1 Introduction
1. Our Committee was established with a broad role:
"to consider the National Security Strategy" (NSS).
We have published four Reports over the last four years, looking
at a variety of aspects of the NSS. We began with an initial review
of the Strategy and the National Security Council (NSC) which
was published in 2012.[1]
Our second Report expressed our disappointment at the Government's
response to our initial work.[2]
Our third Report concentrated on the impact of the NSS and NSC
on Government policy and departments.[3]
For our fourth Report, we took evidence from the Prime Minister,
and also looked at the future for the NSS; we took oral evidence
from a range of international experts on international relations
and energy security. In that Report we said that our final Report
of the Parliament would look at preparations for and the context
of the next NSS in some detail.[4]
2. In preparing for this Report, we held a seminar
with a number of external experts in October 2014, covering a
variety of topics of relevance to the NSS, which we found immensely
useful. We also received written evidence. We received an in-confidence
briefing from the Cabinet Office on cyber security, and continue
to receive NSC agendas and the Government's six-monthly Strategic
Defence and Security Review (SDSR) summary reports to the NSS
and SDSR Implementation Board.
3. We would like to thank all those who have assisted
us in our work, and, in particular, to express our gratitude to
our specialist advisers Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal
United Services Institute and Professor Sir Hew Strachan, Chichele
Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford, who
have contributed so greatly to our efforts throughout this Parliament.
1 First Report of the Joint Committee on the National
Security Strategy, Session 2010-12, First Review of the National
Security Strategy 2010, HL Paper 265/HC 1384 Back
2
First Report of the Joint Committee on the National Security
Strategy, Session 2012-13, Planning for the next National Security
Strategy: comments on the Government's Response to the Committee's
First Report of Session 2010-12, HL Paper 27/HC 423 Back
3
Second Report of the Joint Committee on the National Security
Strategy, Session 2012-13, The Work of the Joint Committee
on the National Security Strategy in 2012, HL Paper 115/HC
984 Back
4
First Report of the Joint Committee on the National Security
Strategy, Session 2013-14, The Work of the Joint Committee
on the National Security Strategy in 2013-14, HL Paper 169/HC
1257, para 52 Back
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