The Ministry of Defence has outlined steps to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises in the defence sector, amid concerns over how procurement rules affect bank lending.
Responding to a written question from Conservative MP Mike Wood, Defence Minister Luke Pollard did not directly assess the impact of procurement policy on lending, but pointed to a series of initiatives aimed at improving SME access to contracts and investment.
“The Government is committed to making SMEs a national priority, ensuring they have a fair opportunity to win public contracts and setting ambitious SME spend targets,” he said.
Pollard highlighted that 84% of the MOD’s annual spend now goes to British companies, alongside a commitment to increase direct spending with SMEs by £2.5 billion by May 2028.
A new Defence Office for Small Business Growth has also been established to help firms access contracts and integrate into defence supply chains.
Alongside this, the MOD is developing a dedicated Defence Finance and Investment Strategy, supported by a Defence Investors’ Advisory Group bringing together expertise from banking and private capital to address barriers to funding.
Well you would certainly get things done and built a lot quicker if you let smaller companies have a larger share of the pie.
Can’t let BAE do everything now can we
I have dealt with the MOD in the past. It takes weeks of endless paperwork to make a decision that a private client would do by email in a couple of days.
Perhaps we need to do what the Ukrainians have done to help their frontline get what they need
Create a shop where you can buy whatever you need, from whoever the supplier is, and get those small companies \ groups promoted better
Click and collect🤔👀 Shop > Brigade > Battalion (etc) > Frontline
Cut out the middle man as much as possible
The guys in the Brigade I help fundraise for know what they need, how much it costs, we just raise the ££ to take the pressure off, they have it on order, it arrives, see the paperwork, we get a picture\video sometimes of them using said product, for example, last week an ECOFLOW to replace one damaged by their position being hit
Our armed forces need to be able to do the same
All these British SME’s out there just get overlooked, and that needs to change
Give them the financial help and get them seen 💯