Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 2
Seventh Report - Defence in Scotland: the North Atlantic and the High North
Published 21 Jul 2023
Paragraph 21
Addressed to Scotland Office
Scottish Affairs Committee Defence in Scotland All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The UK Government’s policy document, The UK’s Defence Contribution in the High North, adopts appropriate strategic priorities for the region. At the same time, the geopolitics of the North Atlantic and the High North are evolving and the UK will need to be prepared to adapt its approach and commit additional resources as appropriate in response to new security threats, whether those come from malign actors or from climate change. The implications of this evolution will affect defence activities in Scotland in particular. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which occurred shortly before the publication of the MOD’s paper and which has significant implications for the security of the region, illustrates this point. In the next section of this report, we explore several factors which are contributing to the region’s growing importance.
From: Scottish Affairs Committee, Seventh Report - Defence in Scotland: the North Atlantic and the High North (HC 1576), paragraph 21, 21 July 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 October 2023 (deadline 21 September 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the report and says it remains "committed to the direction" of its existing High North strategy, while declining to adopt a fixed five-year update cycle or appoint a political Arctic ambassador.
- On updating its Arctic strategies every five years, it says this "does not mean HMG will necessarily publish another in five years' time", and will act sooner if circumstances warrant.
- It does not believe appointing a political Arctic Ambassador is "the right approach", but says it is recruiting a Senior Arctic lead at ambassadorial rank.
- On aircraft numbers, it says it "remains confident it maintains the right force mix" for the North Atlantic and High North, while keeping capabilities under review.
- On cold weather capability, it says UK Defence "will examine options" to bolster it, and that its refreshed doctrine will be tested in the first quarter of 2024 and ratified in the second.