Lords Committee to question Defence Secretary on the Integrated Review and other aspects of defence policy

The evidence session will explore how the Government intends to translate various aspirational aspects of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy and the Defence Command Paper into reality, defence spending and other operational responsibilities overseen by the Ministry of Defence.

The session will take place at 2.30pm on Tuesday 1 November and will be available to watch live or on demand at Parliament TV or attend in person in Committee Room 4, Palace of Westminster.

Questions will include:

General

• Could you provide the Committee with an overall update on the Government’s progress in bringing the aspirations contained in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy and the Defence Command Paper into reality?
• Which specific areas of defence would be your top priorities for increased funding? In light of the current economic environment, will the Government be able to maintain its commitment to the 3% of GDP increase target? If it does, to what extent will an uplift to 3% deliver a real increase in military capabilities, given the impact of inflation and the weakness of sterling? And if it does not, what will have to give?

UK capabilities and resources

• What steps is the Government taking to replace the weapons and equipment that it has given to Ukraine, and how long do you expect it to take to restore UK capabilities? Has the war demonstrated a need for larger stockpiles of equipment and ammunition? And what of key weapon-types that the UK lacked even before it ran down its stockpiles, such as the absence of a modern anti-ship missile from Royal Navy and RAF service?
• What was the strategic logic for the proposed reduction in size of the Army’s personnel to 72,500 down from the previous target of 82,000? Will the size of the Army be revisited again as the Integrated Review is updated and if defence spending increases? To what extent are headline troop numbers a useful metric for judging the Army’s capabilities? Likewise, how far do ship and aircraft numbers capture the capabilities of the Navy and RAF?

New technologies and future threats

• How would you characterise the current balance between nuclear, conventional, and ‘sub-threshold’ threats to the UK, and how prepared is the UK to respond to each type of threat? The Integrated Review announced a reversal of what was previously a downward trajectory in the UK’s own nuclear warhead stockpile ceiling; what was the rationale for this?

Culture change

• What kinds of culture change do you think are needed in Defence, and what is the Government doing to generate it? Conversely, what does the MOD already do well? And are there areas where further reliance on private suppliers and tolerance for programme risk may not be appropriate?

Ukraine and NATO

• What are your key priorities for further support to Ukraine as the war develops, taking into account what Ukraine needs and what the UK can provide? Are there any military lessons for the UK from the way the war has played out? What are your reflections on the implications of the war for European security, for NATO, and for UK strategic priorities?