Written question asked by James Cartlidge (Conservative) on Monday, 27 October 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 29 October 2025. It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Tuesday, 4 November 2025 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Defence: Contracts

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Government launches Back British industry call to action to boost UK jobs, businesses and skills, published on 23 October 2025, what the minimum number of UK based jobs is that the winning international partner of a UK defence contract will be required to provide.

Answer: As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy's commitment to backing British businesses, we launched a public consultation on a possible UK offset policy on 23 October. The consultation seeks input on key principles for implementation, including exploring effective ways of applying offset requirements to defence procurement contracts to deliver jobs. It is essential that any offset policy is explored and developed in partnership with the defence sector so we should not pre-empt the outcome of this consultation.

Secondary information