12 Oct 10. Defence Industrial Policy: Timetable. The Defence Spokesman in the Lords said (12 Oct 10) that the MoD was developing a new Defence Industrial & Technology Policy (DITP), to replace the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS). The DITP is to be launched on 2 Nov 10 at an event to be co-hosted by ADS. As previously announced, there is to be a Green Paper by the end of 2010 and a White Paper in Spring 2011.
Comment: ADS is the trade association for the Aerospace, Defence & Security industries. In this context, the Green Paper is a discussion document whereas a White Paper will set out the MoD’s industrial and technology policy for the following five years or until the next SDSR (Strategic Defence & Security Review). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 09/40, 18 Oct 10)
18 Oct 10. ORAL EVIDENCE: OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
Tuesday 26 October 2010
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Witnesses:
At 2.30 pm
* Major General Gordon Messenger DSO & Bar OBE, Strategic Communications Officer, MoD
* Nick Gurr, Director Media and Communications, MoD
* Lieutenant Commander Stephen Tatham, formerly of the Defence Academy’s Advanced Research and Assessment Group, MoD
* Matt Tee, Permanent Secretary for Government Communications, Cabinet Office
* Major General (Rtd) Andrew Mackay CBE
* Colonel (Rtd) Christopher Langton OBE.
House of Commons Hansard Debates for 19 Oct 2010
Strategic Defence and Security Review
The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron): With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the strategic defence and security review. There are four things that I would like to say up front. First, this is not simply a cost-saving exercise to get to grips with the biggest budget deficit in post-war history. It is about taking the right decisions to protect our national security in the years ahead, but let me say this: the two are not separate. Our national security depends on our economic strength, and vice versa.
As our national security is a priority, defence and security budgets will
contribute to deficit reduction on a lower scale than most other Departments. Over four years, the defence budget will rise in cash terms, and fall by only 8% in real terms. It will meet the NATO 2% of gross domestic product target for defence spending throughout the next four years. But this Government have inherited a £38-billion black hole in our future defence plans. That is bigger than the entire annual defence budget of £33 billion. Sorting this out is vital not just for tackling the deficit, but for protecting our national security.
Secondly, this review is about how we project power and influence in a rapidly changing world. We are the sixth largest economy in the world. Even after this review, we expect to continue with the fourth largest military budget in the world. We have a unique network of alliances and relationships-with the United States, as a member of the EU and NATO, and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. We have one of the biggest aid programmes in the world, one of the biggest networks of embassies, a time zone that allows us to trade with Asia in the morning and the Americas in the afternoon, and a language that is spoken across the globe. Our national interest requires our full and active engagement in world affairs. It requires our economy to compete with the strongest and the best, and it requires, too, that we stand up for the values that we believe in.
Britain has traditionally punched above its weight in the world, and we should have no less ambition for our country in the decades to come, but we need to be more thoughtful, more strategic and more co-ordinated in the way we advance our
interests and protect our national security. That is what this review sets out to achieve.
Thirdly, I want to be clear: there is no cut whatsoever in the support for our forces in Afghanistan. The funding for our operations in Afghanistan comes not
from the budget of th