Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the criteria used to determine whether parts of the defence industry are classed as essential businesses allowed to remain open during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown restrictions; how many manufacturers of arms and defence equipment continue to operate during that period; and if he will make a statement.

The published guidance on the latest national restrictions in England which came into effect from 5 November 2020 can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november.

The Ministry of Defence continues to remain engaged with defence contractors to ensure that critical defence outputs can be delivered in a Covid-19 secure way.

No central information is held on the number of defence businesses remaining open during the current restrictions.