Recommendations & Conclusions
13 items
1
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Accepted
The announcement of this policy appears to have been made prematurely. When the Government has been asked for details, it has consistently responded that these were being worked out. Announcing a policy before finalising the details is bad practice, particularly when that policy area is so sensitive. We question why …
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The announcement of this policy appears to have been made prematurely. When the Government has been asked for details, it has consistently responded that these were being worked out. Announcing a policy before finalising the details is bad practice, particularly when that policy area is so sensitive. We question why such a premature announcement was made. (Paragraph 4) Migrant crossings of the Channel
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Government response AI summary
The government states that the Prime Minister announced major reforms to UK immigration policy, including the Economic and Migration Development Partnership with Rwanda and confirmed military primacy for small boats migration in the English Channel. It says it had already confirmed the initial policy intent …
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Ministry of Defence
2
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Acknowledged
In line with our general policy on shipbuilding, we call on the Home Office to ensure that any new vessels are built in British yards, to ensure national capacity is maintained (Paragraph 11) Criticism of the policy
Government response AI summary
The government notes the recommendation. The National Shipbuilding Office is working with the Home Office and Border Force on the vessel replacement programme, seeking to maximise UK content wherever possible, as part of the 30-year shipbuilding pipeline.
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Ministry of Defence
3
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Accepted
A successful military strategy requires clear ends, ways and means. The ends (or in this case the objectives) are anything but. The MOD appears to regard its objective as ensuring that no migrant lands on their own terms, but the Home Office sees the objective as deterrence. Whilst these are …
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A successful military strategy requires clear ends, ways and means. The ends (or in this case the objectives) are anything but. The MOD appears to regard its objective as ensuring that no migrant lands on their own terms, but the Home Office sees the objective as deterrence. Whilst these are not mutually exclusive, nor do they necessarily reinforce each other. The MoD’s objective is in any case at best incoherent, since the migrants’ over-riding aim is to land in the UK, regardless of whether or not on their own terms.
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Government response AI summary
The Government believes the Committee’s conclusion is premature, stating that the Nationalities and Borders Act and the policy of third country processing will change the dynamic in the Channel.
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Ministry of Defence
4
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Acknowledged
We are seriously concerned by the lack of a clear endpoint for this operation. Restoring public confidence in the immigration system is a task at which numerous governments have failed. It is not a task Defence is equipped to undertake. The MOD has its own policy failings which it needs …
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We are seriously concerned by the lack of a clear endpoint for this operation. Restoring public confidence in the immigration system is a task at which numerous governments have failed. It is not a task Defence is equipped to undertake. The MOD has its own policy failings which it needs to remedy – it should not be made responsible for the failings of other government departments as well.
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Government response AI summary
The government notes the Committee’s conclusions and states that current planning is for Defence to retain primacy of the UK’s operational response until January 2023, at which point the operational requirement and financing arrangements will be reviewed.
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Ministry of Defence
5
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Rejected
We recommend that the Home Office and the MOD agree realistic indicators of success and explain them to both Houses of Parliament. Furthermore, we recommend that an agreed date for the operation to be handed over to the Border Force is published, with the option of extension if so required. …
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We recommend that the Home Office and the MOD agree realistic indicators of success and explain them to both Houses of Parliament. Furthermore, we recommend that an agreed date for the operation to be handed over to the Border Force is published, with the option of extension if so required. This cannot be an open-ended deployment, occupying scarce Royal Naval vessels and personnel.
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the Committee’s view on the deployment of ‘scarce’ naval resources and states that the commitment can be maintained indefinitely without any significant impact on wider Royal Navy activity.
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Ministry of Defence
6
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Accepted
We believe that the Government ought to reconsider its refusal to publish the details of strategic and operational responsibility. This confusion around where responsibility for the policy lies is compounded by the fact that, as noted above, the solution to this issue does not lie at sea and therefore is …
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We believe that the Government ought to reconsider its refusal to publish the details of strategic and operational responsibility. This confusion around where responsibility for the policy lies is compounded by the fact that, as noted above, the solution to this issue does not lie at sea and therefore is outside the control of the Royal Navy (and indeed the MOD), despite its assuming primacy of the maritime operation. The fact that, six weeks on from the initial announcement, the Government is still unable (or unwilling) to answer questions about this issue does not inspire confidence.
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Government response AI summary
The government states that the overall division of responsibility is clear: the Home Secretary retains overall accountability, while the Defence Secretary is responsible for the operational response, including identifying, intercepting and managing small boat migrants.
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Ministry of Defence
7
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Acknowledged
A public disagreement between two great offices of state, played out in the House and on Twitter, is deeply unedifying. If one of the objectives is to restore public 30 Operation Isotrope: the use of the military to counter migrant crossings confidence then this disagreement has done the opposite and …
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A public disagreement between two great offices of state, played out in the House and on Twitter, is deeply unedifying. If one of the objectives is to restore public 30 Operation Isotrope: the use of the military to counter migrant crossings confidence then this disagreement has done the opposite and the operation has failed before it has even started. We question whether announcing the policy before agreeing the detail was a wise move or rather one borne of desperation. We hope that lessons will be learned from this experience.
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Government response AI summary
The Government notes the Committee’s view but believes it is reasonable to set out overarching policy aims and strategy in advance of the full details, stating that the MOD, Home Office and others are working closely together on a single cross-Government response.
