Committee publication · Correspondence · 4 June 2026

Correspondence from the Chair to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Defence relating to Defence spending and finance, dated 3 June 2026

Summary

The Treasury Committee Chair formally invites the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Defence to give oral evidence on 7 or 8 July 2026 regarding defence spending and finance. The Committee heard expert testimony on the credibility of the Government's 3.5% GDP defence spending commitment by 2035 and Treasury-MOD cooperation on procurement. The Chair expresses concern about delays to the Defence Investment Plan publication and seeks ministerial evidence before the summer recess.

Key findings

The Committee heard expert testimony on whether the Government can credibly meet its 3.5% of GDP defence spending commitment by 2035 and the Treasury's options for facilitating this
Concerns raised about the effectiveness of cooperation between the Treasury and Ministry of Defence, particularly on procurement and international partner coordination
Delays to the Defence Investment Plan publication have raised concerns about the proposed approach and inter-departmental effectiveness
An informal invitation to ministers on 20 April remained without a mutually-agreed date; the Chair now formally invites evidence on 7 or 8 July, before the summer recess and ahead of the NATO Summit in July
The Defence Committee will be invited to send three members as guests to the evidence session

Tone

Procedural

Topics

public-financedefence-spendinggovernment-procurementparliamentary-scrutiny

Key actors

Dame Meg Hillier MP, Rachel Reeves MP, John Healey MP, Treasury Committee, Ministry of Defence, Defence Committee

Notable line

“Given the gap between the rapidity of changes to the geopolitical situation and the pace of policy development I am particularly keen to hear from Ministers before the summer recess.”

Key Quotes

“On behalf of the Treasury Committee I am formally inviting Ministers from your Departments to give oral evidence on defence spending and finance.”
— Dame Meg Hillier MP · Opening of formal invitation

“Given the gap between the rapidity of changes to the geopolitical situation and the pace of policy development I am particularly keen to hear from Ministers before the summer recess.”
— Dame Meg Hillier MP · Justification for urgency of evidence session

“While I recognise that delays to the publication of the Defence Investment Plan may have had an impact on both Departments' willingness to discuss defence spending and finance with my Committee …”
— Dame Meg Hillier MP · Expressing concern about Defence Investment Plan delays

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