Recommendation 11

HM Government Acknowledged

11.1 The Committee is correct to note the changing character of threats to UK interests. In an uncertain world, our ability as a nation to prepare for, withstand and recover from crisis - our resilience - is as critical to our security and prosperity as our ability to deter and disrupt hostile threats. 11.2 On 19 November, the Prime Minister announced the largest sustained offer to defence since the end of the Cold War, to ensure our armed forces have the necessary tools and equipment to defend the UK and its people against evolving and increasingly complex threats. The Prime Minister also announced the establishment of the National Cyber Force, drawing together under one command the expertise of the MoD, the Secret Intelligence Service, Government Communications Headquarters, and the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory. This new force will undertake cyber operations to disrupt terrorists, hostile state activity and criminals, all of which threaten UK national security. 11.3 We will continue to defend, deter and disrupt threats and risks where we can, using the full spectrum of our sovereign capabilities - military, diplomacy, economic, law enforcement, offensive cyber and covert means - to deter our adversaries, denying them opportunities to harm UK interests and holding them to account when needed. The collective security provided by our membership of NATO enhances the credibility of our deterrence. 11.4 Recognising that our security and foreign and domestic policies increasingly overlap, we will work closely with partners overseas, both to disrupt threats upstream before they reach the UK, and to build international resilience. This includes effective deployment of our development capabilities, taking a long-term approach to mitigate and adapt to climate change and conserve biological diversity, address health, food and water insecurity, and tackle the drivers and consequences of conflict and instability.