Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an estimate of the value of UK defence exports that could be supported through programmes developed under the Multilateral Defence Mechanism.

The Ministry of Defence is working closely with HM Treasury and with Finland, Netherlands, Poland and other like-minded NATO allies on the establishment of a Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM). The Defence Investment Plan includes £400 million towards the UK’s contribution to the MDM.

This independent international financial institution will address our collective challenges in defence procurement by aggregating demand through procurement to achieve better value for money. It will lend to members for joint procurement, stockpiling on members' behalf, and supply chain finance. This mechanism will help member countries improve capability, interoperability and value for money, while giving industry greater demand certainty.

Work is underway to further progress the MDM which would include building on technical development and move to the next phase of mechanism design and development.