Source · Select Committees · National Security Strategy (Joint Committee)
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Hitting the target to spend 1.5% of GDP on resilience and security by 2027 will...
Conclusion
Hitting the target to spend 1.5% of GDP on resilience and security by 2027 will be a limited achievement if it does not create any additional resilience capability for the UK beyond what was already allocated in the 2025 Spending Review. We appreciate that the 1.5% target is still new, but a long-term lack of clarity over what will be included within the target creates uncertainty for private and public bodies involved in resilience planning. (Conclusion, Paragraph 46) 62
Government Response Summary
The government explains that NATO has agreed on the definition of the 1.5% spending target for resilience and security, addressing the lack of clarity. They expect to meet the target by 2027 and will report spending lines to NATO shortly.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
NATO has already agreed the definition of 1.5% as spending to protect critical infrastructure, defend networks, ensure civil preparedness and resilience, innovate, and strengthen the defence industrial base. We have long argued that investment in areas like energy security is vital to national security. That is reflected in our National Security Strategy, Resilience Action Plan and in our Spending Review settlement and we are pleased it is now recognised by NATO. We expect we will reach the 1.5% target by 2027 and will report our spending lines to NATO shortly. As with many national security capabilities we would expect this to be a combination of both capital and non-capital spending.