Research and analysis

Quarterly qualifying defence contract statistics: Q3 2023/24

The SSRO has released its latest quarterly publication on key statistics relating to qualifying defence contracts (QDCs) and qualifying sub-contracts (QSCs)

Documents

Accompanying data book

Details

This bulletin is part of a regular published series of statistical reports, containing analysis of key QDC/QSC information, covering all contracts that became a QDC/QSC between 1 April 2015 and 31 December 2023.

The SSRO was notified of 637 contracts that became QDCs/QSCs between 1 April 2015 and 31 December 2023. Contractors have one month after the date the contract becomes a QDC/QSC to submit reports, and as of 31 January 2024 the SSRO had received contract reports for 593 contracts. This analysis is based on these 593 contracts, which comprised 508 QDCs and 85 QSCs.

The estimated total contract price was £98.9 billion for contracts that became QDCs/QSCs between 1 April 2015 and 31 December 2023, with an average reported estimated contract profit rate of 9.46 per cent. In the first nine months of 2023/24, the SSRO has received contract reports for 39 new QDCs/QSCs, with an estimated total contract price of £4.1 billion.

The analysis reflects the most recently reported contract data. All data is taken from reports submitted by the contractor for each QDC/QSC as indicated in the bulletin. The data may not reflect values at contract completion.

The publication schedule for the next four quarterly bulletins is as follows:

Quarterly bulletin     Date Published
Q4 2023/24         9 July 2024 – Annual Statistics

*In accordance with the Cabinet Office’s General Election Guidance 2024 the annual statistics bulletin will not be published on 26 June and will be published on 9 July 2024 after the General Election.
Q1 2024/25         August 2024
Q2 2024/25      November 2024
Q3 2024/25             February 2025

Updates to this page

Published 27 February 2024

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