Armed Forces Readiness

Defence Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 24 Apr 2023 Closed: 24 May 2024 Parliament page
The Committee welcomes written evidence on the following: Are the armed forces sufficiently capable, resourced and ready to protect the UK and our allies? What are the main gaps in capability and/or readiness, and what will it take to fill these gaps? Are the UK armed forces a ‘tier one … Read more
10 Recommendations
122 Conclusions
1 Report
6 Oral sessions
6 Events
Activity timeline 14 events
25 Apr
2024
Report published
4 Feb
2024
Report published
22 Nov
2023
Oral evidence
22 Nov
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
14 Nov
2023
Oral evidence
14 Nov
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
7 Nov
2023
Oral evidence
7 Nov
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
21 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
21 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
20 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
20 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 5, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 6 sessions
22 Nov 2023
View on parliament.uk
Panel 1
General Sir Jim Hockenhull · Ministry of Defence Rt Hon James Heappey MP · Ministry of Defence
14 Nov 2023
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Panel 1
Admiral Sir Ben Key KCB CBE · Ministry of Defence Rear Admiral Steve Moorhouse CBE · Ministry of Defence
7 Nov 2023
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Panel 1
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton KCB · Ministry of Defence General Sir Patrick Sanders · Ministry of Defence
21 Jun 2023
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Panel 1
General (Retd) Sir Nick Carter, Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)
20 Jun 2023
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Panel 1
The Lord Houghton of Richmond GCB CBE DL
6 Jun 2023
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Panel 1
Dr Simon Anglim · Kings College London Nick Childs · The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Professor Justin Bronk · RUSI
Title HC No. Published Items Response
First Report - Ready for War? HC 26 4 Feb 2024 132 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
35 Conclusion Accepted in Part
First Report - Ready for War?
Propose mechanism for annual, detailed updates to Defence Committee on UK Armed Forces readiness
In a functioning democracy, the House of Commons Defence Committee needs to be routinely informed about the planning assumptions and readiness of the nation’s armed forces. We therefore recommend that—following the Minister’s welcome commitment to work with us—the Government propose … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to releasing headlines from current Defence Planning Assumptions (DPAs) and 'as much as possible' of future DPAs. However, it does not explicitly propose a mechanism for providing annual, detailed updates specifically to the Committee.
Ministry of Defence
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36 Recommendation Accepted in Part
First Report - Ready for War?
Require Government to explain readiness data classification and consult committees on future decisions.
We also recommend that the Government explain why previously unclassified information about readiness is no longer published, recognise the reduction in public and parliamentary accountability that this has brought about, and seek to rectify the situation. In future, when a … Read more
Government Response
The government explains the historical evolution and classification of Defence Planning Assumptions (DPAs) and has released a version of the 2023 DPAs to enhance transparency. However, it does not commit to consulting select committees before classifying previously available information in the future.
Ministry of Defence
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107 Recommendation Accepted in Part
First Report - Ready for War?
Produce detailed breakdown of budget allocations for replenishing and increasing military stockpiles.
The commitments made to replenish and increase stockpiles made since the 2022 Autumn Budget have all been welcome. The question remains whether this is anywhere near enough to meet the potential threats we face. It is therefore disturbing to hear … Read more
Government Response
The government stated that the £1.95 billion from the Spring 2023 Budget is being used to build munitions and medical stockpiles and for critical defence activities, providing examples such as 155mm munitions and Storm Shadow. It also noted nearly £1 billion in contracts to replenish UK stocks sent to Ukraine, but declined to provide exact stockpile holdings due to national security, while confirming a new munitions strategy.
Ministry of Defence
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127 Conclusion Accepted in Part
First Report - Ready for War?
Previous report recommended earlier MOD industry engagement, workforce development, multi-year funding, and spiral development.
In our Report on DE&S we recommended that: • The MOD should engage with industry at an earlier stage, particularly on future requirements and their feasibility; • The MOD should consider the implications of the shortage of skilled and experienced … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to earlier engagement with industry and accepted all Haythornthwaite Review recommendations for the workforce, with a formal response detailing implementation to be published in 2024.
Ministry of Defence
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140 Recommendation Accepted in Part
First Report - Ready for War?
Publish departmental responsibilities under national defence plan, naming lead Ministers
Under a national defence plan, each relevant Government Department would have its own responsibilities. We recommend that these responsibilities are published as far as possible, and—if any responsibilities cannot be published for national security reasons—these should be provided in confidence … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to making departmental responsibilities in national defence planning as transparent as possible, following the approach for the National Risk Register, but did not address the recommendation to add these roles to the responsibilities of a named Minister.
Ministry of Defence
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Government Response AI assessment · 131 of 10 classified
Accepted 79
Accepted in Part 5
Acknowledged 19
Deferred 11
Not Addressed 12
Rejected 5
Total 10 recs + 122 conclusions