Here’s a list of NHS trusts which have put up hospital parking charges in past two years
A total of 37 NHS trusts increased car parking charges at some point in the two years to March 2024.
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “NHS trusts – most of whom are under huge financial pressure – just couldn’t afford to maintain car parks without charging people to use them.
“The last thing trusts want to do is have to divert money away from patient services.
“City centre and urban hospital car parks where spaces are in great demand are a particular challenge.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said in a statement to PA: “Hospital car park charges are the responsibility of individual NHS trusts, however any charges must be reasonable and in line with the local area.
“Free parking is available for all NHS staff who work overnight.”
Here’s a list of the NHS trusts where the charges have increased, based on figures obtained by the Press Association following a Freedom of Information request. Not all trusts reported the figures in the same way.
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Charges were increased from 1 February 2023. Up to 20 minutes remained free, while stays of up to two hours, two to three hours, three to four hours and four to five hours all increased by 50p to £4.50, £5.50, £6.50 and £7.50 respectively.
Stays of five to six hours and the weekly rate remained the same.
Charges for stays of more than six hours increased by £1 to £10.
File pic: PA
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Charges were increased from 1 February 2023. Up to 20 minutes remained free, with charges for up to two hours, two to three hours, three to four hours and four to five hours increasing by 50p to £4.50, £5.50, £6.50 and £7.50 respectively.
The day rate of more than six hours increased by £1 to £10. Tariffs for five to six hours remained the same (£8), as did the weekly rate (£25).
Barts Health NHS Trust
Tariffs were increased for patients and visitors during the period at Newham Hospital only.
Up to one hour was a new charge at £2.
Up to three hours increased by 70p to £3.70, while up to six hours increased by £1 to £7.
Charges for an eight-hour stay and up to 24 hours remained the same at £8 and £16.50 respectively.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased prices on 1 July 2023. Stays of two hours, two to three hours and three to six hours all increased by 20p to £2.70, £3.20 and £4.20 respectively. Six to 24 hours increased by 30p to £6.30.
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased primary care tariffs and charges at Ipswich Hospital in August 2022, followed by Colchester Hospital in January 2023.
Up to 30 minutes at both hospitals remained free, although charges for one, two and four hours increased by 20p, 30p and 50p respectively to £2.20, £3.30 and £4.50.
There was a £5.50 charge introduced for five hours and a £10 charge for 24 hours. The price of an eight-hour stay increased to £6.50 from £5.
However, a five-day pass was cheaper at £12, down from £15, while a seven-day pass was £4 cheaper at £14.
In primary care, one hour was free, with two hours costing 30p more at £3.30.
A stay of four hours increased by 50p to £4.50, eight hours was £1.50 more at £6.50 and 24 hours was £2 more at £12.
A five-day pass was £1 dearer at £16, although the price of a seven-day pass remained the same at £18.
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Tariffs were increased from January 2024:
Up to one hour – Up by 20p to £2
One to two hours – Up by 20p to £3.60
Two to three hours – Up by 25p to £5.20
Three to four hours – Up by 35p to £7
Four to five hours – Up by 40p to £8.50
Five to six hours – Up by £1 to £10.2
Six to 12 hours – Up by £1.10 to £11.80
Twelve to 24 hours – Up by 85p to £18.30
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Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
In 2022/23, the trust increased charges for up to two hours from £3.30 to £3.50.
In 2023/24, the tariff for up to two hours increased to £3.80, while three to four hours went up from £5.50 to £6 and a four to five-hour stay increased from £6.50 to £7.
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Up to 20 minutes remained free, with the charge for up to one hour increased from £1.10 to £1.50 in 2023/24. Elsewhere:
One to two hours – up by 80p to £3
Two to three hours – up by £1.20 to £4.50
Three to four hours – up by £1.60 to £6
Four to five hours – up £2 to £7.50
Five to six hours – up £2.20 to £10
After 6pm, charges for up to two hours increased by 40p to £1.50, while more than two hours is £1 dearer at £3.
