Defence Investment Plan welcome but questions remain, says Prospect

The government has finally published its long-delayed Defence Investment Plan, which promises an extra £15bn for new equipment and technology, however, many questions remain on key issues such as jobs, exports and skills, says Prospect.

Outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the DIP in a major speech today at defence contractor, Malloy Aeronautics, outlining the £298bn investment across the next four years, including £15bn of additional spending on top of last year’s Spending Review.

The government claims that the plan will create nearly 60,000 extra direct and indirect UK industry jobs by the end of the decade, taking total defence jobs in the UK to more than half a million.

The Ministry of Defence has already said that the DIP will help to fund new warships, high speed boats and drones.

Mike Clancy, Prospect General Secretary, responding to the Defence Investment Plan, said:

“The Defence Investment Plan is long overdue and while its publication is welcome, it is highly likely the new Prime Minister will need to revisit it in the coming years, given the growing threats the UK faces.

“The Government must set out how its plans for the Royal Navy will sustain jobs, exports, and the skills needed to build complex warships across all our existing shipyards in the longer term.

“Civilian civil servants in the Ministry of Defence and its agencies underpin every aspect of this programme. Further cuts to a demoralised workforce will do nothing to improve procurement, support defence research or sustain the nuclear deterrent.

“Industry has been calling out for certainty, and we at least do now have a DIP but there are many questions still to be answered.”