13 Jan 23.UK and US defence approach to Indo-Pacific scrutinised by MPs. On Tuesday 17 January, at 10.30, the Committee will hold an evidence session with experts as part of its inquiry examining the UK’s tilt to the Indo-Pacific region. The session will see witnesses asked to provide their insight into the UK’s stated goals and ambitions in the Indo-Pacific, with a second panel to be held looking at the US approach in the region and how the UK can best work with a key ally. Likely topics for discussion include the optimal policy and relationship for the UK towards China, the current picture on the Armed Forces’ capacity to maintain a significant presence in the Indo-Pacific, and what role the UK could or should play in any future conflict there. The second panel is likely to examine the significance of the Indo-Pacific for US defence policy, what role the US envisages for the UK in the area, and how committed the US is to the defence of Taiwan.
Witnesses:
10.30:
- Veerle Nouwens, Senior Research Fellow, Asia-Pacific at Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)
- Brigadier (ret.) Ben Barry, Senior Fellow at International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
11.30:
- Seth Jones, Director, International Security Programme at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- John Hemmings, Senior Director, Indo-Pacific Foreign and Security Policy at Pacific Forum
13 Jan 23. Defence Cttee publishes Gov’t response to Defence Space report. The Defence Committee today publishes the Government response to its report “Defence Space: through adversity to the stars?”. In its report, the Committee describes “the UK’s expulsion from the EU’s Galileo programme” as “deeply unsatisfactory” and a demonstration of “a failure of statecraft on all sides”. The Government’s response today acknowledges “the committee’s frustrations with the European Commission’s decision on Galileo”, stating that “the EU made clear that the UK would be unable to influence the future shape of the security architecture and only be afforded the restricted access provided to third parties, and that UK businesses were unable to bid for or deliver the majority of contracts under Galileo.” The Government responds to the Committee’s concern at the “complacent attitude towards PNT within Government, and… the seemingly low priority which the Ministry of Defence (MOD) attaches to this work”. The MOD responds that “PNT is a high priority for defence” and states that “BEIS recently created a small PNT project team to… build on the existing evidence base and significant work already undertaken within Government on PNT.” The MOD describes efforts to “enhance our PNT resilience” through a “‘System of Systems’ approach to providing PNT data for Defence”. “Defence funds both the Robust Global Navigation System (RGNS), and the Alternative Navigation programme (AltNav) as major equipment programmes, as well as a programme of scientific research and development into emerging PNT technologies through Dstl.” The Government responds to other recommendations in the Committee’s report, including calls for an update on Skynet and to address the space skills shortage.
12 Jan 23. CAEC Chairs write to Leader of the House and publish Government response. Today the Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) write to the Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt and publish the Government’s response to their report “Developments in UK Strategic Export Controls.” The letter calls for CAEC to be treated as a stand-alone Select Committee, stating that this would boost effective scrutiny of Government licencing and control of arms exports. The Chairs state that input from relevant committees can still be retained through use of the guesting provisions now available to committees, whilst lessening the restrictive quorum requirements of the current structure.
CAEC’s membership currently consists of four House of Commons Select Committees meeting concurrently: the Defence Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the International Development Committee and the International Trade Committee.
Today CAEC also publishes the Government Response to their recent report on Developments in UK Strategic Export Controls, published in October. The response addresses CAEC’s recommendations calling for increased transparency, particularly when it comes to non-compliance with controls and the level of prosecutions and convictions. The Government also responds to CAEC’s concerns around evidence of insufficient resources in the Export Control Joint Unit, and whether the government’s list of human rights priority countries is appropriately considered when making licensing decisions and exercising export controls.
