Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 28 on page 64 of his Department's Defence Investment Plan, published 30 June 2026, what steps he is taking to secure sovereign supply chains.

The Ministry of Defence routinely assesses the security of sovereign defence supply chains as a core component of warfighting readiness, operational preparedness, and national security. Through risk assessments, real-time supply chain mapping, horizon scanning, exercising and scenario-based testing, Defence identifies vulnerabilities and implements mitigations to strengthen the resilience of sovereign supply chains against disruption.

Through the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme and the Industrial Resilience Programme, Defence is working with industry and allies to strengthen critical supply chains, improving the ability of industry to rapidly scale and surge production in response to emerging threats, and ensure the availability of priority materiel in the event of crisis or conflict. The Ministry of Defence is also working with Government departments, allies and partners to secure access to critical technologies and minerals essential to Defence capability.