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Defence: Finance

Asked by Mike WoodConservativeMinistry of DefenceTabled Answered 20 April 2026UIN 124859

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2026 to Question 113713 on Defence: Finance, what proportion of his Department's budget did not count towards the NATO percentage defence spending in 2024-25; and whether there were any funding streams outside the MOD budget which were counted.

Answered by Luke Pollard

Around 4% of the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) budget did not count towards NATO qualifying spend in 2024-25. This is to ensure that items such as accountancy treatments are not included in the UK's return.

In line with NATO guidance and previous returns, we have included spend that sits outside the MOD budget provided it met the definition of NATO qualifying spend. This is a common approach used by this and the previous Government.

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