Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 25
Seventh Report - Defence in Scotland: the North Atlantic and the High North
Published 21 Jul 2023
Paragraph 108
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)
We heard that space-based capabilities provide numerous advantages for surveillance at high latitudes. Scotland, with its burgeoning space sector and a northerly location that is suitable for launch into polar orbits, is well-placed to take advantage of this opportunity. We were encouraged to hear that the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will be publishing a space 44 Defence in Scotland: the North Atlantic and the High North sector policy before the end of the year. We plan to explore UK Government support for the space sector in greater detail in our upcoming inquiry on Scotland’s space sector.
From: Scottish Affairs Committee, Seventh Report - Defence in Scotland: the North Atlantic and the High North (HC 1576), paragraph 108, 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.