Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the pres notice entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 9 July 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK-based defence supply chain SMEs are able to bid for contracts in relation to the UK-France missile co-operation agreement.

Due to the nature of these procurements a number of exemptions from the procurement regulations will be applied, meaning that associated opportunities will be restricted, with a number of contracts being awarded single source.

That said UK based companies within the Storm Shadow supply chain, stand to benefit from this new agreement.

The Government’s forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will continue to examine how best to prioritise and promote UK based businesses across current and future Defence capabilities.