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
There was a change in durations and charges from 1 December 2022.
Up to 30 minutes remained free, while tariffs for up to one hour increased by 20p to £2.
The trust stopped charging on the half hour, instead charging on the hour. For example, there was no longer a £2.80 charge for one hour 30 minutes.
The tariff changed to one to two hours at a cost of £3. Elsewhere, the £10 eight-to-24-hour stay changed to 12 to 24 hours at a cost of £16.
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Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased its prices for visitors by 3.9%, which it said was in line with inflation.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
The trust increased the price of staff permits as well as tariffs for visitors.
The price of a standard £30 staff permit, for example, went up by 2.3% to £32.24.
Hourly charges were also increased across its sites, including Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital.
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
Hourly tariffs were increased by a total of 2.6%, while concessions, including weekly passes, went up by 1.0%. There was no increase to charges for patients having chemotherapy.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
Prices were increased from 2023. Up to 30 minutes remained free, with a charge of £2.50 introduced for 30 minutes to one hour.
Elsewhere, stays of two to four hours, four to six hours and six to eight hours previously cost £4, £6 and £8 respectively, but charges for stays of two to three hours (£4), three to four hours (£5), four to five hours (£6), five to six hours (£7) and six to seven hours (£8) were introduced.
The trust previously charged £10 for stays of eight to 10 hours. Now, a stay of seven to 10 hours costs £10, while 10 to 16 hours is £12 and 16 to 24 hours is £15.
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
The trust said it aligned its car parking tariffs for patients and visitors across all its hospital sites following the reinstatement of parking charges.
Medway NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased charges for stays of up to two hours, two to three hours, three to four hours and four to five hours by 20p, 30p, 40p and 50p respectively to £2.20, £3.30, £4.40 and £5.50.
Stays of between five and 24 hours remained the same at £10.
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Charges did not increase for patients during the period.
However, the trust did change its staff charging structure, meaning some worker tariffs increased and others were reduced. Band seven staff and above were charged more for permits.
Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
According to its disclosure log, the trust increased tariffs.
The charge for 15 minutes to one hour went up by 10p to £2.80, a three-hour stay increased by 20p to £3.70, up to six hours went up by 20p to £5, up to eight hours increased by 20p to £5.50, while up to 24 hours increased by 40p to £11.
A weekly ticket is now £21, up from £20, and a lost ticket costs £11, up from £10.60.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased the tariff at its long-stay car park at the University Hospital of North Tees from 1 December 2023. The rate had previously been £2 per 14 hours and was increased to £2.50 per 14 hours.
All other parking rates remained unchanged from 2022/23 to 2023/24.
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North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Tariffs increased by 20p per hourly session at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and Peterborough City Hospital, but charges were not increased at Stamford and Rutland Hospital.
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased tariffs for staff and patients during the period.
For the public, up to one hour went from £2.40 to £2.70, one to two hours increased from £3.90 to £4.40, two to four hours went up from £4.40 to £5 and more than four hours increased from £4.90 to £5.50.
Off-site barrier charges for staff increased from £8.50 to £9.60, while off-site non-barrier charges increased from £9.45 to £10.60. The charge for on-site barrier car parks went up from £25.50 to £28.40.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased tariffs for patients and visitors at John Radcliffe Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Churchill Hospital on 1 August 2023.
Up to 30 minutes remained free, although 30 minutes to one hour increased from £1.40 to £2.20.
A one to two-hour stay was 10p cheaper at £2.70, as well as a two to three-hour stay which went from £4.20 to £3.70.
Three to four hours increased from £5.60 to £6.20 and the cost for more than four hours went up by £1 to £8. Stays between 8pm and 8am were previously free but now cost £2.
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
According to the trust, staff are charged 1.25% when they park on site. It added that a 10% increase in 2023 “was based on the fact that the patient tariff had not been increased for four years” and therefore “10% was a fair increase based on inflation”.
