Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the commitments made in his Department's Opportunity and Innovation: The Defence Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Action Plan published on 27 January 2022, whether his Department has run a competition for SMEs to bid for Defence Innovation Loans since January 2022.

The Defence and Security Accelerator and Innovate UK launched Defence Innovation Loans in June 2021 to help small and medium enterprises convert their mature defence innovation into a strong business proposition for defence procurement.

Defence Innovation Loans are open for proposals all year round. The competition is currently continuously open, meaning proposals will be assessed when submitted.