Luke Pollard MP welcomes Defence Investment Plan which will strengthen national security, support Plymouth jobs, and transform our Armed Forces
- Big jobs boost for Devonport with millions for the hybrid navy and marine autonomy
- New amphibious ships for the Royal Navy announced
- Submarine recycling announced as part of the Defence Investment Plan.
Luke Pollard MP has welcomed the Defence Investment Plan, describing it as a major step forward in strengthening Britain’s security, supporting service personnel and their families, and creating skilled jobs across the country.
It will be backed by £298 billion of investment across the next four years, including £15bn of additional spending on top of last year’s Spending Review. It will see an increase in defence funding from £54 billion a year under the previous government to almost £80 billion a year by 2029 and will see the UK’s defence spending increase to 2.7% of GDP.
This means the proportion of GDP spent on defence will now be higher than at any time during the last thirty years by the end of this decade and puts the UK on track to meet NATO’s defence spending targets by 2035.
The DIP will deliver a big boost for Devonport with the MOD announcing a £26billion programme for renewal of naval bases – the biggest in 50 years – covering Portsmouth, Faslane and Devonport. A new agreement with the Netherlands to develop amphibious ships for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines was also announced replacing HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark that were tied up by the previous government never to go to sea again. The plan announced today also sees £1.5bn invested in the Hybrid Navy.
The Defence Investment Plan will also support the personnel and military families who sacrifice so much to keep our country safe. It invests £9 billion to improve military housing, after the government improved the worst 1,000 homes ahead of schedule and the next 200 after that. By the end of this decade, 9 in 10 service homes will have been rebuilt or refurbished. Properly funding military housing and supporting the people who serve our country is a moral responsibility, which is why this government has given three inflation-busting pay increases to our Armed Forces as part of the largest pay rise in 20 years totalling 14.1%. Through the Defence Investment Plan, this government will provide better pay, better homes, and better support for military families.
Luke Pollard MP said:
“This is the biggest boost for defence spending in Plymouth in a generation. With rising threats we are investing in Plymouth’s armed forces with millions for the Royal Navy to develop new autonomous and uncrewed vessels. Plymouth was designated as the National Centre for Marine Autonomy last year and this new funding means jobs growth for local autonomy companies and a more lethal Royal Navy.
“After years of campaigning I am also especially pleased that we now have a clear commitment to recycling the old nuclear submarines tied up in Devonport as well as a plan for new amphibious ships to be built with the Netherlands.
“With Plymouth winning a £50m defence growth deal and a £10m Defence Technical Excellence College in the past year we can clearly see a bright future ahead for defence in our city and a Government that is firmly backing our city’s future.”
Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MBE MP said:
“I know first-hand the importance of our armed forces having the kit and technology they need to do the difficult job we ask of them.
“I have secured more money and made different choices for defence. We will now invest £298 billion over the next four years, £15 billion more than last year’s Spending Review settlement. Most of that is extra day-to-day spending for training and improving availability of ships and aircraft, to increase our war-fighting readiness. By choosing to embrace new technology, I am equipping our troops with the autonomous systems which will give them the edge on the battlefield.
“This extra money and these choices send a clear signal to our allies and our adversaries alike: Britain is stepping up on security.”
With the nature of defence changing, as we can see clearly in Ukraine, this plan will give our country on a modern, future-facing outlook. It includes major investment in a new hybrid Royal Navy, combining crewed and uncrewed capabilities. It also confirms new amphibious ships developed in partnership with the Netherlands, significant investment in drones and autonomous systems, and measures to reduce the time between identifying a threat and taking action through the use of artificial intelligence.
The Defence Investment Plan includes more than £5 billion for drones and autonomous capabilities, representing the largest investment of its kind in the UK’s history. It commits £8.6 billion for the Global Combat Air Programme with Japan and Italy and £1.1 billion to upgrade the RAF’s Typhoon fleet. The plan also commits £26 billion to upgrading naval bases, including here in Devonport.
The government recognises that the threats we face are changing. That is why this plan invests £400 million to protect vital undersea cables and pipelines which are increasingly being targeted by Russian ships, and a combined £215 million to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in defence while strengthening resilience against AI-enabled threats. The government has also committed to building at least six new energetics factories by 2030.
This is on top of modernising our technology, making progress on submarine recycling and investing in new capabilities. This follows longstanding campaigning from Luke Pollard MP on submarine recycling, which you can read more about here. In doing this, valuable dock space in Devonport is made available, maximising space to support the future fleet and enhancing opportunities for Plymouth.