Procurement: Dudley
Monday, 19 October 2026
Contributions
Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)Labour
9. What steps he is taking to support defence procurement companies in Dudley.
The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)Labour (Co-op)
Thanks to our growing defence budget, last year we spent £1.8 billion in the west midlands, benefiting not just west midlands businesses but those in my hon. Friend’s constituency. That is an increase of 3% on last year. I am keen to visit Dudley to see some of the businesses that I know she has been championing so consistently in Defence questions, but also in between in our many frequent conversations. I know that we are looking to spend more with UK businesses, and that includes ones in her constituency.
I wholeheartedly support the Government’s ambition to buy British, and there should be no difference in defence. I take this opportunity to thank the Minister for his defence roundtable being held in Dudley later this year. Can my hon. Friend outline what proactive work has been done to make new small and medium-sized enterprise supply chains in Dudley and outline how industrial bases such as the Pensnett estate in Dudley are well placed to benefit from future defence investment and procurement opportunities?
I thank my hon. Friend for that work. She will know that we have stood up the Defence Office for Small Business Growth, which is a dedicated front door for small businesses to access and navigate the defence procurement process and speed up security clearances and cyber essentials. She will also know that many companies that could benefit from it may not classify themselves as defence businesses; they may be a provider of a service or component that could make a big difference to defence as well. I look forward to making the case to her businesses that there is an easier way now to contract with defence which I hope will create more opportunities for those in the west midlands.
Mr SpeakerSpeaker
I call the shadow Minister. Welcome.
Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)Conservative
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Boxer is vital to defence procurement across the west midlands, including for those constituents in Dudley who work at Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land. The MOD has now confirmed that earlier this year it cut nearly £2 billion from the £7 billion allocated to the mechanised infantry programme—a cut that included three new variants for the Army, including the critical repair and recovery variant. What will the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers light aid detachments be equipped with, given that there is no longer a plan to procure those vehicles, and how will the Army repair and recover damaged Boxer vehicles without a repair and recovery variant?
I welcome the hon. Gentleman to the Dispatch Box. I am sure there will be no shortage of parliamentary questions from him—indeed, this relates to a question he asked about Boxer to which I have already replied. We look at the criteria for what we need to buy for our armed forces, and that includes looking at the Boxer programme. The Boxer programme is incredibly successful for KNDS and RBSL. We are looking at the variants required to ensure it is appropriate for the modern fight and armed forces, and we are prioritising spend against those capabilities as recommended by the Army. I am more than happy to have a further conversation with the hon. Gentleman and Members with Boxer-producing constituencies. Boxer is a real success story, and I want to continue delivering more Boxer capabilities.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5419475.