Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Defence Research and Development: Funding

Monday 14 October 2024 · 3 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

  • Defence R&D is critical for maintaining operational advantage.
  • The Government is committed to reaching 2.5% of GDP on defence but has not specified the timeline.
  • Steps are being taken to learn from Ukrainian innovations to develop shared collaborative capabilities.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 David Reed Con Exmouth and Exeter East
Defence Science & Technology
Context

Defence R&D is critical for maintaining military advantage. The questioner notes the importance of domestic capability in developing frontier technologies like AI.

Question

What plans does he have for future levels of spending on defence research and development? Frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence are already shaping every domain across the modern battlefield. To stay ahead of our adversaries, it is imperative that we have the ability to develop these technologies domestically. As supercomputing is essential for AI system development, the Labour Government's cancellation of an £800 million exascale supercomputing project at the University of Edinburgh was disappointing. The Minister understands the need to invest in AI for defence. Will he inform the House how the Department intends to create these technologies?

Answer from Luke Pollard

Defence R&D is critical for maximising operational advantage. The new Government sees AI as important across technology domains. The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology leads related work in his Department. AI technologies are being considered within the strategic defence review to upscale innovative UK work and provide skills and supply chain support.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about creating these technologies was not directly addressed with concrete steps or commitments.

How: Ai Is Important, Work Is Ongoing

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Q2 David Reed Con Exmouth and Exeter East
Defence Science & Technology
Context

Ministers repeatedly state commitment to a 2.5% of GDP defence spending target, but have not specified timelines or ruled out potential R&D cuts.

Question

Ministers are committed to reaching 2.5% of GDP on defence, but do not specify when this will happen. There are reports of potential cuts in R&D programmes. Will the Minister rule out cuts to R&D and science spending for this financial year and next?

Answer from Luke Pollard

The Government is committed to 2.5% of GDP on defence. The exact timeline will be announced at a future fiscal event. The Opposition should apologise for economic issues left behind.

Partly answered

Not addressed: While the commitment to 2.5% was restated, there were no concrete assurances or timelines regarding R&D and science spending cuts.

How: Commitment Is Clear, Opposition Should Apologise

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Q3 Danny Kruger Reform East Wiltshire
Ukraine Science & Technology
Context

The question follows comments on Alex Salmond's passing. It focuses on research collaboration to enhance both countries' security through innovative battlefield technologies.

Question

May I concur with your comments about the late Alex Salmond, Mr Speaker? The exchange of R&D between Ukraine and the UK is vital for improving security in both nations. What steps is the Department taking to learn from Ukrainian innovations to develop shared collaborative capabilities?

Answer from Luke Pollard

The hon. Lady was appointed as a shadow spokesperson. The delegation visited Ukraine, focusing on learning from battlefield experience and investing in supply chains both in the UK and Ukraine. Work is ongoing but more needs to be done to defeat Putin's illegal invasion.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific steps of collaboration were not detailed; instead general statements about work and delegations were provided.

How: Work Is Ongoing, Accelerating Tech Provision

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