Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is using external (a) consultants and (b) experts for the development of Defence Design.

Defence Design is led and directed by the Ministry of Defence. External consultants are supporting Defence Design providing specialist support in areas such as operating system design and change. We are taking a collaborative approach meaning we are engaging with a broad spectrum of experts and colleagues from across Defence, wider Government, industry and academia.