Minister of State for Defence Procurement facts for kids

Quick facts for kids United Kingdom Minister of State for Defence Procurement
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent James Cartlidge since 21 April 2023
Ministry of Defence
Style	Minister
Nominator	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Appointer	The Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
First holder	Roy Mason

The Minister of State for Defence Procurement is an important job in the Ministry of Defence in the British Government. This person helps make sure the UK's armed forces have the right equipment. The current person holding this job is James Cartlidge, who became the Minister in April 2023.

What is this Job?

This role is a mid-level minister position. It means the person in this job works closely with the main Defence Secretary. Their main goal is to manage how the UK buys and develops new equipment for its military. This includes everything from tanks and planes to advanced technology.

How the Job Started

This job was created in 2007. It brought together parts of two older jobs. One part dealt with buying military equipment. The other part focused on getting supplies to the armed forces.

The new role was made when a new group called Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) was set up. This group helps the UK Ministry of Defence get the equipment it needs. The first person to hold this job was Lord Drayson. At first, it was a "Minister of State" role, which is quite senior. Later, it became a "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State" role, which is a more junior minister. But in 2020, Jeremy Quin was appointed, and it became a more senior "Minister of State" job again.

The name of the job has changed a few times. In 2010, it was called "Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology." Today, it is often called "Minister for Defence Procurement."

What the Minister Does

The Minister of State for Defence Procurement has many important duties. They make sure the UK military gets the best tools and technology.

• Equipment Plan: They oversee the plan for all military equipment.
• Nuclear Enterprise: They help manage the UK's nuclear defence systems.
• Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S): They work to improve how DE&S operates.
• Defence Exports: They support selling UK defence products to other countries.
• Innovation: They encourage new ideas and technologies for defence.
• Defence Science and Technology: This includes working with DSTL, a science lab for defence.
• Information Computer Technology: They look after IT systems for defence.
• Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO): They work with this office, which makes sure defence contracts are fair.
• DIO Estates and Investment: They help manage military land and buildings.
• Environment and Sustainability: They ensure defence activities are good for the planet.

Who Has Held This Job?

Many people have served as ministers responsible for defence equipment and procurement over the years. Here is a list of some of them.

Ministers of Defence for Equipment (1967–1970)
Minister			Started Job	Left Job	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)
Minister			Started Job	Left Job	Political Party	Prime Minister
		Lord Balniel	23 June 1970	5 November 1972	Conservative	Edward Heath
Minister for Defence Procurement (1971–1972)
Name		Picture	Started Job	Left Job	Political Party
		Ian Gilmour	7 April 1971	5 November 1972	Conservative
Ministers of State for Defence (1972–1981)
Name		Picture	Started Job	Left Job	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)
Minister			Started Job	Left Job	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)
Minister			Started Job	Left Job	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–Present)
Minister			Started Job	Left Job	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
		Stuart Andrew	19 July 2018	27 July 2019
		Anne-Marie Trevelyan	27 July 2019	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	Incumbent