The Minister for Defence Procurement has announced the start of the Defence Industrial Policy Refresh consultation
The Minister for Defence Procurement has today launched a consultation on refreshing Defence Industrial Policy.
The announcement was made at a Defence Growth Partnership Ministerial meeting which was attended by a number of key defence suppliers.
The meeting was co-chaired by Jesse Norman, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Allan Cook Chairman of Atkins. This work is being led by the MOD but is closely aligned with the work on the National Industrial Strategy which BEIS are leading.
As part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (SDSR15), the Government committed to develop a refreshed defence industrial policy. This will make clear that competition remains our preferred approach, delivering value for money and incentivising an innovative and productive industrial base. It will outline the further action we will take to help the UK’s defence and security industries, in particular Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), to grow and compete successfully. The development of this policy is an important contribution to the new National Security Objective to promote our prosperity and is closely linked with other work in the MOD to promote innovation, exports and skills.
Minister for Defence Procurement, Harriett Baldwin said:
I am delighted to be able to formally launch the consultation on refreshing Defence Industrial Policy Refresh. This is a milestone in meeting our SDSR15 commitment and presents a unique opportunity for our defence industry, academics and non-traditional defence suppliers to make a valuable contribution to the continuing development of our Industrial Policy.
I therefore call upon all our stakeholders, particularly SMEs, to engage in the consultation over the next 6 weeks to help us to refine our policy to not only deliver the best equipment for defence at the best value for the tax payer, but to support an innovative, prosperous and internationally competitive defence industry.
Allan Cook, Industry co-chair of the DGP said:
As co-chair of the Defence Growth Partnership - which seeks to develop the UK defence capabilities and increase defence export sales - I welcome today’s launch of the industry consultation on the refresh of defence industrial policy. I would encourage industry of all sizes, non-traditional suppliers and academia to participate in the consultation.
The refresh is an opportunity to help to deliver a vibrant, competitive and successful defence sector in the UK, contributing to the needs of our Armed Forces, allies and partners around the world as well as making a significant contribution to the UK’s prosperity.
The MOD is keen to use this opportunity to reach out to all the members of our defence industry, from large defence suppliers to the smallest SME, and are interested to hear the views of non-traditional suppliers.
Our goal is to make it easier for businesses to work with defence and make defence business more attractive to a wider range of suppliers, which is why this external consultation is so important.
The consultation will run from 22nd November 2016 to January 6th 2017 and can be accessed here