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Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 25 March 2025

Debate

Strategic Priorities Statement: Defence

Contribution

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Jackson of Peterborough, for bringing the attention of your Lordships’ House to this issue and once again encouraging me properly to research a subject. On 19 March, the Chancellor wrote to the CEO of the National Wealth Fund to communicate the Government’s strategic priorities for the fund. That latter document on three occasions explicitly identifies defence as a priority under Investment Principle 2. It also goes on to enjoin the CEO to refer, in assigning priorities, to the Government’s industrial strategy Green Paper, which in turn refers to the importance of the UK’s defence sector no fewer than 38 times. The former Conservative Business Secretary, Greg Clark, described that Green Paper as a serious and substantial document and applauded it for singling out eight sectors, including defence, as priorities. Does the Minister agree with me that it is reasonable to expect the CEO of the fund to read beyond the press release and to examine in depth the correspondence and references to which his attention has been drawn?

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