Reacting to the release of the Defence Investment Plan, Kate Shoesmith, Director of Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“The release of this spending plan is long overdue. Businesses have been patiently waiting to get a better understanding of the government’s priorities and how these dovetail with long-term procurement and supply chain resilience policies.
“National security and economic security must go hand in hand. Boosting defence manufacturing and exports have to be key goals for the next decade and beyond.
“This includes protecting access to steel. It is imperative the government keeps its quota and tariff plans under review as these could still harm defence firms in downstream sectors including engineering and manufacturing.
“It’s equally important that funding any uplift in defence spending is not done at the expense of other strategically important initiatives on energy, regional growth and infrastructure investment.
“But the prize here is significant. In 2023, UK defence exports surged by 29% on the previous year, and 49% of these overseas sales went to the EU.
“Raising these metrics further would give the UK economy a welcome boost, so the new Defence Exports Facility, underpinned by a £50bn uplift in UK Export Finance, should be applauded.
“To maximise the economic benefits, we must also increase the number of SMEs that can competitively bid for contracts through simplified procurement rules and better supply chain connectivity.
“Alongside the investment plan, the UK must also seek to benefit from wider access to defence initiatives involving our allies, including the EU, US, NATO and Australia.
“While it may now be too late to access the EU’s current Security Action For Europe (SAFE) initiative, the government should make sure it does not miss out on other opportunities with the EU and individual countries.”
More detail on the Defence Investment Plan can be found here.