Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that pension funds have chosen not to categorise investments in defence companies as ethical.

We are rightly proud of our world-leading defence industry and recognise the vital role it will play in rising to the challenge of our more dangerous and contested world. The Defence Industrial Strategy Statement of Intent, published in December last year, identified the ‘crowding-in’ of private sector investment as critical to the Government’s agenda to grow our economy and strengthen our nation’s defences. We continue to explore how we can create the conditions needed for the private sector to invest more, and proactively, in Defence, consulting with a wide range of defence and financial services stakeholders.