Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role Northern Ireland will play in the implementation of the Strategic Defence Review 2025.

The SDR sets a path for the next decade and beyond to transform Defence and make the UK stronger both at home and abroad. The implementation of the Review’s recommendations will be a whole of UK Defence effort. We will publish a new Defence Investment Plan in the autumn set out our approach in detail.

All nations and regions across the UK play an important role in SDR implementation, driving jobs and prosperity through a new partnership with industry and our commitment to back UK business and use defence spending to grow the UK economy. Faster and more flexible procurement will create more opportunities for innovative businesses of all sizes to invest, grow skills, and put the UK and our Armed Forces at the forefront of civil and military technology.

The Defence dividend will benefit every nation and region in the UK, with Northern Ireland benefitting from, and contributing to, this national effort. We will support localised ecosystems and defence-related industries aligned to our national security priorities. We will work with local and devolved governments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.