The House of Commons will hold a debate on
Wednesday 25th
June at approx. 3pm on the Ministry of Defence's
(MoD) spending plans, led by the Chair and members of the Public
Accounts Committee (PAC).
The government aims to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP
by 2026/27. There are plans to increase the MoD's expenditure
within 2024-25 by a total of around £1.35bn compared to initial
budgets, with the 2025-26 budget allocation likely to increase
still further. Given the MoD's stewardship over such large sums,
it is concerning that the PAC has reported on problems with
procurement, inventory management, and digital projects.
The debate will focus in particular on the remit of the new MoD
role of National Armaments Director. The PAC found in 2021 that the defence
procurement system was “broken,” following which the MoD created
this new role as part of the biggest reforms in fifty years. The
government aims for the role “to ensure the armed forces are
properly equipped to defend Britain, to build up the British
defence industry and to crack down on waste.”
The PAC also recently published its report on the future of the Equipment
Plan, which will inform the debate. The report warns that
defence scrutiny remains obstructed with the continued lack of a
public Plan, which unacceptably MoD has now refused to publish
since November '22. It also raises concerns at the rising cost of
the Defence Nuclear Enterprise, and lays out the lessons learned
from the MoD's support for Ukraine, of which it can be rightfully
proud.
The debate will take place on one of the House's Estimates Days, in which
public spending by government departments are considered.
Notes to Editors:
The PAC's June 2025 report on the
future of the Equipment Plan warned that the public still lacks a
reliable assessment of whether government's defence spending
plans are affordable.
The PAC's January 2024 report on
improving defence inventory management found that the MoD did not
have the powers to deal with the fragmentation of its inventory
management.
The PAC's January 2024 report on the
Equipment Plan 2023-33 found no credible government plan to
deliver desired military capabilities.
The PAC's April 2023 report on the
Equipment Plan 2022-23 questioned whether the military could
afford its equipment plan.
The PAC's February 2023 report on the defence
digital strategy said that the MoD had to fundamentally change
the way it operated to implement its new digital strategy at the
necessary pace and scale.
