Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Paragraph: 51
The UK makes an impressive contribution to NATO.
Conclusion
The UK makes an impressive contribution to NATO. We welcome the decision within the Integrated Review of 2021 to ensure that the UK maintained its prominent role in NATO. However, we are concerned that if the Government fails to protect the defence budget from inflationary and foreign exchange pressures combined with the withdrawal of a battle group from Estonia, it will send the wrong message to Allies and adversaries alike. Unity is vital in understanding what the threat is and how best to counter it.
Government Response Summary
The Department highlights that the UK will continue to spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence and is set to spend more than 2% this financial year, that the Prime Minister has provided Defence additional support in the Spring Budget of £5 billion over the next 2 years, and that the UK doubled the number of UK troops in Estonia as a temporary measure.
Paragraph Reference:
51
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Department is pleased that the UK will continue to spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence and is set to spend more than 2% this financial year. The Prime Minister has provided Defence additional support in the Spring Budget of £5 billion over the next 2 years. This will bring the UK to around 2.25% of national income and represents significant progress in meeting our long-term minimum defence spending target of 2.5% of GDP. Special relationships? US, UK and NATO: Government Response 5 At the NATO Summit in Lithuania in July 2023, the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary will be seeking to ensure that all Allies invest more in our collective defence and carry a fair burden share. In response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the UK doubled the number of UK troops in Estonia. This was always a temporary deployment. The overall capability of our commitment in Estonia is far more important than the numbers of troops alone. At the NATO Summit in Madrid, the UK pledged to enhance our cooperation with Estonia and strengthen security in the Baltic region. The Defence Secretary and his Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, met in London on 8 November 2022 and signed a joint Defence Roadmap, committing to ever stronger ties between our two countries. We remain committed to implementing this Roadmap with Estonia.