Oral Question·Ministry of Defence
“What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of direct procurement from defence SMEs in the West Midlands.”
Tabled: 28 October 2025Answered: 3 November 2025
Asked by
Sonia Kumar
Labour — Dudley
Answering Minister
the Secretary of State for Defence
Answer from Hansard
The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)
The role of west midlands SMEs in support of our armed forces is vital for our national security. The Ministry of Defence has just published our regional breakdown of defence spending in the west midlands, where we spend £1.7 billion. That is the highest on record, supporting 7,900 jobs, but it is not enough. We will spend an additional £2.5 billion extra with SMEs by 2028, helping to reinforce that defence can be an engine for growth.