Defence Funding

Debate between Lord Dannatt and Lord Kennedy of Southwark

Thursday 17th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Meyer (Con)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, it is the turn of the Cross Benches.

[Lord Dannatt (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that progress towards the 3% and 3.5% targets for defence spending can best be described as glacial? Will he undertake that the Treasury will look at imaginative ways of funding defence, in particular the innovative contribution that small and medium-sized enterprises can make, along with their access to private funding? It does not all have to come from the Treasury.