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
The trust increased the costs of its staff permits and parking charges for visitors.
A multi-site pass and a pass for the Royal Free Hospital increased from £94.28 to £99.84 per month for full-time staff from 1 April 2023. Part-time staff are charged £49.82, up from £47.14.
Tariffs for off-peak and weekend parking also increased slightly.
The staff permit tariff at Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals is charged based on a percentage of salary.
These percentages increased from 0.84% to 0.89% for full-time staff and 0.42% to 0.45% for part-time staff at both sites.
For patients, hourly charges were increased across all three hospitals from 1 December 2023.
Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
One hour £3.70 increased to £3.90
Two hours £4.70 increased to £4.90
Three hours £5.30 increased to £5.60
Four hours £5.80 increased to £6.10
Six hours £6.80 increased to £7.10
Twenty-four hours £9.80 increased to £10.30
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Charges were increased by 4%.
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Tariffs for patients and visitors increased on 15 January 2024.
Stays of up to two hours, two to three hours, three to six hours and six to 10 hours all increased by 50p each to £5, £6, £7, and £8 respectively.
Stays of between 10 and 24 hours increased from £6 to £13.
For staff, charges were reintroduced on 1 June 2023 and are banded by annual salary.
Those earning £23,000 or below pay 50p a day, while those on between £23,500 and £47,600 pay £1.25 a day. Workers on the highest salaries of £48,000 or above pay £1.80 a day.
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Tariffs were increased in October 2022. Up to 30 minutes is free, up from 15 minutes, although charges for up to one hour increased from £1.20 to £2.
One to two hours increased from £2.40 to £4, two to three hours increased from £3.60 to £6 and three to four hours increased from £4.80 to £8.
A standard tariff for four to five hours is £12, up from £6, but will cost patients £8. A standard charge is £18 for five to 24 hours, but is £8 for patients. Previously, the standard charge for five to six hours and six to 24 hours was £7.20.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Stays of less than 15 minutes remained free but there was a 20p increase for stays of up to one hour, one to two hours, two to three hours and four to five hours.
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
The trust changed its prices for patients and visitors from November 2023.
Up to 30 minutes – previously 20 minutes – was now free, with up to one hour costing £1.50. The price for two hours increased from £2.50 to £2.70, three hours was now £3.90, up from £3.50, and four hours cost £4.80, up from £4.50.
The price for stays of five hours and six hours remained the same. The charge for between seven and 24 hours was £15, with the £10.50 tariff for eight hours no longer available.
University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust
The trust upped charges for its short and long-stay car parks from September 2023.
At the short stay, up to one hour increased by 20p, stays of up to two and three hours increased by 40p to £4.90 and £5.90 respectively, while up to four hours increased by 50p to £7.
Stays of up to five hours increased from £7.50 to £8.10, and six hours went from £8.50 to £9.20.
Stays of between six and 12 hours increased by £1 to £14 and between 12 and 24 hours is now £17.30, up from £16.
At the long-stay sites, there was no change to the charge for seven days. Stays of 14 days increased from £38.50 to £41.60 and 30 days was now £59.40, up from £55.
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
Up to 40 minutes was free, while up to two hours cost £3.50. The trust previously charged £1.80 for up to one hour and £3.40 for one to two hours.
A two to four hour stay was now £6, up 20p, while four to six hours increased by 20p to £7.30.
A six to eight-hour stay remained the same at £12 while eight to 24 hours went up by £1 to £16.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
Tariffs were increased at University Hospital in Coventry and Hospital of St Cross in Rugby.
At University Hospital up to 10 minutes remained free. Up to one hour increased by 40p to £3.60, two hours went from £4.40 to £5, three hours increased by 70p to £5.70 and four hours went up by 80p to £6.80.
Stays of five hours increased by £1.10 to £8.90, up to six hours is £11, up from £9.70 and a 24-hour stay increased from £11 to £12.50.