Chair of the Committees on Arms Export Controls, Mark Garnier MP, said: “Arms export controls are critical to our safety and security and as a policy area deserves dedicated and thorough scrutiny. While the Committees on Arms Export Controls have undertaken some important work this parliamentary term, the Committees’ unusually stringent rules and governance structures are often a hindrance. In particular, the rigid rules around quorum form a huge barrier. In the correspondence published today we suggest a new approach that would streamline processes and enable more effective scrutiny of Government licencing and control of arms exports. Many of the key recommendations in the Committees on Arms Export Controls’ report are aimed at improving transparency and parliament’s ability to scrutinise this policy area. While some of the responses to these recommendations were positive, there is room for improvement. It is disappointing that the Government and HMRC have refused to provide confidential information to the Committees on large compound settlements or details on companies found to be non-compliant. It is also deeply disappointing that no Secretary of State has committed to appear before the Committees to examine this policy area. There are many areas of policy that straddle multiple departments, yet they are still effectively scrutinised by parliamentary select committees. Arms export controls is no exception to this and departments must be willing to send their Secretaries of State. However, we are pleased to see that other recommendations have been taken onboard. The commitment to work with international partners to support human rights accountability in Yemen, and to consider including Israel as a case study in the next annual report, are positive developments.
09 Jan 23. MoD faced questions on armoured vehicle acquisition. On Wednesday 11 January, at 14.30, the Defence Committee held an evidence session on the Army’s procurement programmes, with particular focus on armoured vehicles.
This session follows two critical Select Committee reports: the Defence Committee’s report on armoured fighting vehicles, published in July 2021, and the Public Accounts Committee’s report on the Ajax programme, published in June 2022.
The Defence Committee will hear from Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials, as well as the Minister for Defence Procurement, Alex Chalk KC MP.
The Committee will likely ask for updates on ongoing procurement programmes, such as Ajax, Challenger 3 and Boxer. The session may also examine whether the war in Ukraine has impacted the Land Command’s equipment priorities and the UK’s ability to form a warfighting division. It will also likely explore the potential impact of an update to the Integrated Review, due to be published this month.
Witnesses
From 14.30:
- Alex Chalk MP – Minister for Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence
- David Williams – Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence
- Lt General Sharon Nesmith – Deputy Chief of the General Staff at the Ministry of Defence
- Major General Darren Crook – Director Land Equipment, DE&S at the Ministry of Defence
09 Jan 23. Procurement Bill to unleash opportunities for SMEs to be debated in Parliament.
Transformative new rules which rip up bureaucratic EU regulations will be debated in the House of Commons today.
- Procurement Bill, which will simplify four sets of laws into one, to have Second Reading today in House of Commons
- The simpler, more flexible and less complicated rules will open up more government procurement for small businesses and voluntary and community groups
- Bill takes advantage of post-Brexit opportunities, allowing the UK to shape its own procurement rules, while complying with international obligations
Transformative new rules which rip up bureaucratic EU regulations will be debated in the House of Commons today.
The Procurement Bill, which will have its Second Reading in the House of Commons, will make it easier for small businesses (SMEs) to win more of the £300bn of goods, services and works that the government buys each year.
The Bill introduces new rules to help the government procure in emergency situations, such as during health pandemics, ensuring that contracting authorities can act quickly and transparently to buy vital goods.
These simpler rules take advantage of freedoms now that Britain has left the EU, as well as strengthening the government’s ability to exclude suppliers who may have previously underperformed on government work. The rules will help exclude suppliers, both in the UK and overseas who are involved in modern slavery – further clamping down on this abhorrent practice.
The Bill also confirms that value for money remains paramount during contracting, whilst also encouraging buyers to take into account other relevant wider social and environmental considerations the supplier may bring.
Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin said: “We are making public sector procurement simpler, more transparent and easier to navigate. This Bill will seize the opportunity presented by Brexit to rip up outdated rules, increase opportunities for smaller companies and deliver better value for public money. We are determined to deliver the best possible results from the £300bn the public sector spends each year on procurement. That’s why by ending the complicated web of rules and regulations inherited from the EU to even bid for public sector work, we will ensure smaller companies are better able to bring their drive, ingenuity and innovation to Government.”
SMEs
The new, more flexible rules will benefit SMEs in particular, through a number of provisions being written into the Bill to lift barriers for small businesses. These include:
- Greater visibility of upcoming work, giving SMEs more time to gear up for bidding
- A new central platform showing future work in each area. This means for example a new SME tech firm in Lancashire will be able to search for tech opportunities upcoming in their region
- Creating one single website to register on, rather than the multiple and time consuming systems SMEs currently have to register on before bidding for work
- Reducing unnecessary insurance costs before a supplier has even bid for a contract
- A new Competitive Flexible procedure, which will allow contractors to design more innovation into the process, benefiting smaller tech startups
- Strengthening prompt payment, so that businesses throughout the public sector supply chain receive payment within 30 days
To further underline how the Bill will help SMEs, the Cabinet Office is today publishing a document outlining the benefits of the changes for prospective suppliers.
Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burhart said: “We know that complex rules have long been one of the major challenges for SMEs trying to win government work. And while government spending with small businesses is rising, we want to turbocharge this growth. This Bill will deliver on that, making it easier for SMEs, who make up 99% of UK businesses, to compete for and win government contracts, through smarter, simpler and more flexible regulations.”
Elizabeth Vega, Group CEO of Informed Solutions, said: “SMEs are vital for growth in our economy and vibrant local communities. They are often the largest local employers, the most active members of our local communities, and amongst those businesses most willing to invest in their local communities, train and upskill their staff. So I am delighted that Government is strengthening the support for this sector in its proposed reforms. In particular, placing a specific requirement on public sector buyers to ensure a level playing field for small and medium sized suppliers by addressing the procurement barriers that these businesses often face in competing for public sector contract opportunities.”
Emergency procurement and transparency
The Bill will make procurement more transparent and effective during times of emergency, for example a health pandemic, where government needs to act quickly to buy vital goods and services at speed.
During the COVID pandemic, the UK, along with many other countries internationally, relied on direct awards to ensure that vital supplies, such as life-saving PPE, were bought quickly and to high standards.
The new rules will bring more competition into this process, by encouraging more competitive buying in a quick time frame.
The normal tendering process takes a minimum of 30 days, which is not practical in most emergency circumstances. The Bill will allow faster competition processes for emergency buying, reducing the reliance on direct awards while retaining and improving the government’s ability to act at pace in situations similar to the COVID pandemic. Clearer requirements on the identification and management of conflicts of interest for those involved in and responsible for procurement are also part of the Bill.
Supplier exclusion
The Bill will put in place a new exclusions framework that will make it easier for government to exclude suppliers who have underperformed on other contracts. It will also create a new ‘debarment register’, accessible to all public sector organisations, which will list companies who should be excluded from contracts. The Bill will also strengthen the government’s ability to exclude suppliers from bidding for work if there’s evidence of modern slavery in their supply chain, both in the UK or overseas. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Challenger Tanks
Question for Ministry of Defence
John Healey
Labour
Wentworth and Dearne
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Challenger 2 main battle tanks are available for operational deployment.
Answer
Alex Chalk
Conservative
Cheltenham
Commons
Answered on 12 January 2023
The British Army holds and maintains an appropriate amount of all vehicles to meet operational requirements. I am withholding further information on the number of Challenger 2 main battle tanks available for operational deployment as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of the Armed Forces.
Challenger Tanks
Question for Ministry of Defence
John Healey
Labour
Wentworth and Dearne
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Challenger 2 main battle tanks have been upgraded to Challenger 3 as of 9 January 2023..
Answer
Alex Chalk
Conservative
Cheltenham
Commons
Answered on 12 January 2023
Production of the first Challenger 3 prototypes is underway and the programme is progressing towards its planned service entry in 2027.
EU Defence Policy
Question for Ministry of Defence
Mr David Jones
Conservative
Clwyd West
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what terms the UK will join the EU Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) arrangements on military mobility.
Answer
James Heappey
Conservative
Wells
Commons
Answered on 12 January 2023
Joining the Dutch-led PESCO Military Mobility project would enable the UK to better shape the rules and requirements that impact the movement of forces across the EU at pace, and to reinforce NATO’s flanks if required. Joining the project would not in any way effect the UK’s sovereign control over defence, obligate us to adopt EU defence policy, or participate in other projects. It does not involve financial commitments beyond sending representatives to meetings. We are currently negotiating administrative arrangements with participating states in line with those already agreed with the US, Canada and Norway.
EU Defence Policy
Question for Ministry of Defence
Mr David Jones
Conservative
Clwyd West
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to EU Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) arrangements on military mobility, whether his Department plans to participate in any other PESCO arrangements.
Answer
James Heappey
Conservative
Wells
Commons
Answered on 12 January 2023
The UK continues to monitor Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects as they develop, but has no intention to apply for any other PESCO projects at this time.