Appendix: Government Response
The Government must start to map out its programme
for the next NSS immediately if it wishes to carry out a wide
public consultation, consult with academics and experts, and build
political consensus in advance of the next General Election. We
recommend that, in response to this report, the Government supply
us with an indicative programme for the production of the next
NSS with details of the staffing and other resources it will make
available for this purpose. The programme should set out what
form of public involvement is planned, and at what stage(s) in
the process that consultation will take place. It should also
explain how the NSS process will interact with the next SDSR and
the CSR process.
HMG response
1. HMG is grateful for the Committee's constructive
recommendation encouraging early and detailed planning for a programme
of work to deliver the next National Security Strategy (NSS) and
Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). We recognise the
need for the NSS to build on an up-to-date and well-informed understanding
of the global security context. HMG is committed to a biennial
review of the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA). This provides
a rolling forward look at the full spectrum of security risks
facing the country over periods of five and twenty years into
the future. The 2012 NSRA is now nearing completion. The next
NSRA will be in 2014. The publications of the Global Strategic
Trends Programme 2007-2036 also continue to make timely and substantive
contributions. These assessments, along with public expenditure
and other inputs and considerations, will supply essential evidence
on the domestic and global context for the 2015 NSS.
2. The Government is now starting to consider the
scope, conceptual structure, process, timing, and possible forms
of external (including international) engagement required to ensure
that the 2015 NSS and SDSR will meet UK national security needs.
The Cabinet Office is leading initial preparatory work linking
Whitehall Departments through regular bi-monthly meetings of officials
in a National Security Strategy Network. Departments already have
initial strategy development work in hand. No decisions have yet
been made on a detailed work programme leading up to 2015. The
Government will, however, be grateful for an opportunity to consult
the Committee in confidence as the forward work programme takes
shape. We will be developing ideas for consultation with the public
and with external academics, think tanks and experts.
3. In 2010, the processes for the NSS, SDSR, and
Comprehensive Spending Review ran in parallel so as to ensure
that decisions in each case took account of priorities across
the board. While it is not possible to anticipate the exact timing
and nature of all future HMG spending decisions, HMG acknowledges
the interactions and dependences between spending reviews and
the next NSS and SDSR, and will aim to ensure alignment of both
the over-arching strategy and resource needs.
4. The Government has responded separately to the
Public Administration Select Committee with reference to strategic
thinking and national security strategy. Our commitment to producing
a new National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security
Review every five years marks a significant innovation. It allows
us regularly to take stock of the evolving global strategic context,
from a national security perspective, and to adjust our response
as necessary. The predictability of this cycle has helped Departments
to orientate their strategy work programmes and to sustain their
strategic thinking in this field.
5. More generally, the Government looks forward to
sharing in confidence six-monthly progress reports summarising
Strategic Defence and Security Review implementation; and to keeping
the Committee up-to-date on significant developments as these
arise.
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