At Hospital of St Cross, up to 30 minutes remained free. Up to three hours increased by 30p to £2.30, while up to five hours increased from £4.80 to £5.50. The tariff for up to 24 hours was now £9.70, up from £8.50.
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
The price of a two-hour stay increased by 40p, while stays of three, four and six hours increased by 30p, 40p and 20p respectively. There was no change to prices for a 24-hour stay, although overnight – between 6pm and 7am – increased by £1.
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Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
In 2023/34, the trust increased parking for up to one hour to £3.30 from £3.
One to two hours increased from £4 to £4.30, two to three hours increased from £4.50 to £4.80, three to four hours increased from £5 to £5.80, and four to five hours increased from £5.50 to £5.80.
There was no change to charges for 5-6 hours, 6-7 hours, 7-8 hours, 8-9 hours, 9-10 hours, 10-11 hours, 11-12 hours, 12-24 hours, or a weekly pass.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
One hour – up by 30p to £3.30
Two hours – up by 40p to £4.40
Three hours – up by 50p to £5.50
Four hours – up by 60p to £6.60
Five hours – up by 65p to £7.15
Six hours – up by 75p to £8.25
Eight hours – up by 85p to £9.35
Twenty-four hours – up by 90p to £9.90
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Charges increased at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Leigh Infirmary and the Freckleton Street multi-storey in November 2022.
Drop-offs and up to 30 minutes remained free, stays of up to two hours increased by 30p to £3.30, two to four hours and four to 24 hours increased by 50p to £5.50 and £7 respectively.
Charges at Wrightington Hospital and the Thomas Linacre Centre also increased in November 2022.
Drop-offs at up to 30 minutes remained free, while stays of up to one hour and one to two hours increased by 30p each to £2 and £3.
Two to four hours and four to 24 hours increased by 50p each to £5.50 and £7.
York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The trust said charges were brought in line with nearby council car parks at its York, Scarborough and Bridlington sites as part of the installation of automatic number plate registrations in April 2023.
In York, up to one hour increased by 30p to £2.50, with a 60p increase for two hours (£5), a £1.10 increase for three hours (£7.50) and a 20p increase for four hours to £9. All-day passes increased by 10p to £10.
In Scarborough, one hour increased by 25p to £1.45, two hours increased by 40p to £2.90, three hours went from £3.50 to £4.35 and four hours increased from £4.50 to £5.80. An all-day pass increased by £1.20 to £7.20.
In Bridlington, stays of up to an hour were 20p cheaper at £1. Stays of two, three and four hours remained the same and an all-day pass was made 60p cheaper at £5.40.
Britain has “lost control” of its borders over the last five years, the defence secretary told Sky News after the highest number of migrants this year crossed the Channel.
John Healey told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips the previous Conservative government left the UK’s asylum system “in chaos” and the country with “record levels of immigration”, which his government is having to deal with.
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On Saturday, 1,194 migrants arrived in the UK on 18 small boats, government figures showed – the highest number of arrivals in a day so far this year (the previous record was 825 on a day in May).
It brings the provisional total for 2025 so far to 14,811 – the highest ever recorded for the first five months in a year and the highest total for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on 30 June last year.
2025’s total so far is 42% higher than the same point last year (10,448), and 95% up from the same point in 2023 (7,610).
The highest daily total since data began in 2018 remains at 1,305 on 3 September 2022.
Migrants were seen scrambling to get on small boats in the shallows of a beach at Gravelines, France, on Saturday. Pic: PA
On Saturday, French police watched on while people, including children, boarded small boats in the shallows of a beach in Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk.
Authorities were then pictured escorting the boats as they sailed off towards the UK.
Mr Healey said: “Pretty shocking, those scenes yesterday.
“Truth is, Britain’s lost control of its borders over the last five years, and the last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration.”
He said it is a “really big problem” that French police are unable to intervene to intercept boats in shallow waters.
Migrants waited for the boats to come to the beach before wading in to the shallows to board. Pic: PA
“We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming around like a taxi to pick them up,” Mr Healey added.
