The Ministry of Defence has acknowledged its lack of a centralized system for overseeing or monitoring overall expenditure on the UK’s Reserve Forces, following parliamentary demands to disclose financial data for the past five years and anticipated costs for the current legislative session.
In an official response to a parliamentary query, issued on 13 February 2026, Defence Minister Louise Sandher-Jones indicated that financial outlays for reserve forces “are not governed from a central point, with individual Service branches dictating their spending in accordance with their distinct operational needs.”
This reply came subsequent to Conservative MP Steve Barclay inquiring about the total expenditure by the MOD on reserves over the preceding five-year period, encompassing expenses other than wages and recruitment incentives, and whether the department planned to outline its projected expenditures for the duration of the present legislative term.
Sandher-Jones refrained from furnishing cumulative past expenditure figures or an itemized list of reserve spending classifications, choosing instead to highlight broader pledges regarding military financing and the administration’s protracted aim to enlarge the auxiliary military contingent.
“The Government has pledged to allocate 2.6% of GDP to defence from 2027, and we have established the goal of attaining 3% in the subsequent legislative session, contingent upon prevailing financial and budgetary circumstances,” she stated.
She further mentioned that the government plans to channel funds “over £270 billion in monetary value in defence” during the present budgetary assessment cycle, characterizing this as “the most significant continuous rise in expenditure since the era of the Cold War.” The minister also drew attention to the Strategic Defence Review’s declared goal to boost the count of Active Reserve personnel by 20% “should budgetary resources permit,” portraying this objective as a method to bolster rapid deployment capability and showcasing the UK’s preparedness for self-defence.
Nevertheless, the MOD stated its inability to offer a comprehensive overview of present outlays for reserves, due to the disaggregated nature of the information. “Overall expenditure on auxiliary forces between 2023-24 and 2024-25 does not undergo central administration,” the minister declared.
Addressing Barclay’s appeal for forecasted expenditure statistics, Sandher-Jones stated that the MOD typically refrains from disclosing its predetermined outlay statistics. “Concerning budgetary proposals in 2025-26, it is not our standard practice to disclose planned financial figures publicly, given their susceptibility to revision,” she further explained.
This response underscores the difficulty in evaluating if auxiliary military components receive adequate funding congruent with governmental objectives, especially since the MOD indicates a desire to enlarge its reserve presence concurrently with reorganizing aspects of the Army and realigning preparedness objectives as per the Strategic Defence Review. A schedule for when financial circumstances could permit the suggested one-fifth growth in the Active Reserve was absent.