Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential role Northern Ireland-based industries might play in helping support the UK’s nuclear (a) deterrent and (b) wider defence supply chains.

Northern Ireland plays a crucial role in the defence of the United Kingdom, with a defence industrial base that is at the forefront of advanced manufacturing and our enduring support to Ukraine.

The UK Government will set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy how we will make defence an engine for growth, ensuring that our defence spending boosts prosperity, jobs and security for working people across all the nations and regions of the UK, including in Northern Ireland.