Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a proportion of the additional £2.2 billion announced in the Spending Round 2019 for the armed forces can be allocated towards increasing the headcount of procurement-related civil servants and support services.

This additional funding will enable our world-class Armed Forces to begin to modernise and meet the intensifying threats and risks we now face, including prioritising investment in key capabilities such as shipbuilding, offensive cyber and the nuclear deterrent. We will decide on the allocation of this funding as part of our normal financial planning and budgeting process.