Delays in publishing the government’s long-awaited defence spending plan have undermined the UK’s credibility with its allies, a parliamentary spending watchdog has said. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) warned that the hold-up means procuring the latest equipment will be more expensive, “hindering the government’s attempt to modernise the Armed Forces”.
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) – which will explain how new equipment and infrastructure will be funded over the coming decade – was supposed to be published in the autumn but is now due ahead of a Nato summit in Turkey beginning on 7 July. The delay follows the wide-ranging Strategic Defence Review published on 2 June 2025.
“Delays to UK's defence investment plan have undermined credibility with allies, MPs warn.”
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the PAC, said the nation had “now in fact gone years without a credible plan for UK military capability”. He said ministers should “simply apologise” instead of defending the delay, and should consider the message its absence has sent “to the public, as well as the UK’s allies and its adversaries”.
The PAC report said the delay was “due to the lack of a decision from the MoD as to which capabilities, infrastructure and people it requires to transform the Armed Forces to be warfighting-ready”. It added that defence contractors were raising prices because of global instability, meaning delays could end up costing more.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the DIP would “fix the outdated, overcommitted and underfunded programme we inherited”, adding: “We are working hard to finalise it.” Defence Secretary John Healey told the Commons on Monday that Sir Keir Starmer was “determined to publish” the plan.
But questions over funding remain. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy insisted the plan “will be absolutely clear” before the Nato summit, while the justice secretary said defence was the “first purpose” of the nation, stressing that “the money will be found”. On Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer refused to rule out tax hikes to fund defence spending, as unease grows over the UK’s stuttering efforts to rearm.