He said the UK is pressing for the French to put new rules into operation so they can intervene.
“They’re not doing it, but for the first time for years, for the first time, we’ve got the level of cooperation needed,” Mr Healey said.
“We’ve got the agreement that they will change the way they work, and our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.”
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Migrants waited on the beach at Gravelines before boarding boats to the UK. Pic: PA
People waded through the shallows to get on small boats. Pic: PA
On Saturday, Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of having “completely lost control of our borders”.
The Home Office released figures on Thursday that revealed France is intercepting fewer Channel migrants than ever before, despite signing a £480m deal with the UK to stop the crossings.
French police watched on as migrants boarded the boats in the water at Gravelines. Pic: PA
French authorities escorted the boats after they left the beach. Pic: PA
This year, French police have prevented just over 38% (8,347) of asylum seekers from reaching the UK in small boats, with 13,167 having made the journey successfully.
They stopped an estimated 45% last year and 47% in 2023.
New weapons factories will be built “very soon” to show Vladimir Putin the UK is “stepping up our deterrents”, the defence secretary has told Sky News.
Last night, the government announced at least six new arms plants as part of a £6bn push to rearm at a time of growing threats.
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No details on timings or where the factories would be were provided ahead of the publication of the government’s strategic defence review, which the £6bn investment will be part of, on Monday.
But Defence Secretary John Healey told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “We should expect to see new factories opening very soon.
“And we’ve already got strong munitions factories in every part of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“The investment we’re making will boost the jobs in those areas as well.”
Mr Healey said Vladimir Putin should know the UK is stepping up its deterrents. Pic: Sputnik/AP
Asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin should be “frightened now” or in the future, Mr Healey said: “The message to Putin is we take our defence seriously, we’re stepping up our deterrents.”
The government also announced it would buy up to 7,000 long-range missiles, rockets and drones as part of the £6bn rearmament strategy.
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Mr Healey said he has “no doubt” defence spending will hit 3% of GDP in the next parliament.
He defended not trying to get to that in this parliament – by 2029 – and said: “It’s how much [is spent on defence], but also how you spend it.”
The defence secretary said his government is showing a sense of urgency by investing £1bn into cyber warfare capabilities, £1.5bn to improve forces’ housing over the next five years and a £6bn commitment to “rearm” over the next five years.
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Finding extra cash to get to 3% this parliament seems unlikely
John Healey says the “transformation” of Britain’s armed forces and the industrial base needed to keep them supplied with weapons to be set out in tomorrow’s strategic defence review will be affordable within the government’s existing defence spending plans.
That’s a timetable which will see 2.3% of GDP increase to 2.5% by 2027, with an “ambition” to ratchet up to 3% in the next parliament, if economic circumstances allow.
Mr Healey’s repeated assertion this weekend that he has “no doubt” the UK will be spending 3% within the next parliament clearly puts pressure on the Treasury to stump up the cash.
Today, he was at pains to clarify that this optimism is based on his confidence in the chancellor and growth returning to the UK economy.
But even translating this ambition into a concrete commitment would only see 3% by 2034 – in nine years. There’s an obvious tension between this leisurely timescale and the sabre-rattling urgency of the government’s messaging.
Writing in the Sun on Sunday, the prime minister promised to “restore Britain’s war fighting readiness”, warning “we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces”.
Mr Healey told Sir Trevor Phillips the idea is to send a message to Vladimir Putin that “we take our defence seriously”.
But he also couldn’t give an exact date when the six new munitions factories would be up and running.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are both calling for 3% to be reached within this parliament. But in a landscape of planned spending cuts – and with so many competing demands for money – finding any extra cash any time soon looks highly unlikely.
Robert Jenrick said he could not be sure the chancellor will allow 3% of GDP to be spent on defence
Senior Conservative Robert Jenrick told Trevor Phillips he welcomed “any extra investment in defence” and the fact Labour had reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence.
However, he said: “We want to see the UK reach 3% within this parliament, we think that 2034 is a long time to wait, given the gravity of the situation.”
