The Ministry of Defence has said it is working flat out to publish its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan, claiming that major capability programmes are being managed to avoid unnecessary delay.
In a series of written parliamentary answers, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the department continues to oversee programmes including the Global Combat Air Programme, artillery modernisation, uncrewed systems and directed energy weapons while the plan is finalised. He described the Defence Investment Plan as the first comprehensive review of defence programmes in 18 years and said it is backed by the government’s largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, with £270 billion committed during this Parliament.
Pollard stated that Defence is continuing to manage its capabilities to ensure they are not “unnecessarily impacted or delayed” while the plan is developed, adding that it would be published “as soon as possible”.
However, the extended timetable has prompted concern across parts of the defence industrial base, with industry bodies and trade unions warning that prolonged uncertainty risks affecting investment decisions and workforce planning.
Unite the union has argued that delays to the Defence Investment Plan are creating instability for manufacturers and suppliers, particularly those supporting complex long-term programmes. The union has warned that without a clear investment signal from government, companies may struggle to justify capital investment, retain specialist skills or plan future recruitment in areas such as aerospace, land systems and advanced manufacturing.
Industry has also pointed to the absence of firm programme direction as a challenge for long-lead procurement and supply chain readiness. Some firms have privately raised concerns that uncertainty around future funding profiles makes it harder to commit to expanding production capacity or sustaining skilled workforces, particularly where programmes rely on consistent demand over many years.
Has anyone said why the DIP has been delayed seemingly by at least 4 months? Is it because of the Ajax fiasco or has it anything to do with CDS effectively saying he needs another £28bn to deliver current programme and that future programme outlined by SDR?
The AJAX fiasco is just an excuse for delaying DIP.
It could be left to one side with a conditional caveat.
The real issue is that the left of the Labour Party will go nuts at the cuts required to fund the necessary increases. The AJAX fiasco plays into theirs and Treasury hands with the usual Treasury ditty that most of the money given to MoD is wasted – we all know that the vast majority is very well spent. In fact proportionally far better spent than money to NHS – there the wastage on failed projects is unbelievable and most of them just continue to be funded rather than cut.
The rumour mill has it down to an unwillingness by the government to cough up the money that a reasonable Defence Investment Plan requires, which seems plausible given how wedded it is to escalating spending in other areas. But who knows?
Unfortunately Starmer is up against a rock and a hard place.
They need to get spending to 3% now, we know that, they know that, but he can’t, because his back benches will block any raids on the vast and bloated welfare budget..
He’s a rabbit caught in the headlights, does he go head to head with the left, or attack middle England again??
So the DIP is continually kicked down the road until somone makes a decision….