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
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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
19 results
Clear
40 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
UK Armed Forces deployed beyond designed capacity, impacting platform maintenance.
The Minister for the Armed Forces acknowledged that the UK Armed Forces were deployed in excess of what the force structure was designed for, noting that “there is absolutely no pretending that we are not spending resource more keenly than … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the need to prioritise resources for modernisation and readiness, stating that lessons from the Russia-Ukraine War have led to a re-evaluation of assumptions and a greater focus on warfighting readiness, balancing existing programmes.
Ministry of Defence
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57 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
RAF's peer-to-peer warfighting capability questioned due to inadequate platforms, pilot shortages, and unsuitable munitions.
Both Generals Lord Houghton and Sir Nick Carter questioned the RAF’s ability to engage in peer-to-peer warfighting. General Lord Houghton suggested that the RAF had “good kit” in relation to its platforms and weapons but not enough of them—and a … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the responsibility to ensure the Armed Forces have the right people, stating that increasing recruitment and improving retention are absolute priorities, with measures outlined in the Haythornthwaite Review and DCP23, and a new Transformation Directorate driving delivery.
Ministry of Defence
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59 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
F-35 fleet overstretched and too small, compounded by pilot shortages and air base vulnerability.
Professor Justin Bronk also raised the issue of F-35 fleet size, describing the F-35 force as “triple or quadruple-hatted in terms of how many parts of UK defence are counting on it for how many mission outputs in the case … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the responsibility to ensure the Armed Forces have the right people, stating that increasing recruitment and improving retention are absolute priorities, with measures outlined in the Haythornthwaite Review and DCP23, and a new Transformation Directorate driving delivery.
Ministry of Defence
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62 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Strategic Command comprises diverse and critical defence capabilities, integrating forces across all domains.
Strategic Command is a joint force Command, working across defence and with the three Front Line Commands to integrate capabilities across all domains. Commander, Strategic Command told us that he would regard the different parts of his organisations as some … Read more
Government Response
The government explains that the Defence Command Paper 2023 outlines a new purpose for Defence and details significant investments to upgrade nuclear systems and enhance ISTAR, Electronic Warfare, signals intelligence, and cyber capabilities, alongside improving the lethality of the Royal Navy, Army, and RAF with new technologies like counter-UAS and swarming drones.
Ministry of Defence
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64 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Defence faces skills and capability shortages in medical, cyber, intelligence, and engineering professions.
In July the Chief of the Defence Staff told us that, as well as in medical and health, there were also skills and capability shortages in cyber/digital127 and in addition, the MOD Annual Report and Accounts highlighted intelligence as a … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges its responsibility to ensure the Armed Forces have the right people in the right place with the right skills and recognizes the challenge of competing in a demanding labour market to recruit and retain personnel.
Ministry of Defence
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66 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Modern workforce recruitment requires diverse interventions and better utilisation of specialist Reservist skills.
Both he and the Minister for the Armed Forces highlighted the importance of exploring a range of interventions in order to attract a modern workforce, with the Minister highlighting the Haythornthwaite Report as an ongoing project in this area.133 Commander, … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges its responsibility to ensure the Armed Forces have the right people and recognizes the importance of attracting new generations with modern and flexible offers in a competitive labour market.
Ministry of Defence
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73 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
UK Armed Forces suffer significant net outflow and critical skill shortages in key areas.
The Haythornthwaite Review (examined in the section below) found that in 2022 there was a net outflow (the difference between the number of people leaving and those joining) of 4,660 from the UK Armed Forces with the “overall voluntary outflow … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges its responsibility to ensure the Armed Forces have the right people and skills, and recognizes the importance of attracting and retaining personnel with modern offers in a competitive labour market.
Ministry of Defence
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76 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
UK Armed Forces face significant recruitment challenges competing for national talent
The Chief of the Air Force highlighted the difficulty in recruitment presented by the UK labour market which had 1.3 million vacancies at the start of 2023.160 The First Sea Lord described the Armed Forces as being “in a battle … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the challenge of recruitment and retention in a competitive labour market, highlighting recent pay increases, measures outlined in the Haythornthwaite Review and Defence Command Paper 2023, and the establishment of a new Transformation Directorate to address these issues.
Ministry of Defence
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77 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Allied nations also face significant challenges recruiting and retaining military personnel
We understand from witnesses including the Minister for the Armed Forces and 0(cid:31) 3(cid:29)& Capita that this labour market challenge is not just an issue in the UK, and that partner m(cid:7)iUl(cid:11)iUta(cid:9)r(cid:14)ies in! (cid:2)N,DA(cid:23)T(cid:2)XO(cid:23)(cid:2)(cid:18), MAXM(cid:17)u(cid:2)sXt(cid:20)r5aMl5i(cid:6)a(cid:2), X:N(cid:2)eWw(cid:2)(cid:6) (cid:22)Z(cid:2)eWaXPla(cid:14)nPd(cid:14) and Japan are … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the global nature of the recruitment challenge for Armed Forces, outlining ongoing efforts like pay increases, measures from the Haythornthwaite Review and Defence Command Paper 2023, and a new Transformation Directorate to improve recruitment and retention.
