From April 2027, foreign defence contractors need to invest equal value in the UK under new rules

Investment tied to major contracts

Foreign companies winning large UK defence contracts will be expected to put an equivalent amount back into the country. The government says the investment should benefit jobs, industry and skills.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the policy would seek a return for Britain on contracts worth £50m or more. The Ministry of Defence will assess the rules individually from April 2027, according to the government.

The government also said it would give priority to British defence contracts where possible. Streeting and Chancellor John Healey are due to present the rules at BAE’s shipbuilding site in Glasgow.

Pressure over spending target

The announcement comes amid continuing debate over the government’s plan to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030. Some opposition MPs and defence analysts have questioned whether it can meet that goal.

Streeting said he disagreed with criticism that ministers were delaying action. He described postponing details of the 3% target until next year’s spending review as the right approach, so ministers could consider spending as a whole.

Streeting also acknowledged that the Armed Forces had been under-invested in for more than a decade. The article identifies the critic only as an MP, quoting a warning that capabilities must be rebuilt urgently to avoid vulnerability in a major conflict.

Conflicting accounts of Healey

The article gives conflicting accounts of Healey’s role and history. It describes him as Chancellor John Healey, who will present the rules alongside Streeting, but later says Healey resigned as Sir Keir Starmer’s defence secretary in June.

That later passage attributes to Healey the claim that a proposed defence investment fell short of what the country required. The article does not clarify the discrepancy.