Parliament & Defence Policy

This week, Lockheed Martin hosted the House of Commons Defence Committee at it's Crystal City facility during their visit to the United States. The engagement covered a range of topics: emerging lessons from Ukraine; munitions replenishment, including the growing need for second sources of supply and production capacity and the industrial and prosperity opportunities that could present for the UK; and the importance of Operational Analysis in achieving the ambition of Joint All-Domain Operations (JADO) – or Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) – in the NATO and Indo-Pacific regions.

The visit gave me an opportunity to reflect on Parliament’s role in relation to policy-making, implementation, and public spending.?The Institute for Government published a report on the topic of Parliamentary scrutiny in 2015 which I recommend to you.

From my perspective in relation to Defence, Parliament can and does play an important role in the following areas:

1. Public Spending.?Parliament can shape political debates and decisions about the prioritisation of Defence in relation to other areas of public spending.?Backbench Members of Parliament and the Defence Select Committee have over many years highlighted the evolving threat environment – now acutely in focus due to the conflict in Ukraine – and made the case for increases in defence spending.?There is growing political consensus about that;
2. ?Public Understanding.?In his foreword to the Integrated Review Refresh (IR23), the Prime Minister commented on the ‘pace of the geopolitical change and the extent of its impact on the UK and our people’.?Politicians have an important role in helping the public understand the nature of the risks to our society;
3. Policy-Making.?Select Committee inquiries can contribute to the development of effective policy.?Particularly if timed well, they can provide new evidence, ideas, and analysis that informs government strategies and decisions.?For example, the report of the Defence Select Committee’s inquiry on ‘Space Defence’ was published on 19 October 2022.?If the inquiry was undertaken earlier, it could have provided direct input to the development of the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Defence Space Strategy, which was published on 1 February 2022;
4. Identifying Lessons.?Select Committee inquiries and evidence sessions can highlight lessons from procurement programmes that may lead to reforms of defence acquisition.?Lockheed Martin has contributed to some of these efforts, for example the Defence Committee’s inquiries on Armoured Fighting Vehicles and on CROWSNEST.?We have also just submitted evidence to the Defence Sub-Committee’s ongoing inquiry on Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S); I have personally seen how seriously DE&S is taking this inquiry, as the new CEO undertakes a strategy refresh as well as work to optimise the organisation’s operating model (including with industry);
5. International Relationships.?Alliances are important to the defence and security of the United Kingdom.?Parliament has an important role in engaging with its counterpart legislatures to help ensure common understanding of the threats facing us and the importance of collaboration in tackling them.?The Defence Select Committee was able to engage this week with the House Armed Services Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee;
6. Transparency of Decision-Making.?From an industrial perspective, one of the hallmarks of a successful procurement system is transparency around decision-making and the evidence used to inform those decisions, including at Ministerial level.?Through Parliamentary Questions and Select Committee inquiries, Parliament can contribute to this.?The data Parliament receives can also highlight the risks posed by certain decisions – for example, the impact of the decision to retire early the RAF’s C-130J fleet on the UK’s Air Mobility capability and capacity; and
7. Effective Legislation.?The Government can propose legislation that impacts the defence sector.?A current example is the National Security Bill, which as originally drafted would have required multinational defence companies, including from allies, to register under a ‘Foreign Influence Registration Scheme’ – not quite a focus on the most acute threats facing the UK, as the Bill intended.?Amendments have now been tabled to address this issue.?Another example is the legislation in relation to Single Source procurements.?Parliament plays an important role in scrutinising proposed legislation to ensure it will operate effectively.

In light of this, where might Parliament helpfully continue to contribute to the debate on defence issues??I think there could be merit in the Defence Select Committee undertaking work in the following areas:

• How to undertake the next Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper (or equivalents) following a general election, including how to engage industry.?No one has yet undertaken a lessons learned process to inform that;
• Capability gaps and emerging lessons from Ukraine, including in relation to Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD), Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defences, Ground Based Air Defence, and strategic and theatre mobility;
• Policy and strategy currently being developed by the MOD for IAMD and for radar capabilities; and
• Scrutiny of how the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy (DSIS) is being implemented.

Finally, a key challenge is how to ensure political consensus on defence policy and priorities – providing long-term certainty for industry that enables investment.?The Shadow Defence Secretary has said that future defence reviews should involve all political parties to achieve this.?I think that would be a welcome evolution.