This annual statistical compendium from the Ministry of Defence contains a wide range of data relating to the armed forces, defence expenditure, service and civilian personnel and defence activities. Findings for the period 2003-04 include: i) defence spending was the Government's fourth highest expenditure, with a provisional outturn against the Departmental Expenditure Limits of £37.2 billion, and a total value of MoD fixed assets of £86.3 billion as of March 2003; ii) the total number of MoD personnel fell by 34 per cent between 1990 to 2004, with service personnel down by 32 per cent; iii) the proportion of serving personnel from the ethnic minorities stood at 4.9 per cent at April 2004, compared with 4.3 per cent the previous year; iv) in 2002-03, MoD net expenditure on R&D activity totalled £2.7 billion; and v) the MoD spent around £1.7 billion on conflict prevention activities worldwide during the year 2003-04.
UK military personnel as individuals are properly subject to UK and international law wherever they serve and there are processes to ensure scrutiny of their individual behaviour and legal compliance but, in the last ten years, legal judgments in the UK and elsewhere against the MoD have raised a number of legal, ethical and practical questions for the Armed Forces and their conduct of operations. The growing number of such challenges is leading to a feeling of disquiet amongst military personnel and informed commentators about the extent and scale of judicial involvement in military matters.There are two aspects of the use of human rights law in military operations that most concern the Committee: The extraterritorial application of the European Convention on Human Rights has allowed claims in the UK courts from foreign nationals. However, the requirement for full and detailed investigations of every death resulting from an armed conflict is putting a significant burden on the MoD and the Armed Forces. Secondly, there has been a failure of the accepted principle of combat immunity, most recently evidenced in the Supreme Court majority judgment in June 2013 allowing families and military personnel to bring negligence cases against the MoD for injury or death. This seems to us to risk the judicialisation of war and to be incompatible with the accepted contract entered into by Service personnel and the nature of soldiering.
At present arms and defence-related technologies cannot be exported from the US without an export licence. The system is burdensome and time consuming and discourages US/UK industrial collaboration. This report examines the UK/US Defence Trade Cooperation Treaty, which would seek to establish a new framework for arms trade and technology transfer between US and UK by removing the need for a licence in certain categories. Treaty is only a framework agreement as the detailed operation is still to be set out in Implementing Arrangements. In the expectation of satisfactory Implementing Arrangements the Committee endorse the Treaty.
In March 2008 the Government published "The National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom: Security in an interdependent world" (NSS) (Cm. 7291, 2008, ISBN 9780101729123). Part dealt with the contribution of the armed forces to the overarching security policy of the UK, and the Defence Committee set out to examine "how the MoD and the Armed Forces interact with other departments and agencies to ensure the safety and security of the UK". The report looks at the developing area of Parliamentary scrutiny of national security, welcomes the proposed creation of a Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, but does question which minister will give evidence to that Committee. The vital role of the ministry of Defence is outlined, and the contribution must be appropriately understood, directed and resourced. The Committee recommends that the Government investigate how the Territorial Army could be used in civil emergencies, rather than always resorting to regular troops. It is essential that all activity relating to national security is appropriately funded from an indicative national security budget. The NSS should also make a clearer connection between the strategy and industry, and the Committee welcomes the Government's engagement with the UK Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers' Community. Current issues examined include: the London 2012 Olympic Games; maritime security - the Committee comments on only six Royal Navy ships being dedicated to this, and the level of action taken to address identified threats to aspects of critical infrastructure such as ports; the impact of current operations and the extent to which UK forces are stretched or overstretched.
In the UK's institutional arrangements for protecting human rights, both Parliament and the judiciary have a central role. When the courts give a judgement finding that a law, policy or practice is in breach of human rights, it is for Parliament to scrutinise the adequacy of the Government's response and in some cases decide if there needs to be a change in law. An important part of the role of the Committee is to help Parliament in this function. This report brings together all their monitoring work in relation to both judgements of the European Court of Human Rights and declarations of incompatibility given by UK courts under the Human Rights Act.
This report, from the Foreign Affairs Committee, examines the issue of global security in respect of Russia. It sets out 40 conclusions and recommendations covering the following areas: democracy and human rights; the bilateral UK-Russia relationship; energy security; EU-Russia relations; European security issues; international security issues. Specific recommendations from the Committee include: that the UK should continue to press its concerns about democratic and human rights standards with the Russian authorities; that the Government should continue to offer assistance to Russia in the preparation of extradition requests to the UK and in the development of the country's judicial system; further that the Government invites its Russian counterpart to renegotiate extradition arrangements between Russia and the UK; the Committee also recommends that the Government make the development of a united and coherent EU Russia policy an explicit goal of its work in the EU in 2008; also that the Government work to bring closer together the Western and Russian assessments of the Iranian nuclear threat.
