The Conservatives have launched their first Budget in 19 years, and it’s a Budget which put security first.
In a surprise move, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the UK will meet NATO’s target of spending 2% of national income on defence for the whole of the next decade.
The security Budget
In the full breakdown of the Budget decisions, the Chancellor puts UK defence and security at the forefront of the agenda, announcing:
- A commitment to maintaining the size of the Army at 82,000
- A joint security fund of £1.5 billion a year to fund UK intelligence agencies
- £2 billion protected funding for a range of counter-terrorism efforts across a wide variety of departments
In total, the pledges mean that the MOD’s budget will rise by 0.5% a year up until 2020-21.
Future defence investment
In addition to the pledges made by the Chancellor in the 2015 Budget, a full Defence and Security Review has been announced which will set out in full how the MOD’s budget will be set and what the investment priorities will be.
Ahead of this, Prime Minister David Cameron has called on defence chiefs to use the additional funding to prioritise cyber security, drones, the Special Forces and measure to combat extremism.
He said: “As prime minister, I will always put the national security of our country first.
“That’s why it is right that we spend 2% of our GDP on defence because this investment helps to keep us safe. It has only been possible because of the difficult decisions we have made to ensure a strong and secure economy.
“Now we know how much we will spend, what matters next is how we spend it. I have tasked the defence and security chiefs to look specifically at how we do more to counter the threat posed by Islamist extremism.
“This could include more spy planes, drones and Special Forces. In the last five years, I have seen just how vital these assets are in keeping us safe.”
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