Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether fiscal rules or defence priorities determined that more than 90 per cent of the expenditure transferred to defence from overseas development assistance is allocated to capital expenditure; and how this allocation correlates to the 35 per cent of defence expenditure currently allocated to capital spending.

The Chancellor’s Spring Statement document, published on 26 March, set out the Resource DEL and Capital DEL uplifts to defence spending over the scorecard period.

A greater proportion of the uplift will be Capital DEL funding. This reflects the needs of defence, and will enable the accelerated adoption of cutting-edge capabilities, and rebuild stockpiles, munitions, and other essentials depleted after a period focussed on international terrorism and global crises. This Capital DEL focus also supports the Chancellor’s mission to boost growth, enabling greater spending on novel and innovative technologies.

The allocation of this uplift and the MOD budget will be confirmed as part of the Spending Review 2025, which will conclude on 11 June 2025.