Taking a whole society approach in defence spending will maximise UK growth opportunities

The Strategic Defence Review creates better prospects for increased social value

Delivering on the Strategic Defence Review’s ambitions to strengthen security in the UK also has huge potential to deliver economic growth and improved opportunities for the country, according to Mott MacDonald social value lead, Guy Schmidt.

Headlines around the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which was published at the start of June 2025, centred around the new facilities and weapons planned to deliver on the promise to make the UK “secure at home, strong abroad”. What there was less focus on was the 440,000 jobs the investment will create directly within the defence sector and supply chains that serve it, as well as the concept of “a whole of society approach” that the document introduces.

Ultimately, the review is about creating a readiness to protect the UK but, in doing so, it has huge potential to drive significant growth for the economy and in social opportunities, particularly through job creation, across the country too. However, ensuring communities see the maximum impact from this investment won’t happen by chance and needs to be planned for and new legislation coming into force this autumn will also aid that.

The Policy Procurement Note 002: The latest Social Value Model (PPN 002) update to the 2012 Public Services (Social Value) Act was launched in February to enable a transition period but will become mandatory in October. The change reinforces the social value model for central government contracts and aims to increase transparency and accountability in social value commitments. The overall ambition is to improve focus on tackling income inequality, climate change, well-being, equal opportunities and business opportunities.

The change will help ensure that social value is embedded at the procurement and planning stage of work commissioned as a result of the SDR and deliver on the ambitions the document sets out.

In the past it has not been uncommon for defence projects to reduce or sometimes remove social value aspirations when it comes to delivery as the focus for such work has prioritised the time and cost of achieving operational capability. However, the SDR’s introduction of a whole of society approach demonstrates a step change. The ideas behind it have always been there but this is the first time the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has externalised it, which highlights the committed effort being planned for it through the SDR.

Making the whole of society ambitions work

The whole of society approach represents a concerted and strategic effort to reconnect the military with society and the public through initiatives like cadet forces, public engagement days and interdepartmental collaboration with the Department of Education to develop armed forces modules in schools. The latter includes potentially creating modules that contribute towards apprenticeships and T-levels, providing a pathway for young people to gain skills and qualifications through cadet forces.

An example of where the MoD is already undertaking community engagement and delivery of social value effectively is in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. This work involved collaboration between various government departments and the private sector to tackle underinvestment and deprivation in the local area, improving transport connectivity, housing, education and healthcare access.

Mandating of PPN 002 will aid the MoD in demonstrating to communities and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) how it is aiming to replicate its approach in Barrow elsewhere to maximise the economic growth opportunities from the SDR. PPN 002 places focus on outcomes and uses transparency in social value delivery and clear key performance indicators to do that.

One way we have worked with clients in other sectors to effectively implement this type of work is through development of social value charters and it is an approach that the MoD could use to deliver on the SDR aspirations, while also meeting the requirements of PPN 002.

Putting social value into action

Demonstration of this in action can be seen in our current work on the METIS programme, which is a joint venture between Mott MacDonald and AtkinsRéalis, to deliver the UK’s long-term nuclear defence infrastructure. Mott MacDonald led on the creation of the social value strategy for the programme which has, to date, engaged with over 1700 students and delivered over 200 hours of voluntary time supporting STEM and educational sessions. It has also helped 19 students undertake work experience placements. In addition to this, a shadow board pilot scheme was launched to address diversity among senior leadership, engaging all stakeholders on the programme.

These outcomes were possible due to embracing social value from the start, having senior leadership support throughout and ensuring a centralised social value action plan to drive meaningful impact. This example also shows the value-add defence projects can deliver if the whole society approach is embraced, along with PPN 002, and the communities and supply chain are engaged from the start.

The overall plans set out in the SDR, combined with the Spending Reviews confirmation that defence spending will rise to 2.6% of GDP from 2027, means that significant investment is coming. By combining this funding with full commitment to social value, the UK will unlock growth potential that meets both economic and social ambitions. The key to achieving that will be early engagement with social value experts to  develop tailored strategies, which can maximise the benefits of defence spending for local communities.