Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 908304 on Defence: Small Business, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access of defence industry SMEs to finance; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance considerations and climate change requirements on the trends in the level of debanking and reduced access to finance for such SMEs.

As set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy, the Defence Finance and Investment Strategy (DFIS) is set to be published in early 2026. The DFIS will address barriers to financing and investment in the sector – including supporting businesses access finance, in partnership with public financial institutions and private capital. To inform the DFIS, we have held working sessions on debanking and on Environmental, Social, and Governance considerations, working with regulators, industry, the financial sector and other government departments.