Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

NATO Defence Spending Target

Monday 8 September 2025 · 6 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 6 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The investment in Diego Garcia is a significant part of the defence and intelligence partnership with the United States.
  • The cost of the settlement with Mauritius for Diego Garcia is split between the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
  • NATO has expanded to 32 nations since the invasion of Ukraine, strengthening the alliance's response to Russian aggression.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Gagan Mohindra Con South West Hertfordshire
Defence
Context

The NATO target for defence spending is to reach 5% of GDP by 2035. Mr Mohindra raises concerns about a Bill that will vote on giving up sovereignty of the military base in Diego Garcia.

Question

Tomorrow we will vote on a Bill that shamefully gives up the sovereignty of our military base in Diego Garcia. Given the commitment to spend more on defence, will the Secretary of State confirm if the money spent on Chagos will be included in our declared NATO spend?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)

The investment in Diego Garcia is a great investment in the defence and intelligence partnership with the United States. Together, we do things from Diego Garcia that cannot be done elsewhere; we do things together that we do not do with other nations. The deal is worth less than 0.2% of the annual defence budget. For defence, our commitment is less than 0.2% of the defence budget. That is a good investment for this country, and it gives us a sovereign right to operate that base with the Americans for the next 99 years.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not directly confirm if money spent on Diego Garcia will be included in NATO spend calculations.

How: Changed Subject

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Q2 Callum Anderson Lab Buckingham and Bletchley
Defence
Context

The UK has committed to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 as per the NATO target.

Question

Britain’s commitment to the 5% NATO target clearly sends a strong signal of our resolve, but that pledge must command public confidence that the money will be spent wisely. Can the Secretary of State provide more detail on how he is working with the Treasury, the Cabinet Office and others to ensure that every additional pound of public investment in defence delivers value for money for the taxpayer?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)

My hon. Friend is right. This is about not just how much the Government spend, but how well they spend. Mr Speaker, you will remember that under the previous Government, the Public Accounts Committee branded our defence procurement system as “broken”. We are reforming procurement, and that will be part of the statement this afternoon on the defence industrial strategy by my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard). At the heart of this, we made a commitment to the British people at the last election that we would raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, and we are doing that three years early.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific details on working with Treasury/Cabinet Office for efficient use of funds.

How: Changed Subject

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Q3 Julian Lewis Con New Forest East
Defence
Context

The cost allocation for maintaining the military base in Diego Garcia has been a point of contention.

Question

The Defence Secretary says that the Chagos giveaway will amount to no more than 0.2% of our defence budget. Does that not suggest the cost of the Chagos giveaway will in fact come out of the defence budget?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)

On the contrary, both the Foreign Secretary and I have been consistent that, taken across the range, the cost of the settlement with Mauritius for Diego Garcia is split between the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. For defence, our commitment is less than 0.2% of the defence budget.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not directly confirm if costs come out of the defence budget; stated they are split between departments.

How: Ambiguous Response

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Q4 Luke Akehurst Lab North Durham
Ukraine Defence
Context

NATO has committed to increasing national security spending to 5% by 2035 as a response to growing threats.

Question

I welcome the leadership displayed by the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary and our commitment to the historic 5% pledge. What steps will NATO take to further strengthen our response to growing Russian aggression?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)

The response of NATO has produced results exactly to the contrary of those President Putin would have wanted when he invaded Ukraine three-and-a-half years ago. NATO is now bigger; it is 32 nations strong. The commitment that all 32 nations made in the June summit to increase national security spending to 5% by 2035 is a strong deterrent message to Putin, Russia and other adversaries, and it will make NATO bigger and stronger in order to deter in the years ahead.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific details on future steps; focused more on current achievements.

How: Changed Subject

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Q5 James Cartlidge Con South Suffolk
Defence
Context

The UK aims to spend 3% of GDP on defence during the next Parliament.

Question

On defence spending, can the Secretary of State confirm what percentage of GDP will be used to set the cost envelope for the defence investment plan?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)

When we settle our defence investment plan and produce our annual report and accounts, the data that the hon. Gentleman seeks will be set out clearly and in the customary way to this House.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific percentage; stated details will be provided in reports.

How: Deferred Response

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Q6 James Cartlidge Con South Suffolk
Defence
Context

The UK aims to spend 3% of GDP on defence during the next Parliament.

Question

Interestingly, the answer is not 3.5%, it is not 3%, and it is not even 2.6%—those are the figures we declare to NATO; they are not from the Ministry of Defence budget. As the then armed forces Minister, the hon. Member for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, confirmed to me last week in a written answer, the amount we will spend on the defence investment plan comes entirely from the MOD’s departmental budget. Therefore, the actual figure for funding our future defence equipment is just 2.2% by 2027, with no funded plans to go any higher. Given the threats we face, is 2.2% enough?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the defence investment plan will be funded from the defence budget. That is exactly what will happen. It will be funded and supported by the record increase in defence spending since the end of the cold war—by the £5 billion extra in this year’s Budget—with an aim to spend 3% of GDP on defence during the next Parliament.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not address whether 2.2% is enough; focused on future commitments instead.

How: Changed Subject

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