06 Dec 24. MPs to examine defence implications of Ukraine conflict 1,000 days on. Evidence Session: One-off session on Ukraine: 1000 days on
Tuesday 10 December 2024, 10.30, CR16
Watch live on parliamentlive.tv
The Defence Committee will hold an evidence session on the current and future direction of the conflict in Ukraine at 10.30 on Tuesday 10 December.
This session will explore the effectiveness of UK military support, and the UK’s deterrence and resilience towards wider national security threats posed by Russia.
In 2024, the UK pledged to spend £3bn per year until 2030/31 supporting Ukraine’s military. But this support may affect the UK’s defence capabilities. The National Audit Office (NAO) reported that UK military stockpiles have been depleted by transfers to Ukraine, and that providing training to Ukrainian recruits has reduced the availability of training facilities for the UK’s own armed forces.
In this session, the Committee will hear from expert witnesses Air Marshal Edward Stringer, Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange, Orysia Lutsevych, Deputy Director of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, and Dr Patricia Lewis, former Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House.
The Committee will also likely discuss the strength and sustainability of international military support for Ukraine, in light of estimates from the Kiel Institute that military aid from Ukraine’s partners could drop by almost half in 2025.
10.30, Tuesday 10 December:
- Dr Patricia Lewis – Former Director of the International Security Programme, Chatham House
- Orysia Lutsevych OBE – Deputy Director of the Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
- Air Marshal Edward Stringer (Ret’d) CB, CBE – Senior Fellow, Policy Exchange and Former Director-General of the Defence Academy
05 Dec 24. Defence Committee launches inquiry into the UK’s contribution to European security. Today the Defence Committee launches an inquiry into the UK’s contribution to European security. This inquiry will examine the UK’s contribution to NATO and its bilateral defence relationships with other European countries. This inquiry will look at the UK’s contribution to multilateral frameworks outside of NATO. In addition, it will explore the UK’s NATO and non-NATO European commitments. The inquiry will also examine where the UK provides niche capabilities and where other European allies might be relied upon to provide them. The inquiry will assess UK Defence’s standing in the region and whether the UK’s contribution to European security is both cohesive and effective.
Deadline for written evidence submissions is 17 January 2025.
Chair of the Defence Committee, Tan Dhesi MP, said: “With war raging on the continent of Europe and the UK’s defence priorities under the spotlight, it should be no surprise that this is the first new inquiry launched by the new Defence Committee in this Parliament. We recognise that the continent and the world have entered the increasingly complex and fraught environment that has long been predicted by experts. Great power competition and multipolarity have moved from distant threat to reality. This inquiry will focus on how the UK can best contribute to European security in this new uncertain world. The UK plays an important role within NATO structures, and via its bilateral relationships and involvement in multilateral groupings. Our inquiry, launched today, asks what specialist or unique capabilities the UK and each of our European NATO allies brings to the table, and what the current capability gaps are. This inquiry will also look beyond NATO and examine how the UK can best engage with European defence and security structures. We expect that the decisions made as part of the Strategic Defence Review will continue to assure the UK’s contribution to European security. However, given the ever-increasing threat, we must assess whether UK Defence’s efforts are cohesive and providing real deterrence to those who wish to do harm to us, our shared values and our way of life.”
The Committee welcomes written evidence on:
- What role does the UK play in European and NATO deterrence?
- What should a NATO-first approach look like?
- What are the UK’s current military commitments to NATO and in what time frame can these be met?
- What are NATO Allies’ view of UK current (and projected) force posture?
- Where are the current capability gaps amongst the European Allies of NATO?
- Where do NATO Allies rely on the UK to provide a unique capability?
- What areas could the UK rely on NATO European Allies to provide specialist capabilities?
- What could the UK learn from its NATO European Allies on improving military and industrial capability?
- Is the UK meeting its obligations under Article 3 of the Washington Treaty?
- What role do the UK’s non-NATO commitments play in European security?
- What is the contribution to European security of the UK’s bilateral and multilateral relationships in Europe which exist outside of NATO?
- How can the UK best engage with the EU’s defence and security structures?
Each submission should be no longer than 3,000 words and contain a brief introduction about the author. Submissions should be in malleable format such as MS Word (not PDFs) with no use of colour, logos or photos. Further guidance is available on our Written Evidence Guidance.
04 Dec 24. Defence Committee to publish report on Service accommodation . The Defence Committee will publish its report on Service accommodation at 00.01 on Wednesday 11 December. Embargoed copies will be available the morning of Monday 9 December. If you are in receipt of this email, you will automatically receive a copy.