Monday
14
Oct2024
Global Combat Air Programme
OralQuestionsSubTopic
Summary
Jesse Norman, the Member of Parliament for Hereford and South Herefordshire, asked the Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, about the progress being made on the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). Norman expressed concerns about the government's grip on strategy, noting that they had given away the Chagos Islands before the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and were now including the GCAP within the SDR, potentially putting the programme at risk. He asked the Minister to reassure the government's international partners, such as Italy and Japan, about the centrality and importance of the GCAP.
In response, the Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, stated that the GCAP is an important programme, as the Prime Minister has acknowledged. He noted that the Defence Secretary had hosted his Japanese and Italian counterparts within weeks of taking office, and that progress continues alongside the strategic defence review, with more than 3,500 people employed on the future combat air project. Pollard also informed the House that the UK had recently ratified the GCAP convention, the international treaty that sets up the GCAP International Government Organisation.
Chris Evans, the Member of Parliament for Caerphilly, followed up by acknowledging that the GCAP will contribute £37 billion to the economy. However, he expressed concern that the ongoing SDR has led to media reports suggesting the programme may be cancelled. As someone who once represented General Dynamics, which built the Ajax, Evans emphasized that a belief that something will not happen can cause problems within the local and national economies. He asked the Minister to ensure that the House and the press are kept up to date on the development of the GCAP as the SDR progresses.
In response, the Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, reiterated that the GCAP is an important programme and that there will be further updates in relation to it as the SDR reports in the first half of next year. He stated that work is continuing across a range of necessary and important defence projects, and that the SDR will not be used as an excuse to slow down progress, as the UK's troops and allies are operating in difficult and contested environments, and the government needs to ensure that the necessary equipment is invested in.