Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of accessing the European Defence Security Fund on tech companies in Cheltenham.

We welcome European efforts to increase defence spending and provide the critical capability uplift needed by Europe, including the EU’s European Defence Readiness / ReArm initiatives and the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, the EU’s recently adopted €150 billion loan instrument.

On 19 May 2025, the UK and the EU agreed an ambitious new Security and Defence Partnership as part of a wider package of the UK-EU reset. Crucially, the Security and Defence Partnership means the UK now meets the criteria for discussing participation in common procurement under SAFE, which could provide new opportunities for UK companies. Recognising the important role that the UK’s defence industry plays for European security, the UK and the EU have set out our joint ambition to swiftly explore the potential for cooperation under the SAFE mechanism.