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 helping support the creation of a defence tech start-up company that could be valued at over $1 billion.

One of the goals set out in the Government's Defence Industrial Strategy is to encourage the growth of the next UK-based defence technology company valued at over US$1 billion, to be achieved through a range of measures that will make defence a more attractive investment for private capital.

Chief amongst these is the development of the Defence Finance and Investment Strategy (DFIS), which will identify barriers to investment in defence, and recommend how these may be overcome to make the defence sector a more attractive investment for private capital.

The Defence Investors Advisory Group has recently been established to help develop the DFIS. This body includes a number of individuals with extensive experience in the financial sector.

The DFIS is due to be published in Spring 2026.