The Government must show how the excellent medical care being delivered to injured service personnel will continue long after the memory of the Afghan Operation fades. This report, which gives praise to the first class medical treatment provided for the Armed Forces, questions whether the support for injured personnel will be sustainable over the long term. In particular, the committee is concerned about the number of people who may go on to develop severe and life-limiting, physical, mental health, alcohol or neurological problems. There is still a question mark over whether the Government as a whole fully understands the likely future demands and related costs
The mission of the MoD's (Ministry of Defence's) Defence Equipment and Support (DE & S) organisation is to equip and support our Armed Forces for operations now and in the future. Support to current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq has taken priority and the organisation has performed well. The Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) system remains highly effective in enabling vital equipment to be provided quickly to the two theatres to meet rapidly changing threats, but there are concerns that UORs represent a partial failure to equip our forces for predicted expeditionary operations, and on their effects on the core budget in future years. DE & S' performance in procuring longer-term equipment declined significantly in 2007-08. The forecast costs for the 20 largest defence projects increased by £205 million and the forecast delays increased by some 100 months in the year. The improvements promised by both the long-standing application of the principles of 'smart procurement' and the more recent formation of the DE & S organisation appear not to have materialised. The FRES (Future Rapid Effect System) programme has been a fiasco, being poorly conceived and managed from the outset. The Committee condemns the failure to date to publish an updated version of the Defence Industrial Strategy and considers that its continuing absence increases the risk that the UK Defence Industrial Base will not be able to meet the future requirements of our Armed Forces. Finally, the UK's future military capability depends on the investment made today in Research and Development. Sufficient funding for defence research needs to be ring-fenced and the MoD must recognise the very high priority of research and reverse the recent cut in research spending.
This strategy document sets out the Government's analysis of the UK's defence industrial capabilities requirement, and is divided into three parts: i) a strategic overview including information on the principles and processes that underpin procurement and industrial decisions, the need for transparency, the evolving defence industry environment, developments and innovation in defence research technology; ii) a review of different industrial sectors and cross-cutting industrial capabilities; and iii) how the strategy will be implemented and an assessment of implications for the Ministry of Defence and industry as a whole.
The defence industrial strategy published in December 2005 (Command paper Cm. 6697, ISBN 0101669720). Its aim was to provide greater transparency on the UK's future defence requirements and to set out those industrial capabilities the UK needs to maintain appropriate sovereignty and operate equipment independently. The Committee praises the production of the strategy to a tight timetable and with wide consultation. The strategy has been well received by industry. In the future there will be more focus on upgrading and maintaining platforms rather than designing and building new equipment. The Committee wants the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to continue improvements in the procurement process, and to give more information about future requirements. Investment in research and technology needs to increase, or the result will be lower quality defence equipment. The MoD also needs to develop a greater understanding of the vital role of small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain. Competitive procurement will not always be possible in some areas, where there is only a single company with the capacity and capability to deliver the MoD's requirements. The Committee expresses concerns about the planned use of long-term partnering arrangements, seeing the risk of possible monopoly supply and lack of access of other companies to sub-contract work.
