Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 24
Seventh Report - Defence in Scotland: the North Atlantic and the High North
Published 21 Jul 2023
Paragraph 98
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 must review, and report to the House, the extent to which, now and in the future, what capability is needed to operate in extremely cold environments at the scale required to meet evolving defence and security objectives in the High North. The review should consider what equipment and technology might be needed, and whether there are sufficient numbers of appropriately trained personnel to operate in such environments. Because of Scotland’s Arctic-facing geography, Scotland- based capabilities must be a focus of this review. The UK Government should report its findings to the House before Parliament dissolves for the next general election.
From: Scottish Affairs Committee, Seventh Report - Defence in Scotland: the North Atlantic and the High North (HC 1576), paragraph 98, 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.