Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of inflation on capital procurement programmes over the last five years.

The Ministry of Defence prepares its cost forecasts with inflation estimates included. However, the higher levels of inflation experienced following Covid-19 and the start of Russia's war against Ukraine has increased costs to Defence, as inflation increased above the levels anticipated by previous forecasts.

In 2022, under the last Government, the Department published an evidence paper on the 'Drivers of Defence Cost Inflation', which is available online.