Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase British SME participation in defence procurement.

The department is taking a range of steps to increase SME participation in defence procurement. These include establishing the Defence Office for Small Business Growth to provide dedicated support to SMEs, improving guidance and engagement with Defence, introducing an anonymous reporting mechanism for barriers and poor behaviours, simplifying processes and developing a comprehensive SME Action Plan to address barriers to entry and growth. Defence has also committed to increasing spending with SMEs by an additional £2.5 billion by 2028 and is working to strengthen SME participation across the wider defence supply chain.