The shadow defence secretary has called for the removal of a “social value” requirement that forces defence suppliers to demonstrate how contracts will contribute to goals such as tackling climate change and modern slavery, saying the rule distracts companies bidding for military work.
James Cartlidge said the model — which asks manufacturers to show how bids will support jobs, promote equal opportunity and even benefit public services such as the National Health Service — is preventing the rapid expansion and resilience of the UK defence industrial base at a time of heightened global risk. He made the comments to the Daily Mail as Labour published a new Defence Industrial Strategy this week.
The Government says it will revise how social value is applied in defence procurement. The strategy published this week states ministers will “adopt a new approach to applying social value to incentivise industry to support DIS objectives with delivery of social value occurring in the UK to the greatest extent possible,” and that work will be complete by the end of 2025 so changes can take effect for the 2026-27 financial year.
Critics including some Conservative MPs and industry figures say the model has moved from being advisory to effectively a legal requirement and has been aligned with the government’s broader domestic priorities, known as the five missions set out by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in 2023. Those missions include economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, tackling crime, breaking down barriers to opportunity and strengthening the NHS; opponents argue some aims are difficult to connect directly to weapons procurement.
Cartlidge said the focus should instead be on “resilience of our defence industrial base and ensuring we are war ready,” arguing the scoring priorities in procurement ought to reflect urgent military needs. He warned that the international security environment — citing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel and a rising challenge from China — makes it imperative to increase deterrence and invest in domestic production of systems such as drones and artillery.
Defence industry representatives and trade bodies have signalled mixed views. ADS Group, the trade association for defence, security, space and aerospace firms, said increased spending could create tens of thousands of jobs by 2035. Clive Higgins, chief executive of Leonardo UK, welcomed the cash commitments on BBC Radio’s Today programme but warned that “the devil is always in the detail.”
Labour’s industrial strategy includes a £250 million fund aimed at growing defence and security supply chains in regional hubs including Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, Plymouth and Sheffield, and sets a target for defence spending to reach 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2027, with an ambition to approach 3 percent over the following decade. The Government also pointed to a recent export success: a roughly £10 billion deal to sell at least five Type 26 frigates to Norway, which ministers said would support thousands of jobs and represents a major naval export.
Social value requirements were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic under the previous Conservative government, with supporters saying they were designed to protect sovereign capability across supply chains. Opponents contend the rules have become overly prescriptive and inconsistently applied, particularly harming small and medium-sized enterprises that form a significant portion of the defence supply chain.
The Defence Industrial Strategy acknowledged that while the principles of social value are “sound,” their implementation has been criticised for imprecision and inconsistency, and for driving behaviours aimed at meeting contracting requirements rather than long-term growth. It said reforms would seek to better align social value with defence objectives and to increase industry engagement on criteria.
Ministry of Defence officials have indicated changes are under way but have not announced the detailed revised criteria. Industry and political figures will be watching the consultations through to the end of 2025 to see whether the revised approach reduces what some firms describe as box‑ticking and better supports rapid procurement and sovereign capability rebuilding.