Select committee: Defence Committee

Recommendation 7

In Search of Strategy — The 2020 Integrated Review Published 13 Aug 2020 Paragraph 42 Addressed to Ministry of Defence
Recommendation (the committee's words)
It remains to be seen whether the foreign policy aspect of the Review will produce a distinct Foreign Policy Strategy or whether this will be combined with a National Security Strategy. Whether the Review produces one, two, or three documents, we have heard that it must first clearly identify the desired “ends” of the UK’s security, defence, development and foreign policy. It is only by developing a detailed conceptual framework for the UK’s security and foreign policy that the Review will be able to identify and question current assumptions and provide an evidence-base to make decisions about the UK’s future defence policy and posture. We therefore recommend that the Review explains how the Government views risk, includes clear and detailed definitions of how the Government understands key terms such as “security” and “resilience” and provides answers to the following questions: a. What is the UK’s understanding of the concepts of national, international and human security and the relationships between them? In Search of Strategy — The 2020 Integrated Review 56 b. What does domestic resilience mean and how is it related to the UK’s foreign and defence policy? c. What security and defence priorities emerge from an analysis of the UK’s domestic priorities? In what ways are they complementary and in what ways do they conflict? d. How does the UK view the international system and its place within it?

From: Defence Committee, In Search of Strategy — The 2020 Integrated Review (HC 165), paragraph 42, 13 August 2020

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 22 October 2020 (deadline 13 October 2020).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government's response welcomes the Committee's inquiry and says the Integrated Review is addressing or will address most of the issues raised, while saying that the Comprehensive Spending Review will determine funding.

  • On challenge to assumptions, the government states that it "agrees with the Committee that appropriate challenge is critical to delivering the Integrated Review", and says external challenge is being invited, including through targeted workshops.
  • On defence funding, it says it remains committed to spending at least 2% of GDP, which should be seen as "a floor and not a ceiling", while adding that "we should not fixate on percentages".
  • On a long-term settlement, the government says the Comprehensive Spending Review "will provide a multiyear financial settlement for Defence" and that its position on that Review "has not changed".
  • On procurement, it says decisions on adapting existing policies will be based on investment decisions made as part of the Integrated Review, and it looks forward to updating the Committee "in due course".

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