‘Whole-of-society resilience’: Committee explores Government’s ambitions for security at home
The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy will consider the UK’s security and resilience ‘at home’ in a public evidence session on Monday.
The Committee is currently exploring the Government’s new National Security Strategy, published in June, and its ambitions to deliver a “whole-of-society” approach to resilience.
In a wide-ranging session, members of the cross-party Committee are likely to explore public attitudes to defence, the UK’s spending on resilience, the mobilisation of reserve forces, how critical national infrastructure can be protected, and the role of the public and voluntary sectors in planning for emergencies.
Meeting details
In particular, members are likely to ask witnesses how the Government can improve the public’s understanding of the importance of resilience and the role of defence in keeping citizens safe. They are also likely to ask what the UK should prioritise as it commits to spending 1.5% of GDP on resilience and security, alongside other NATO countries.
Witnesses will include defence officials from Estonia and Finland, who members may ask for any lessons applicable to the UK from their own countries’ approach to developing whole-of-society approaches to resilience, including in the cyber domain.