Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Size of Armed Forces

Monday 26 June 2023 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government have injected more than 29 billion of additional funding into defence since 2020.
  • The Defence Secretary stated that spend on the Army is 20% higher since he began as Defence Secretary.
  • The Defence Secretary claimed that Labour had hollowed out the armed forces during its term of office.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Emma Lewell Lab South Shields
Defence
Context

Recent statements by NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe and a former Chief of the Defence Staff have raised concerns about Britain's military capability.

Question

What steps he is taking to end the hollowing out of the armed forces. I thank the Secretary of State for that response, but only recently the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe said that Britain is “just holding on” to its status as one of NATO's leading members and that our Army is “too small”. A former Chief of the Defence Staff said that all of our armed forces are too small, with the Army having “significant capability deficiencies”. The Government are failing our forces, are they not?

Answer from Ben Wallace

The Government have injected more than £29 billion of additional funding into defence since 2020, investing in Army modernisation, major platforms such as Type 26, Type 31, Challenger 3 and F-35, and restocking of ammunition to ensure that we reversed the hollowing out of our armed forces that has occurred under successive Governments for the past 30 years.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer avoided addressing the specific concerns raised by NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe and a former Chief of the Defence Staff about Britain's military capability.

How: Hedging Language

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Q2 Emma Lewell Lab South Shields
Defence
Context

A member of the Defence Committee highlights growing threats and concerns about NATO's level of defence spending.

Question

Does the Secretary of State agree that the Treasury's argument for increasing Defence spending to 2.5% of GDP when the economics improve is not only naive but illogical, because our economy and our national security are one and the same thing? We need to invest in our Army, Air Force and Navy now, not when Britain's economy improves.

Answer from Ben Wallace

My right hon. Friend makes an important point about levels of Defence spending. First, spend on the Army is 20% higher since I started as Defence Secretary, and I have made sure that a greater proportion of that spend is on catching up and modernising the armed forces, which had been neglected all the way back to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer provided historical context but did not directly address whether increasing defence spending immediately is necessary.

How: Hedging Language

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Q3 Tobias Ellwood Con
Defence
Context

The Defence Secretary admitted in January that his government had “hollowed out and underfunded” the armed forces, with recent statements from senior military figures agreeing.

Question

Will the Defence Secretary halt this hollowing out in his new Defence Command Paper? Will it be published this month, as he has promised?

Answer from Ben Wallace

Time and again the right hon. Gentleman comes to this House knowing full well that my statements on hollowing out are not about this Government but about successive Governments for the past 30 years. Mr Speaker, I ask you to look at that statement, because it verges on misleading the House.

Not addressed: The answer shifted focus from current government actions to historical context without addressing future commitments or timelines.

How: Blame Shifting

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Q4 John Healey Lab Rawmarsh and Conisbrough
Defence Foreign Affairs
Context

Concerns are raised about Britain's position within NATO and the underfunding of armed forces.

Question

Does he not find it a national embarrassment for Britain to go to next month's NATO summit as one of only five NATO nations that has not rebooted defence plans since President Putin invaded Ukraine?

Answer from Ben Wallace

On that quote, I asked if he would admit that Labour had hollowed out during its term of office. How convenient it is to forget that the whole point is that, in the 30 years following the cold war, successive Governments pushed defence to the side and not to the centre.

Not addressed: The answer focused on past government actions rather than addressing current concerns about Britain's position at NATO.

How: Blame Shifting

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Q5 John Healey Lab Rawmarsh and Conisbrough
Defence
Context

Questions are raised about the effectiveness of Britain's defence procurement system.

Question

In four years he has failed to halt that hollowing out; he has failed to fix the broken procurement system; he has failed to win fresh funding this year, even to cover inflation; and he has failed to stop service morale reaching record lows. Does he not find it a national embarrassment for Britain to go to next month's NATO summit as one of only five NATO nations that has not rebooted defence plans since President Putin invaded Ukraine?

Answer from Ben Wallace

In 2009 under Labour, 15% of armed forces projects were over cost and the average delay was 28%. Now, 4% are over cost and 15% of each project is delayed. We cut the bureaucracy in Defence Equipment and Support from over 27,000 to 11,400. That is value for money.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer provided historical context but did not address current procurement failures or service morale issues.

How: Hedging Language

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