Recommendation 26

We recommend that the Government uses the Defence Finance and Investment Strategy to set out the data it holds and the conclusions it has drawn alongside its approach to resolving the issues with each type of funding difficulty. In the strategy the Government will need to set out how much state intervention it is willing to commit to and for how long. It should accompany the strategy with a timetabled implementation plan, detailing which Department is responsible for each action. As a minimum, the Government ought urgently to create a method of payments services provision in areas where no market participants are willing to provide their services. However, we recommend the Government rapidly conclude and publish its assessment of the viability of creating a defence-specific fund within the British Business Bank and also explore the potential to create other mechanisms. Furthermore, the Government should commit to making the Defence Investors’ Advisory Group available to give evidence to Parliament—whether that be to us, to the Treasury Committee, the Business and Trade Committee or a joint session—once the strategy is published. (Recommendation, Paragraph 100)