Speeches by Pollard.

“Yes, that is why we want to increase direct spend with SMEs and provide a clearer pathway for them. We believe there are SMEs that do not yet think of themselves as defence companies that have technologies that could aid us in the adoption of new novel technologies. That is why from the start of next year, we are stand…”

“Both pillar 1 and pillar 2 have a cross-Government nature. In relation to where we are looking at, we are awaiting the outcome of the US review, which will help to inform which marquee or signature projects we will look to find a political agreement on. To a certain extent, the work on the big projects is awaiting that…”

“I will turn to Tim to answer the broader point, but if I can just set the scene, the Lovegrove review was very clear in the recommendation to the Prime Minister, which we have accepted, that we should focus on a small number of signature projects. Whether that is a signature project, a marquee project or whichever word…”

“Our primary focus has to be on supporting the Australians to deliver their programme on the optimal pathway against the commitments they have made. We also need to make sure that we can deliver our own SSN-AUKUS programme as well. That involves an increase in the drumbeat of production. Our immediate job is to support …”

“Yes, I would agree. People need to see the change. Let me reassure you that this Government’s support for Barrow is total. The Secretary of State and the Prime Minister have been clear in their support for Barrow. The royal status afforded to Barrow is a significant sign of the importance of Barrow. The commitment that…”

“I will start with that and perhaps ask Chris to fill in where we are on funding. The stop-start nature of submarine builds that we have seen in Britain over the last few decades severely damaged our skills base and the machinery used to build the bits that go into a submarine, and caused an atrophy of the supply chain.…”

“I would challenge that ever so slightly. We are working with our American and Australian friends on a whole range of technologies at the moment. We are looking at whether we can develop signature capabilities alongside them. That is subject to outcomes from the US review and agreement between those three nations. What …”

“I might turn to Chris for that.”

“The Secretary of State and I are big fans of having defence unicorns. The technology space, and drones in particular, would be one of those areas where I would look to see some of those firms grow. There are a number of firms with enormous growth potential, both in the UK and in the international markets, across the di…”

“We are already seeing large amounts of investment in the drone autonomy sector from UK businesses and from foreign direct investment into the UK. There are a number of locations where we are seeing a real investment focus on that. As a Plymouth MP, I would say that there is lots of marine autonomy in Plymouth. We are a…”

“No, I do not agree with that assessment.”

“About a fortnight ago, Defence Ministers opened two drone factories in the UK, one in Plymouth with Helsing and another one in Swindon on the back of having opened a drone factory in Swindon only a few months previously. The SDR set out very clearly that we want to see more investment in autonomy and allocated a much l…”

“We want it and we welcome it because it speaks to the wider point about telling the story about defence. The Secretary of State has set out his ambition to publish it. We are working on it at pace. In fact, two of the three of us, if we were not in front of your Committee, would be in meetings about the DIP trying to a…”

“The defence investment plan is being worked on currently. We are still projected to publish it shortly. We are reaching the final stages of that work at the moment.”

“The defence review set out the ambition quite clearly: up to 12 submarines. To deliver those 12, a number of things have to be true. We have to improve the speed of production in Barrow. A new submarine needs to be emerging every 18 months. That can only happen if we get the skills situation right, and we can only get …”

“No, it is entirely realistic for us to do so. It is in the planning assumption for the Royal Navy that we will participate in the rotational forces. It is key to the delivery of the AUKUS programme that we do so. There is advantage for us, but we are maintaining our ability to deliver the tasks that are asked of our su…”

“Yes, it is realistic.”

“I entirely understand. I am not allowed to comment on submarine availability, but I entirely understand the concern you are raising. Secondly, why contribute to the rotational forces in Australia? It is directly because the optimal path for delivery of AUKUS sees the Australians gaining benefits from having the ability…”

“First, it is one year away because it is a 2026 rotation that we are aiming for. Secondly, I would answer that in two parts. First, I cannot comment on submarine availability, although the Committee will no doubt be able to see lots of that online.”

“If I were to look at the photo of the Defence Secretary, the Foreign Secretary and their Australian equivalents, including the Prime Minister, on their recent trip to Australia, where the Carrier Strike Group was docked in Darwin as part of its global deployments, I would see a different but similar image showing the U…”