UK to Publish Defence Investment Plan Before NATO Summit Amid PAC Criticism of Delays

The Public Accounts Committee said delays publishing the Defence Investment Plan have undermined the UK's credibility with its allies and will make new equipment purchases more expensive. The plan, originally due in the autumn, is now scheduled for release ahead of a NATO summit early next month.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the committee, said the country had gone years without a credible plan for UK military capability.

The report stated the delay stemmed from the Ministry of Defence's failure to decide which capabilities, infrastructure and personnel it needs to make the armed forces warfighting-ready. The committee said defence contractors were raising prices because of global instability, and that the postponement left the armed forces unable to equip for the modern battlefield or provide a stronger deterrent.

It added that the hold-up also damaged the ministry's standing with the defence sector.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the plan would fix the outdated, overcommitted and underfunded programme inherited when the government took office in July 2024. The spokesman noted that more than 1,400 major defence contracts had been signed since then and that spending was rising by a generational amount. The report also examined ongoing problems with the Ajax armoured vehicle.

Thirty-three soldiers have been affected by the issues, with five still under medical review as of March. The ministry now requires maintenance checks every time the vehicles stop, a requirement the committee called unreasonable for sustained combat operations. An Ajax 2 upgrade package is in development at an unknown cost.

Vehicles now in service are for trial purposes only. The committee asked the ministry to explain when it expects the vehicles to be fit for purpose. The report criticised the ministry for insufficient transparency on nuclear spending.

9 billion, of its defence budget on the nuclear deterrent last year, a share expected to reach 25 percent in coming years. The UK is building new Dreadnought-class submarines to carry Trident missiles at an estimated cost of £31 billion, though recent US-made missile tests have failed. 1 billion discrepancy in ministry accounts relating to how funds paid over the past 15 years should be recorded.

It described the failure to maintain supporting records for more than £6 billion in assets as completely unacceptable. The report contains six recommendations. The ministry must write to the committee within three months on how it will use the investment plan amid changing international conditions.

It must also explain how it is protecting suppliers from the effects of the delay, set out how the 2025-26 financial statements will be supported by records, identify steps to improve recruitment, and detail when and how it will give Parliament fuller cost and performance data on the nuclear programme.