Military should axe 'woke' rule forcing defence firms to reveal how their weapons contracts will help Britain tackle 'climate change and modern slavery'
Labour is facing calls to scrap a 'woke' rule forcing defence firms selling weapons to the UK to explain how their deals will tackle 'climate change' and 'modern slavery'.
As part of Britain's procurement strategy for new military tech, manufactures need to demonstrate how their bids will benefit jobs, climate change, promote equal opportunity and support the NHS.
However, fears have been raised the so-called 'social value model' is now hampering efforts to bolster the UK's armed forces, with companies getting 'distracted' by 'box-ticking' to prove they meet can the requirements in order to bag major defence deals.
It comes amid claims a top satellite firm was forced to show how its bid to construct secretive space tech would support 'tackling modern slavery and climate change'.
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge has now called on the Government to scrap the rules for military purchases and instead 'get real about the threats we face'.
'We shouldn't be worrying about how a company has to tick all these politically correct boxes. What we want to focus on is the resilience of our defence industrial base and ensuring we are war ready, given the threat we face,' he told the Mail.
'What I want to see is that the focus on the things we give the greatest scoring to are the things that really matter when a country is trying to urgently restore its defence industrial capacity.'
The Government has insisted it is already in the process of revamping the rules as part of is new Defence Industrial Strategy, announced earlier this week.
Concerns have been raised defence firms were being held back by the 'social value model' when bidding for military projects. Pictured: A combat ship is built at BAE Systems Govan in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2019
It comes amid claims a top satellite firm was forced to show how its bid to construct secretive space tech would support 'tackling modern slavery and climate change' (file image)
Conservatives say Britain needs to 'get serious' about defence and invest more in advanced weaponry, like drones. Pictured: A soldier from the 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, flies a drone during a training exercise in 2023
The strategy said: 'We 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. This work will be complete by the end of 2025 so that changes can be enacted for the start of the 2026-27 financial year.'
However, former Tory procurement minister, whose previous job in government saw him overseeing the purchase of key military tech, said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) should go further and be free of the social value burden entirely.
Social value rules were introduced by the last Conservative government during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Boris Johnson was in charge.
Tories say the rules were originally designed to protect sovereign UK capability across the supply chain during the outbreak of the virus.
However, the Conservatives have accused Labour of changing the model from an 'advisory' for companies to a 'legal requirement'.
The shift saw the model aligned to Labour's 'five missions' unveiled by Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer in 2023 of: kick-starting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, tackling crime to 'take back our streets', breaking down barriers to opportunity and building an NHS fit for the future.
This, the Conservatives say, has led to confusion and frustration among weapons manufacturers and defence giants, who are left puzzled at how their deals can support the likes of the NHS.
While critics say the level of complexity can be challenging for small and medium enterprises - who are key in the UK's defence supply chain - to navigate, leading to failed bids and the UK potentially missing out on deals support British businesses.
Mr Cartlidge has called on the MoD to be withdrawn entirely from the social value model - which he claimed he was considering when he was in government.
Conservative Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge says the social value model should be scrapped entirely as it's hindering efforts to provide Britain with new military kit
John Healey, Defence Secretary, has announced a series of new measures he hopes will ramp up Britain's defence industry, with hundred of millions of pounds being pumped into projects
The Shadow Defence Secretary insisted Britain needed to 'fire up' its defence industry, investing in new drone factories and building its own weapons platforms like new artillery pieces.
Mr Cartlidge feared the precarious state of the world - with ongoing wars in Ukraine and Israel and China increasingly posing a bigger threat - could see the UK dragged into a conflict it's not prepared for.
'The wider threat environment is so dangerous, what worries me is the idea of lots of different trip wires that around the world that could go off at any time,' he told the Mail.
'Does that mean we're definitely about to have war? No, what it clearly means is we should increase our deterrence for this simple reason. The stronger your deterrence, the less likely war is anyway.
'It's pretty self evident to me that in this heightened threat environment, we should be investing strongly in defence and restoring the strength of our defence industrial basis, instead of focussing on these distracting cabinet office social value rules.'
The Tory MP's comments came as Labour revealed its defence industrial strategy on Monday, which looks to set out how the Government will purchase future military kit.
The defence blueprint has seen a £250million fund to invest in Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, Plymouth and Sheffield to expand each of the area's military and security industries.
Labour has pledged to lift defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) - a measure of the size of the economy - by 2027 with an 'ambition' to hit three per cent in the next decade.
Earlier this month, Britain bagged a major £10billion defence deal with Norway to export at least five of the UK-built Type 26 frigates to its European ally (pictured is one of the ships, which will be joining the Royal Navy)
ADS Group, the trade association for the defence, security, space and aerospace firms, estimates the UK's increased spending could create up to 50,000 jobs by 2035.
Clive Higgins, chairman and chief executive of Italian defence company Leonardo told the BBC's Today programme he welcomed cash injection, but warned: 'We need more detail, the devil is always in the detail.'
Last week Britain agreed a £10billion deal with ally Norway to supply the country with at least five Type 26 frigates.
The submarine-hunting warships would all be built in Scotland, supporting a total of 4,000 jobs nationwide.
The landmark pact was touted as the biggest British naval export deal in history by the government.
In Britain's new defence industrial strategy, the government said it would be changing the rules.
'The current application isn’t optimised to our purposes, it drives behaviours designed to meet contracting requirements, rather than those designed to drive growth and prosperity, disincentivises long-term partnerships, and injects uncertainty and instability into the procurement processes,' the strategy outlined.
'Consultation responses were clear that the principles of social value are sound, and it is an important vehicle for delivering increased growth and a better defence sector, but its implementation and application is characterised by imprecision, inconsistency, and limited industry engagement on the criteria.'
