Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Accepted
Increased armed forces visibility and engagement positively impacts military recruitment and preparedness.
Conclusion
This should also allow other departments, society and industry to be more aware of, and therefore more prepared for, the potential challenges ahead—relieving pressure on Defence to focus on its principal tasks during a national emergency or conflict. Greater visibility and engagement of the armed forces with society should also have a positive impact on military recruitment. (Recommendation, Paragraph 79) 28
Government Response Summary
The government highlights MOD's leading role in the Cabinet Office-led Home Defence Programme and the Resilience Action Plan (published July 2025). It also details actions to increase the visibility of the Armed Forces in society, including engaging with schools, expanding Cadet Forces, and inviting industry leaders to Defence courses, aiming to raise awareness and preparedness.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The MOD’s purpose is to protect the nation, leading on defence and the use of the Armed Forces. It is working closely with other Government departments, including playing a leading role in the development of the Cabinet Office-led cross-Government Home Defence Programme, overseen centrally by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. This coordinates civil and military preparations across the whole of Government for some of the most serious risks we could face. This includes communicating, empowering, and engaging with all tiers of resilience actors to ensure all sectors are prepared for, and able to respond to, the most catastrophic of risks. The Government has set out the UK’s strategic approach to resilience in the Resilience Action Plan,6 published on 14 July 2025. This will deliver against three objectives in this Parliament: continuously assessing how resilient the UK is, enabling the whole of society to take action to increase their resilience, and strengthening the core public sector resilience system. 6 UK Government Resilience Action Plan https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk- government-resilience-action-plan The MOD continues to contribute to homeland resilience through the long- established Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) process. Through this, the Armed Forces can, when appropriate, bolster government’s emergency response capacity or capability, acting in support of the lead civil authority or government department to do so. The Strategic Defence Review set out the need for Defence Readiness legislation this parliament to give the Government more robust or additional powers to keep the UK safe. This could include measures to improve the preparedness of key industries including nuclear, to better protect our Critical National Infrastructure and to support the mobilisation of wider Defence, including industry reserves. The Defence Readiness Bill is potentially a legislative vehicle for the wider Government, not just Defence. We are therefore working closely across Government through the Cabinet Office-led Home Defence programme to shape our key requirements and understand and identify the measures needed. The Prime Minister has made clear the importance of a whole-of-society approach to the UK’s security and resilience and we agree that the MOD has a key role in this. We are engaging with a wide range of interlocutors from industry, academia, think tanks and the third sector on these issues and are taking forward the specific recommendations in the SDR to increase the visibility of the Armed Forces in society. Examples include developing understanding of the Armed Forces among young people in schools, expanding in-school and community-based Cadet Forces and establishing a plan for inviting company leaders onto Defence courses as appropriate.