He called Mr Healey “a good man” who is “doing what needs to be done in the national interest”.
But he added: “I am sceptical as to whether Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is going to make good on these promises.
“Since the general election, all I can see are broken promises from Rachel Reeves.”
The UK will buy up to 7,000 long-range missiles, rockets and drones and build at least six weapons factories in a £1.5bn push to rearm at a time of growing threats.
The plan, announced by the government over the weekend, will form part of Sir Keir Starmer’s long-awaited Strategic Defence Review, which will be published on Monday.
However, it lacks key details, including when the first arms plant will be built, when the first missile will be made, or even what kind of missiles, drones and rockets will be purchased.
The government is yet to appoint a new senior leader to take on the job of “national armaments director”, who will oversee the whole effort.
Andy Start, the incumbent head of Defence Equipment and Support – the branch of defence charged with buying kit – is still doing the beefed-up role of national armaments director as a sluggish process to recruit someone externally rumbles on.
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a presentation of Ukrainian military drones. Pic: Reuters
Revealing some of its content ahead of time, the Ministry of Defence said the defence review will recommend an “always on” production capacity for munitions, drawing on lessons learned from Ukraine, which has demonstrated the vital importance of large production lines.
It will also call for an increase in stockpiles of munitions – something that is vitally needed for the army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to be able to keep fighting beyond a few days.
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“The hard-fought lessons from [Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine show a military is only as strong as the industry that stands behind them,” John Healey, the defence secretary, said in a statement released on Saturday night.
“We are strengthening the UK’s industrial base to better deter our adversaries and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad.”
Army Commandos load a 105mm Howitzer in Norway. Pic: Ministry of Defence/PA
The UK used to have a far more resilient defence industry during the Cold War, with the capacity to manufacture missiles and other weapons and ammunition at speed and at scale.
However, much of that depth, which costs money to sustain, was lost following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when successive governments switched funding priorities away from defence and into areas such as health, welfare and economic growth.
Even after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and a huge increase in demand from Kyiv for munitions from its allies, production lines at UK factories were slow to expand.
A reaper drone in the Middle East. Pic: Ministry of Defence
Sky News visited a plant run by the defence company Thales in Belfast last year that makes N-LAW anti-tank missiles used in Ukraine. Its staff at the time only worked weekday shifts between 7am and 4pm.
Under this new initiative, the government said the UK will build at least six new “munitions and energetics” factories.
Energetic materials include explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics, which are required in the manufacturing of weapons.
There were no details, however, on whether these will be national factories or built in partnership with defence companies, or a timeline for this to happen.
There was also no information on where they would be located or what kind of weapons they would make.
King Charles visits HMS Prince of Wales. Pic: PO Phot Rory Arnold/Ministry of Defence/PA
In addition, it was announced that the UK will buy “up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons for the UK Armed Forces”, though again without specifying what.
It is understood these weapons will include a mix of missiles, rockets and drones.
Sources within the defence industry criticised the lack of detail, which is so often the case with announcements by the Ministry of Defence.
The sources said small and medium-sized companies in particular are struggling to survive as they await clarity from the Ministry of Defence over a range of different contracts.
One source described a sense of “paralysis”.
The prime minister launched the defence review last July, almost a year ago. But there had been a sense of drift within the Ministry of Defence beforehand, in the run-up to last year’s general election.
The source said: “While the government’s intentions are laudable, the lack of detail in this announcement is indicative of how we treat defence in this country.
“Headline figures, unmatched by clear intent and delivery timelines which ultimately leave industry no closer to knowing what, or when, the MOD want their bombs and bullets.
“After nearly 18 months of decision and spending paralysis, what we need now is a clear demand signal from the Ministry of Defence that allows industry to start scaling production, not grand gestures with nothing to back it up.”
As well as rearming the nation, the government said the £1.5bn investment in new factories and weapons would create around 1,800 jobs across the UK.
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