Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 41 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what recent progress he has made in halving the gap with US venture capital funding into defence.

The Defence Finance and Investment Strategy announced in the Defence Industrial Strategy and at the Defence Investment Summit is under development and due to be published in early 2026. It will look at the entire spectrum of defence companies, from start-ups through to primes, and provide recommendations to the Defence Secretary on how barriers to investment in defence can be removed while making the sector more attractive for private investment, including venture capital, private equity and pension funds.

Development of the strategy is supported by a new Defence Investors’ Advisory Group who will bring their industry expertise to our central mission to boost high-growth, high-tech companies of the future and build the next unicorn defence company in the UK.