MoD says under new offset policy foreign firms will only get big defence contracts if they spend equivalent amount in UK

Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, was on the interview round this morning, announcing a new aspect of defence procurement policy. The Ministry of Defence is now saying that, if overseas suppliers win UK defence contracts, they will be required to spend the equivalent amount in the UK.

Explaining the policy, the MoD says :

double quotation mark British workers, businesses and apprentices will benefit from major changes which will see more defence work carried out in the UK thanks to the launch of a world-leading Offsets policy.

Under the new rules, overseas companies that win significant UK defence contracts will be required to invest back into Britain, through new British jobs and apprenticeships, opening UK factories, investing in domestic suppliers, transferring technology and innovation know-how.

This means contracts worth over £50m will be considered for offsets.…