Defence Committee

Following the Defence Committee’s report on the Armed Forces Covenant, the Government has committed to extending the Covenant’s Legal Duty to all UK Government departments and the devolved administrations.

The Defence Committee today (Tuesday 8 April) publishes its report “The Armed Forces Covenant”.

Today the Defence Committee launches an inquiry into AUKUS, the trilateral security partnership between the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia.

The Defence Committee will hold an evidence session on the UK’s contribution to European security at 10.30am, on Tuesday 1 April. The Committee will speak to academic experts Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman and Dr Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer

The Defence Committee will question Luke Pollard MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces at the Ministry of Defence on grey zone threats, at 10.30am on Tuesday 25 March.

The Defence Committee is assessing progress on its predecessor Committee’s work on women in the Armed Forces, hearing from witnesses across the Ministry of Defence (MOD) including the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The Defence Committee will hold a session this month following up on the previous Committee’s work on women in the Armed Forces. Details of the session will be announced shortly.

The Defence Committee will hold the final evidence session of its inquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant at 13.00 on Tuesday 11 March.

The Defence Committee today publishes the Government response to its report on Service Accommodation, in which the Government accepts the majority of the Committee’s recommendations for improving the quality of accommodation available to Service Personnel.

The Defence Committee will hold an evidence session on the UK’s contribution to European security at 10.30am, on Tuesday 4 March. The Committee will speak to industry experts from ADS Group, Make UK Defence and techUK.

The Defence Committee has reacted to the Prime Minister’s statement on defence.

The Defence Committee has issued a response to recent statements on the war in Ukraine.

For the last two years, the MOD has failed to publish the annual Equipment Plan, where it sets out its spending plans on equipment procurement and support projects over the next decade

The Defence Committee is today (Wednesday 22 January) publishing a letter to the Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon. John Healey, regarding Harland & Wolff’s announcement that it intends to file for administration.

Former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, Sir Alex Younger, will give evidence to the Defence Committee. The Committee will examine the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD’s) contribution towards combatting grey zone threats – threats that fall below the perceived threshold for military action – such as sabotaging undersea cables.

The Defence Committee has today (14 January) published a report on the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), welcoming the programme’s progress but cautioning the need to stay on track to meet the in-service target date of 2035.

Ukraine has shown that artificial intelligence (AI) is already delivering military advantage in conflict and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) should embrace the change AI is bringing to defence, a report by the Defence Committee has found.

On the request of the Defence Committee, the Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon. John Healey, has granted special dispensation to Service Personnel to provide evidence to the Committee’s inquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant.

Today the Defence Committee launches an inquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant.

A Defence Committee Report published today finds that accommodation for Service personnel and their families is “shocking”, with two-thirds of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) needing major work to meet modern standards, and families facing uncertainty over allocation of accommodation.