Select committee: Defence Committee
Recommendation 6
Sixth Report: Manpower or mindset: Defence’s contribution to the UK’s pandemic response
Published 25 Mar 2021
Paragraph 52
Addressed to Ministry of Defence
Defence Committee Defence contribution to the UK’s pandemic response All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We encourage the Department to publish the outcome of its Lessons Summit to enable the learning from this experience to be promulgated as widely as possible. Defence must ensure that it evaluates its own response to the pandemic, while contributing to the wider cross-government review (and any public inquiry) to ensure that the UK learns from this once-in-a-century event and is better prepared for the future crises which will inevitably follow, and, in particular, understands that the unique military contribution is mindset rather than manpower.
From: Defence Committee, Sixth Report: Manpower or mindset: Defence’s contribution to the UK’s pandemic response (HC 357), paragraph 52, 25 March 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 9 July 2021 (deadline 25 May 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government notes the Committee's recommendations on the pandemic review and on early use of Defence capabilities, describes Defence's role as supporting, and commits to a formal lessons identification process.
- On the Committee's conclusion about pandemic preparedness and COBRA, the government says only that it "notes the Committee's recommendation".
- On civilian agencies, it says Defence support is channelled through the MACA process, where "viable non-Defence solutions" to a request will be identified.
- On recognition and pay, it says base pay recommendations come from the pay review bodies and HM Treasury guidance, and that Defence is "bound by the Government's public sector pay pause". Medallic recognition is being led by the Cabinet Office, with "no further details" available.
- The Ministry of Defence has begun a formal lessons identification process and will "support any future Government-led reviews".