Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry

The Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry is, as a Minister of State, a mid-level defence minister in the Ministry of Defence of the British Government. The current incumbent of the post, Labour MP Maria Eagle, was appointed in July 2024.[1]

United Kingdom
Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry
Incumbent
Maria Eagle
since 8 July 2024
Ministry of Defence
StyleMinister
NominatorPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
AppointerThe Monarch
on advice of the Prime Minister
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
First holderRoy Mason
WebsiteOfficial website

Origins

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This ministerial post derives from that of two posts; the procurement aspects of this post were the responsibility of the Minister of Defence Procurement (either a Minister of State or the more junior, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State), while still the defence logistic aspects were the brief of the Minister of State for the Armed Forces.

This post was created in 2007 to reflect the establishment of the Defence Equipment and Support organisation of the UK Ministry of Defence. Lord Drayson was appointed as its first incumbent.[2] Whilst Lord Drayson held the role as a Minister of State, all of his successors were Parliamentary Under-Secretaries, the most junior ministerial rank in the British Government, until the appointment of Jeremy Quin in 2020.

The post was retitled in 2010 as Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology. The current title of the post is unclear as it has been announced as both Minister for Defence Procurement[3] and Minister for Defence Equipment, Technology and Support.[4]

Responsibilities

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The Minister is responsible for:

  • Delivery of the Equipment Plan
  • nuclear enterprise
  • Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) reform
  • defence exports
  • innovation
  • defence science and technology including DSTL
  • information computer technology
  • the Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO)
  • DIO estates and investment
  • environment and sustainability in defence.

List of ministers

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Ministers of Defence for Equipment, 1967–1970

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Minister Entered office Left office Political party
  Roy Mason 7 January 1967 16 April 1968 Labour
  John Morris 16 April 1968 19 June 1970

Minister of State for Defence, 1970–1972

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Minister Entered office Left office Political party Prime Minister
  Lord Balniel 23 June 1970 5 November 1972 Conservative Edward Heath

Minister for Defence Procurement, 1971–1972

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Name Portrait Entered office Left office Political party
  Ian Gilmour 7 April 1971 5 November 1972 Conservative

Ministers of State for Defence, 1972–1981

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Name Portrait Entered office Left office Political party
  Ian Gilmour 5 November 1972 8 January 1974 Conservative
  George Younger 8 January 1974 4 March 1974
  William Rodgers 4 March 1974 10 September 1976 Labour
  John Gilbert 10 September 1976 4 May 1979
  Euan Howard 6 May 1979 5 January 1981 Conservative
  The Viscount Trenchard 5 January 1981 29 May 1981

Ministers for Defence Procurement, 1981–2007

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Minister Entered office Left office Political party Prime Minister
  The Viscount Trenchard 29 May 1981 6 January 1983 Conservative Margaret Thatcher
  Geoffrey Pattie 6 January 1983 11 September 1984
  Adam Butler 11 September 1984 2 September 1985
  Norman Lamont 2 September 1985 21 May 1986
  The Lord Trefgarne 21 May 1986 24 July 1989
  Alan Clark 24 July 1989 14 April 1992
John Major
  Jonathan Aitken 14 April 1992 20 July 1994
  Roger Freeman 20 July 1994 6 July 1995
  James Arbuthnot 6 July 1995 1 May 1997
  The Lord Gilbert 2 May 1997 July 1999 Labour Tony Blair
  The Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean July 1999 8 June 2001
  The Lord Bach 8 June 2001 6 May 2005
  The Lord Drayson 6 May 2005 6 March 2007

Ministers for Defence Equipment and Support, 2007–2012

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Minister Entered office Left office Political party Prime Minister
  The Lord Drayson 6 March 2007 7 November 2007 Labour Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
  The Baroness Taylor of Bolton 7 November 2007 5 October 2008
  Quentin Davies 5 October 2008 12 May 2010
  Peter Luff 9 June 2010 4 September 2012 Conservative David Cameron

Minister for Defence Procurement, 2012–2024

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Minister Entered office Left office Political party Prime Minister
  Philip Dunne 4 September 2012 14 July 2016 Conservative David Cameron
  Harriett Baldwin 18 July 2016 9 January 2018
Theresa May
  Guto Bebb 9 January 2018 16 July 2018[5]
  Stuart Andrew 19 July 2018 27 July 2019
  Anne-Marie Trevelyan 27 July 2019 [6] 16 December 2019 Boris Johnson
  James Heappey 16 December 2019 13 February 2020
  Jeremy Quin 13 February 2020 7 September 2022
  Alec Shelbrooke 7 September 2022 26 October 2022 Liz Truss
  Alex Chalk 27 October 2022 21 April 2023 Rishi Sunak
  James Cartlidge 21 April 2023 5 July 2024

Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, 2024-present

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  Maria Eagle 8 July 2024 Incumbent Labour Keir Starmer

References

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  1. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: April 2023". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  2. ^ Lord Drayson appointed minister Archived 2007-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Election 2015: Prime Minister and ministerial appointments - 11 May 2015
  4. ^ Ministry of Defence Ministerial appointments finalised - 11 May 15
  5. ^ Sparrow, Andrew; Rawlinson, Kevin; Sparrow, Andrew (16 July 2018). "May survives Tory Brexit rebellion with narrow Commons victory - as it happened". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Ripley, Tim (29 July 2019). "New UK procurement minister appointed". IHS Janes. London. Retrieved 30 July 2019.