the point of war is not just to win but to make a better peace, seventh report of session 2009-10, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence
the point of war is not just to win but to make a better peace, seventh report of session 2009-10, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence
The Defence Committee report recommends that when troops are committed to operations in future there must be robust plans to coordinate military and reconstruction efforts from the earliest stages. The next Government should lay out the requirements of the "Comprehensive Approach" (the combination of civilian and military actors in a counter-insurgency operation) in order better to preserve all the lessons learned in the complex operations of Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them having been painfully re-learned from Bosnia, Kosovo and even Malaya. The Committee looks to the recently formed Stabilisation Unit (owned by the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence) to maintain a capacity to deploy significant numbers of personnel for post-conflict reconstruction and to ensure that vital knowledge and skills gained during deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan are retained and built on. The Comprehensive Approach requires close work with local nationals to build up their capability and confidence in all fields including security, governance, law and order and development. This must include women at all levels. The Government needs to find better ways to draw on the expertise of NGOs without compromising the effectiveness and safety of aid workers on the ground.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain remain key partners for the UK but relations are complicated by the differences between our societies and the pressing need for reform in the Gulf. Historic warm relations between the UK government and the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are not mirrored in public opinion in Saudi Arabia and the UK, and the UK's reputation in Bahrain has also suffered since 2011. The Government must make its public profile and reputation a more central part of its work in the Gulf, consider how it can best support much-needed economic and political reforms, and how it can explain its policies and point to specific achievements when speaking to the public at home and in the Gulf. In Saudi Arabia, the Government must convert its promising steps so far in providing assistance on legal and judicial reform into solid and reportable programmes. In Bahrain, it must work to secure access for NGOs and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and press more strongly for swifter implementation of reforms. Saudi Arabia's role as a key buyer for the UK defence industry is controversial but the report finds little to suggest that ending defence sales from the UK would have any positive effect. The aggressive way in which the Bahraini security forces handled events in 2011 has deeply damaged Bahrain's reputation. The recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) were sensible and the Bahraini government's failure fully to implement them is inexplicable.
The report The Economic Implications for the United Kingdom of Scottish Independence (HL 152) examines the effects on the United Kingdom economy should the Scottish people vote in favor of independence in 2014, creating an independent Scottish state. The decision the Scots will have to make is not a simple one. It will have far-reaching constitutional, political and social, as well as economic consequences. This report considers a number of economic aspects of separation, including: impact on the single market in the UK; international investment in Scotland; location implications for medium and small companies; Scotland's currency; the role of the Bank of England if Scottish financial institutions needed emergency support; regulation of Scottish financial institutions; division of assets and liabilities; underlying fiscal position of Scotland post-indepen
Since the end of the Cold War and the disappearance of the Soviet threat to Western Europe, Europeans and the United States have had to re-consider the threats to their security, which have become unclear and unpredictable. More recently the shift in the economic and political balance away from the United States and Western Europe towards Asia, a revision in US defence thinking and the economic crisis have created a new situation to which the European Union (EU) and its Member States need to respond. The strong message from this report is that the pressures on European defence are changing radically with reduced budgets and a United States that will look increasingly to the Asia Pacific region. Europe can keep America's engagement by stepping up to the mark itself. European military expenditure is not the only issue; it is also the effectiveness of that spend. By better coordination of forces and most of all by ensuring that forces are capable of, and willing to, deploy Europe can achieve this now. It is also essential that the EU's Member States engage in a profound debate about the circumstances under which they would be prepared to use force. With 21 members of both the EU and NATO, what is good for the EU is good for NATO and Europe as a whole. This is an area where the UK and France should lead efforts to strengthen European defence capabilities. [Report summary]
In this report the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee says the UK Government must identify any shortfalls in the provision of services to the Armed Forces Community in Northern Ireland, and report on how these will be met. The Committee also calls for closer engagement between the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive on support for the Armed Forces Community. The inquiry found that due to devolution, variations exist across the regions of the UK as to how health, housing and education services are provided. There are some specific benefits for the armed forces community that exist in Great Britain but are not available in Northern Ireland, such as improved access to IVF treatment, priority in accessing NHS healthcare, additional priority in accessing social housing, and certain educational entitlements.
The Ordnance Survey has existed for 216 years as a publicly funded and managed agency of government. It became a Trading Fund, then an Executive Agency in 1980s and 1990s, and is now overseen by the Department for Communities and Local Government. The Survey though ceased to be publicly funded in October 2006, and since that time is required to make a profit and so engage in commercial competition. This in turn raises the question of whether such a dominant organisation can operate fairly in the information market. A previous report (HCP 481, session 2001-02, ISBN 9780215003812), concluded that there needed to be defined boundaries between public service and national interest work. The Communities and Local Government Committee has set out 12 conclusions and recommendations, including: now that Ordnance Survey is self supporting, both funding its public task and commercial work entirely from its own revenues, the distinction between public duty and commercial interest is no longer clear; the Committee believes that the Surveys' annual report and accounts should distinguish between its public and private tasks; that the Survey needs to co-operate with the private sector in regard of licences that cover intellectual property rights, particularly if the licence is too stringent in its' requirements, such as requiring competitors not to compete with the Survey; greater clarity is needed on what use can be made of data bought from the Survey and that licensing conditions appear to be too complex and inflexible.
