Defence Secretary to face questions on Spring Budget

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• Inquiry: One-off session with the Secretary of State for Defence
• Defence Committee

The Committee is likely to question the Secretary of State about the funding and readiness of the UK’s Armed Forces, in light of his comment that the UK is moving from a ‘post-war’ to a ‘pre-war’ world. The session will explore whether the current defence budget is sufficient given the level of global threats to UK interests, the budgetary impact of the Spring statement on military capability, and warfighting readiness in terms of personnel numbers, the UK’s industrial base and the National Defence Plan. Questions are likely to cover uncertainty over the time scale for meeting the target of 2.5% of GDP on defence, the future of military aid to Ukraine and plans to improve recruitment and retention.  

Chair's comment

Chair of the Defence Committee, Sir Jeremy Quin MP, said:

“We look forward to discussing the current trajectory for investment in our Armed Forces. This is in the context of the Committee’s recent report ‘Ready for War?’ and the Defence Secretary’s concern that we are in a ‘pre-war’ world.”

Witness

Tuesday 26 March

At 3.15pm

• The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP – Secretary of State for Defence

• David Williams CB, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence 

• Tom Wipperman, Strategic Finance Director, Ministry of Defence

Further information

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