A report released on 21st March 2022 highlighted that the defence sector is set to support thousands of UK jobs and businesses, a particularly positive message at a time of economic uncertainty with the backdrop of Brexit, the invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the key stats from the report published by the Joint Economic Data Hub focused on the value the Ministry of Defence added to not only the UK but global economies in recent years. More than 10,000 organisations were paid directly by the MOD in 2020/21, the defence sector employed approximately 5,000 apprentices, and an average of $4.6 billion was spent annually on defence exports between 2016 and 2020.
The Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quin, commented: “The defence sector is driving prosperity, strengthening the economy, supporting jobs and building skills right across the UK.”
Following the publication of the report, we thought we’d take a look at what the current situation looks like using our own, first-hand data. On a weekly basis, our in-house data collection team analyse a number of different touch areas statistics relating to public sector procurement. When Mr Quin’s said that prosperity and the economy were being strengthened through the activity of the defence sector, he certainly wasn’t wrong.
Public sector procurement trend data
Over 12 weeks starting on 10th January, we’ve monitored activity within public sector procurement, analysing trends and opportunities, and, ultimately, highlighting some of the most important statistics.
Looking at the activity of individual buyers begins to reveal the considerable contribution the Ministry of Defence, as an organisation, makes to the overall economy.
In all but one week, the MOD was the most active buyer in the market:
Over the course of the 12-week period analysed above, the Ministry of Defence was responsible for the publication of 432 contracts, actively encouraging growth within the defence sector but also within the wider market and economy.
As part of the JEDHub report cited above, it was noted how the MOD spent £1.1 billion directly with SMEs in 2019/20 and a further £3.4 billion indirectly through the supply chain. This is in line with the MOD’s commitment to 25% of its procurement spend being with SMEs directly and as part of the supply chain by the end of 2022 – a pledge which highlights just how much scope there is for small businesses to thrive as a Ministry of Defence contractor.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the opportunities that exists within this particularly lucrative sector, get in touch with one of our advisors today, book a demo, and begin a journey to winning defence contracts with a leading public sector organisation.