This report examines the Government's compensation scheme for British civilians interned by the Japanese during the Second World War. It follows on from a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration ('A Debt of Honour' HCP 324, session 2005-06, ISBN 0102934673), published in January 2005, which examined the case of Professor Jack Hayward who had been refused payment on the grounds of not meeting the eligibility criteria of 'Britishness'. The Ombudsman recommended that the Ministry of Defence should review the operation of the scheme and reconsider the position of Professor Hayward and others with similar circumstances. The Committee supports the Ombudsman's findings, and calls on the Government to recognise that a debt of honour is owed to British civilian internees and therefore to announce that it will change the rules on eligibility with the urgency and generosity of the scheme's original intention.
The UK Government, the Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Executive are taking action to achieve clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. A new system of marine planning has been introduced through the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (ISBN 9780105423096), the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (ISBN 9780105901518) and proposed legislation in Northern Ireland. This marine policy statement (MPS) is the framework for preparing marine plans and taking decisions that affect the marine environment. This consultation document contains the draft MPS, a non-technical summary of the appraisal of sustainability and an impact assessment. These and other documents are available at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/marine-policy/index.htm. The introduction sets out the purpose, scope and structure of the MPS. Chapter 1 describes the role of the MPS within the wider marine planning system and its interaction with existing planning regimes. Chapter 2 outlines the vision for the UK marine area and the strategic environmental, social and economic considerations that need to be taken into account. Chapter 3 details the policy objectives for the key activities that take place in the marine environment.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is one of the largest landowners in the UK, with a total estate (including land and property) valued at around £18 billion. Defence Estates (an Agency of the MoD until April 2007 and now re-integrated as part of the MoD) has responsibility for managing the defence estate, with an annual budget of £1.15 billion. The Committee's report examines the work of Defence Estates, focusing on the standard of accommodation for Service personnel and their families. The report highlights concerns about sub-standard accommodation, particularly in relation to the operation of the regional prime contracts for single living accommodation and the maintenance of service families accommodation under the housing prime contract. It argues that the provision of good quality accommodation for Service personnel and their families, modern and efficient office accommodation, and a well-maintained training estate, play a vital role in contributing to the effectiveness of our Armed Forces, particularly important given the current high tempo of operations. Overall, the report finds that although Defence Estates is doing much good work, there are considerable challenges ahead. A substantial increase in investment in the defence estate is required and the MoD must resist the temptation to take from the estates budget when the defence budget is stretched.
This White Paper, divided into two parts, lays out the Government's policy objectives in relation to "National Security through Technology", particularly in relation to technology, equipment, and support for UK defence and security. Part 1: UK Defence and Security Procurement - sets out the Government's aims for the procurement of technology, equipment and support to meet the UK's defence and security needs; Part 2: The UK Defence and Security Industry - looks at the wider UK perspective, including growth, skills, and emerging sectors, within the context of defence and security procurement policy and at government action to encourage UK-based companies to fulfil defence requirements here and develop successful exports. The publication follows up and develops themes and issues raised in the Green Paper "Equipment, support and technology for UK defence and security: consultation paper" (Cm.7989, ISBN 9780101798921, published December 2010). A second publication, published alongside this White Paper, Cm. 8277 (ISBN 9780101827720), contains the Government's responses to the original Green Paper.
It is accepted that the steady increase in the level of Service complaints made directly to the chain of command or referred by the Commissioner may indicate an increasing level of confidence in the system. However, there is concern noting the Commissioner's comments regarding a much lower rate of annual increase in contacts about matters that could become Service complaints compared to the first three years that her post had existed. This concern is heightened by other organisations, such as the Service Families Federations, reporting lower levels of contact from Service personnel, solicitors reporting an increase in the number of individuals approaching them as they felt the Commissioner had no powers, and the increase in the number of people not pursuing matters with the Commissioner after initial contact for the same reason. There is also concern that the Commissioner and others are reporting that fears of redundancy among Service personnel appear to be deterring them from making Service complaints. It is unacceptable that Service personnel who believe they have a genuine grievance in relation to redundancy or any other matter are reluctant to seek redress and resolution of the matter through the appropriate channels because they fear the consequences of making a complaint. As a matter of urgency the MoD and the Commissioner should investigate this matter. The Service Complaints Commissioner role is an integral part of honouring the Armed Forces Covenant and whilst there has been progress made in delivering a fair, just and efficient Service complaints system, there is still a long way to go
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