Ministry of Defence
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78 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Significant pinch-point shortages in technical trades severely limit UK Armed Forces capability
In November, the Secretary of State told us that recruitment and retention was an area of concern for him given that in September 2023 there had been “183 pinch points, of which 61 were assessed as having a significant or … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the concerns regarding recruitment and retention "pinch points" within the Armed Forces, detailing ongoing initiatives such as recent pay increases, measures from the Haythornthwaite Review and Defence Command Paper 2023, and the creation of a new Transformation Directorate to address these staffing challenges.
Ministry of Defence
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83 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
UK Armed Forces operating significantly beyond designed capacity, leading to severe overstretch
The Chief of the General staff told us that the Army is currently delivering 130% of its capacity.180 The First Sea Lord admitted that there are always more tasks for a Navy than there are ships.181 We heard that by … Read more
Government Response
The government points to the Defence Command Paper 2023 (DCP23) as its strategy to address defence challenges, outlining its purpose to protect the nation, enhance capabilities (including nuclear, ISTAR, electronic warfare, cyber, and lethality), and increase operational productivity by rebalancing investment.
Ministry of Defence
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97 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Armed Services are inadequate to fulfil ambitious, unprioritised ministerial defence demands
Professor Michael Clarke told us that both Integrated Review documents (the original and the refresh) had demonstrated that ministerial priorities were that “Britain should have a series of multiple roles that it can perform in the world and that it … Read more
Government Response
The government published the Defence Command Paper 2023, outlining a new purpose for Defence focused on protecting the nation and its prosperity, and highlighting the UK's role within NATO and its alliances. This paper, built on an increased MOD budget and refreshed Integrated Review, aims to address the evolving threat picture.
Ministry of Defence
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98 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Prime Minister and Cabinet own the ultimate risk for defence readiness
General Lord Houghton was clear that the only way to reduce risk to readiness was to increase funding, while noting that this was a political choice, not a military one. The readiness assessments carried out by the MOD were shared … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the need to prioritise resources for modernization and readiness, stating that lessons from the Russia-Ukraine War have led to a re-evaluation of assumptions and a greater focus on warfighting readiness. It details ongoing work, including balancing the Global Operate programme with the Defence Command Paper's outcomes and evolving the Capability Readiness Assessment Framework to inform decision-making.
Ministry of Defence
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99 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Specialisation in defence roles is crucial, as generic forces are inadequate for modern warfare
One option that was suggested was that the UK Armed Forces could specialise in certain roles, relying on Allies to fill gaps in capability. Professor Bronk used the example of the Typhoon force which he described as covering “far too … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the discussion on specialisation, stating that the UK's approach through NATO leverages the collective capabilities of 32 nations, and Defence continuously reviews priorities in concert with allies.
Ministry of Defence
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138 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Government's assessment of warfighting effort welcome but long overdue
We welcome the Government’s decision to assess what the country would need to do to maintain a warfighting effort. However, it is worrying that this work had not already been undertaken. The national defence plan is still a work in … Read more
Government Response
The government stated the MOD has always maintained defence plans, recently consolidating its contribution and improving operational planning, and is considering options for sustaining warfighting capabilities. It welcomed continued scrutiny of warfighting and strategic readiness efforts.
Ministry of Defence
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3 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Government's slow and unhelpful responses impeded inquiry work on defence readiness
The Government’s reaction to this specific inquiry has also been unacceptably slow and has impeded our work. Responses to our requests for written evidence have arrived many months late and contained very little useful information. We took up the Government’s … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledged its slow response time for this inquiry and committed to making every effort to prevent recurrence, assuring the planned annual open session would be prioritised and substantive for providing information.
Ministry of Defence
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8 Conclusion Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
UK Armed Forces face persistent capability shortfalls and an unresolved recruitment crisis
There are multiple capability shortfalls within the UK Armed Forces. For that reason, we welcome the decision to maintain the Albion-class vessels in operational service until their out of service dates in the 2030s. However, we are also increasingly concerned … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the concerns about attracting and retaining personnel, stating a formal HMG response to the Haythornthwaite Review will be published during 2024 to outline next steps for delivery and implementation of recruitment and retention reforms.
Ministry of Defence
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11 Recommendation Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Introduce budget uplift or prioritisation ranking for Armed Forces commitments via National Security Council
Despite the Secretary of State’s insistence that the UK Armed Forces still have sufficient capacity to deploy in response to world events, we remain to be convinced. We are concerned that the breadth of ministerial requirements is in danger of … Read more
Government Response
The government stated it is taking forward work to balance the Global Operate programme with Defence Command Paper priorities, continuously reviewing capabilities and utilising the Capability Readiness Assessment Framework, but did not commit to a budget uplift or a new, strictly adhered to prioritisation ranking.
Ministry of Defence
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15 Recommendation Acknowledged
First Report - Ready for War?
Publish departmental responsibilities within the national defence plan and assign to named 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 existing approach for lead government departments in risk planning, but did not commit to publishing specific responsibilities or assigning 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