Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the £16.5 billion increase in defence spending is to be allocated to fill existing gaps in the defence budget.

The Ministry of Defence secured £16.5 billion additional funding in the 2020 Spending Review. While this will help address existing pressures, we will still need to make changes and take difficult decisions to ensure financial sustainability and adapt to current and future conflict. We will decide on the allocation of the settlement funding as part of our normal Departmental financial planning and budgeting process. The financial settlement, alongside the Integrated Review, will allow Defence to meet its priorities and commitments on a sustainable basis.