget in scienece and technology.