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Ministry of Defence
8
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Rejected
It is clear that if Royal Navy vessels are to be committed to the operation in the Channel, some existing commitments will be given up. The Government ought to be clear, both with Parliament and the public what it is prioritising this task against and which commitments will be unfulfilled …
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It is clear that if Royal Navy vessels are to be committed to the operation in the Channel, some existing commitments will be given up. The Government ought to be clear, both with Parliament and the public what it is prioritising this task against and which commitments will be unfulfilled as a result.
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Government response AI summary
The Government disagrees with the Committee, stating that there is no significant impact whatsoever on wider Royal Navy or Army activity, as the assets made available to Operation ISOTROPE are already permanently assigned to Home Waters.
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Ministry of Defence
9
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Accepted
The Defence budget (despite its recent uplift and multi-year commitment) is already inadequate. Adding responsibility for immigration without a further uplift in the budget takes scarce resources from an already overstretched Department. We do not understand why this operation is not being treated as a MACA request and accordingly resourced …
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The Defence budget (despite its recent uplift and multi-year commitment) is already inadequate. Adding responsibility for immigration without a further uplift in the budget takes scarce resources from an already overstretched Department. We do not understand why this operation is not being treated as a MACA request and accordingly resourced by the Home Office.
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Government response AI summary
The Treasury, Home Office and MoD agreed a £50 million package to enable the delivery of military primacy until early 2023, at which point the requirement and resourcing will be reviewed.
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Ministry of Defence
10
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Acknowledged
Operation Isotrope’s potential to cause reputational damage to the Royal Navy (and even UK Defence as a whole) is significant. That risk comes from a number of areas: those who believe that this is not a defence task (but rather ought to be carried out by civil authorities); those who …
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Operation Isotrope’s potential to cause reputational damage to the Royal Navy (and even UK Defence as a whole) is significant. That risk comes from a number of areas: those who believe that this is not a defence task (but rather ought to be carried out by civil authorities); those who believe that the Royal Navy ought to have other, more pressing priorities; and those who believe that the Royal Navy is ineffective in the role, instead becoming a ‘taxi service’ for those crossing the Channel. This reputational damage could likely be countered by clear messaging of what the expectations are upon Royal Navy assets in the Channel and cross-Government agreement of the strategic objective of the operation. However, we have not seen any evidence that that will happen. (Paragraph 79) Conclusions
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges that countering small boats migration is a complex problem requiring a 'whole of Government' response and states the MOD has been clear on the Royal Navy's role and boundaries, with information published daily on GOV.UK.
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Ministry of Defence
11
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Rejected
The manner in which this decision was announced leaves a lot to be desired. The confusion around the ways and means which will be used to achieve the strategic objective (let alone the strategic objective itself) is unhelpful and does not lend itself to effective scrutiny, particularly when Ministers provide …
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The manner in which this decision was announced leaves a lot to be desired. The confusion around the ways and means which will be used to achieve the strategic objective (let alone the strategic objective itself) is unhelpful and does not lend itself to effective scrutiny, particularly when Ministers provide the bare minimum of information. This is compounded by the fact that, more than six weeks after the decision had been announced and we had requested more information from them, we have not received any evidence, written or oral from either of the Departments involved.
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Government response AI summary
The Government believes the Committee’s point on the timing of the announcement is disingenuous, clarifying the sequence of events.
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Ministry of Defence
12
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Accepted
Furthermore, this operation distracts from other Defence tasks, which is a particular concern given the shortfalls we identified in our recent Report ‘We’re going to need a bigger Navy’. The operation will likely have long-term impacts on training, personnel leave allocation and asset maintenance. It is also unclear why Op …
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Furthermore, this operation distracts from other Defence tasks, which is a particular concern given the shortfalls we identified in our recent Report ‘We’re going to need a bigger Navy’. The operation will likely have long-term impacts on training, personnel leave allocation and asset maintenance. It is also unclear why Op Isotrope is not being funded under the normal MACA arrangements. The reputational risk to the Royal Navy, particularly if this becomes a long-term operation, is significant. We can see few positives and many negatives should the Royal Navy assume primacy as suggested. (Paragraph 81) Operation Isotrope: the use of the military to counter migrant crossings 31
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Government response AI summary
The government states that Defence primacy for tackling small boats migration is part of the Government’s significant overhaul of the immigration system. An additional financial package of £50 million has been agreed with the Treasury and Home Office to ensure the capability uplifts and enhancements …
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Ministry of Defence
13
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the…
Accepted
In short, the Government has not attempted to persuade us that Operation Isotrope is anything but an ill-defined policy, prematurely announced. The best case scenario for the Royal Navy is that it will leave with its reputation unharmed: there is no prospect of leaving with its reputation enhanced. (Paragraph 82) …
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In short, the Government has not attempted to persuade us that Operation Isotrope is anything but an ill-defined policy, prematurely announced. The best case scenario for the Royal Navy is that it will leave with its reputation unharmed: there is no prospect of leaving with its reputation enhanced. (Paragraph 82) 32 Operation Isotrope: the use of the military to counter migrant crossings
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Government response AI summary
The government states that Defence primacy for tackling small boats migration is part of the Government’s significant overhaul of the immigration system. An additional financial package of £50 million has been agreed with the Treasury and Home Office to ensure the capability uplifts and enhancements …
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Ministry of Defence