Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 22
32nd Report - The Future of the Equipment Plan
Published 20 Jun 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee The Future of the Equipment Plan All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
At our evidence session the Department had reiterated the importance of NATO to its strategic outlook and noted that one theme of the SDR’s terms of reference is thinking ‘NATO-first’, when considering policy, capability requirements and procurement .43 The Department said that NATO is now stronger following recent geopolitical developments: its membership has increased to 32 with the addition of Finland and Sweden; it is refreshing its operational plans so that they are in a better state, with member nations knowing how they best fit in and what capabilities are required; and total NATO defence spending has increased enormously, predominantly through European countries.44 One area of renewed emphasis is on NATO’s planning, meaning that the 32 nations can operate collectively, with each knowing its place in NATO’s war plans. NATO is also reemphasising the importance of standardisation and the interoperability of equipment between members, which the conference of national armaments directors is working to address.45 41 Q 4; Ministry of Defence, Strategic Defence Review 2024–2025: Terms of Reference, 17 July 2024 42 Q 6 43 Qq 26 and 41 44 Qq 23 - 26 45 Q 26 14
From: Public Accounts Committee, 32nd Report - The Future of the Equipment Plan (HC 716), 20 June 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-second Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 20 August 2025).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-second report from Session 2024-26
Published 16 September 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with five of the Committee's recommendations on Ukraine support, procurement reform, the Strategic Defence Review and annual reporting, and disagrees with the recommendation on detailed Defence Nuclear Enterprise cost reporting in the annual update.
- On Ukraine, the government agrees with the recommendation and states that the department will support Ukraine "for as long as it takes", expecting to provide £4.5 billion in capability support this financial year.
- It agrees to update the Committee by June 2026 on procurement lessons from Ukraine and on how procurement has improved under the National Armaments Director Group, with a target to agree key performance indicators "within the next three months".
- It agrees to turn the Strategic Defence Review into a Defence Investment Plan, to be published in the autumn, which the department "will ensure" is affordable, and says it will provide updates "as requested by the Committee".
- It disagrees on Defence Nuclear Enterprise reporting, saying it is "better" to provide the financial information within wider MOD financial reporting, and is "continuing to consider" an earlier proposal for a new scrutiny committee.