23 Feb 18. Defence Committee. Modernising Defence Programme. At 11.30am Tuesday 27 February Committee Room 16, Palace of Westminster
• Professor Andrew Dorman, King’s College London
• Tom McKane, Former Director General Security Policy, Ministry of Defence
• James de Waal, Senior Consulting Fellow, Chatham House
This is the first oral evidence session in the Committee’s preliminary examination of the Modernising Defence Programme. The witnesses have either been directly involved in or have been close observers of previous defence and security review exercises. This perspective will allow the Committee to discuss issues that have arisen in previous review processes and how repeated failures might be prevented. The future of the SDSR cycle, the financial settlement with the Treasury, procurement reform and wider considerations on political-military relations will also be examined.
21 Feb 18. Defence Committee. The Defence Committee is publishing the following Special Reports on Monday 26 February at 10:00 am:
• Gambling on ‘Efficiency’: Defence Acquisition and Procurement: Government Response to the Committee’s First Report of Session 2017–19, HC 846
• Unclear for take-off? F-35 Procurement: Responses to the Committee’s Second Report of Session 2017–19, HC 845
The Reports will be on the Committee’s website, www.parliament.uk/defcom from 10.00 am.
20 Feb 18. CAEC hold first session in inquiry into UK arms exports during 2016. The Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) hold their first evidence session for their inquiry into UK arms exports during 2016 on Wednesday 21 February. They will be hearing from Amnesty International UK, Oxfam and Saferworld. The session will look at matters contained within the Government’s 2016 Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls, including the operation and effectiveness of the UK’s arms export licensing process. The Committees will also look at international policy developments and controls on arms brokering. CAEC is the joint meeting of the Defence, Foreign Affairs, International Development, and International Trade Select Committees to scrutinise arms exports. The Chair of the Committees is Graham Jones MP. Wednesday 21 February, Committee Room 16, from 4.45pm.
• Oliver Feeley-Sprague, Programme Director for Military, Security and Police at Amnesty International UK
• Martin Butcher, Policy Adviser, Arms Campaign, Oxfam
• Elizabeth Kirkham, Small Arms and Transfer Controls Adviser, Saferworld