13 Jun 25. PAC to publish two reports post-Spending Review on local govt and defence
Following the Spending Review 2025 and the Strategic Defence Review 2025, the Public Accounts Committee will publish two reports next week:
- Local Government Financial Sustainability – copies available under embargo on Monday 16th June, for publication on Wednesday 18th June at 00.01.
- The Future of the Equipment Plan – copies available under embargo on Wednesday 18th June, for publication Friday 20th June at 00.01.
The PAC’s inquiry on local government financial sustainability scrutinised planned reforms to local government, announced in 2024. It explored how those reforms are being implemented, as well as what is being done to tackle local authorities’ deficit from overspending on their high needs budgets.
The second report is on the future of the MoD’s Equipment Plan, until recent years published to facilitate parliamentary scrutiny of how funding for military equipment will be managed. Unacceptably MoD has now refused to publish a plan since Nov ’22. The inquiry also explored lessons learned from government’s support for Ukraine.
All interview bids for the Chair of the Committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, requests for background information or other queries, to Ed Sheridan on / +44 (0)7719 005551.
13 Jun 25. Are the military reserve forces and cadets ready for expansion?
Evidence Session
Monday 16th June, 3.30pm, Grimond Room, Portcullis House
MoD’s oversight of Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations
Watch live or catch-up on Parliamentlive.tv
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will examine the challenges faced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in governing the body responsible for supporting the UK’s reserve and cadet forces on Monday 16th June at 3.30pm.
In April 2024, there were around 140,000 cadets spread across 3,500 units in the UK. This number is set to grow as the UK government announced a target of a 30% increase by 2030, in the recently published strategic defence review. A 20% increase in the reserve force numbers over the same period was also outlined, with this figure sitting just below 32,000 at the start of 2025.
In 2019, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) carried out a review of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (RFCAs). This highlighted some areas for concern, including the accountability and governance of the RFCAs, which support and provide infrastructure for the reserve forces and cadet forces of the army, the air force and the navy.
The RFCAs receive around £150m in funding annually from the MoD which is distributed by the Council of the RFCA’s. However, this framework was deemed not compliant with Treasury rules in 2022, and despite the MoD taking steps to rectify issues, a new framework has yet to be finalised.
The Committee will hear from representatives of both the MoD and the RFCAs as they examine governance, legal and financial risks of current systems and structures. Questions may also examine how changes to the current ways of working could retain the benefits of the RFCAs’ local identities and connections while ensuring that they provide cost-effective, high-quality infrastructure and support services; and whether safeguarding processes and appropriate training and checks are in place.
Witnesses
From 3.30pm:
- David Williams, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence
- Aneen Blackmore, Director General Finance, Ministry of Defence
- Major General Marc Overton CB TD VR, Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets), Ministry of Defence
- Major General (Retd) Jamie Gordon CB CBE, Chief Executive, Council for the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations
12 Jun 25. Committee to investigate the future of warship building in Scotland
Evidence session
Industrial Transition Wednesday 18 June, 9:30am, Committee Room 16, Palace of Westminster
Watch live on parliamentlive.tv
The Scottish Affairs Committee will question representatives of BAE Systems and Babcock International as it examines Scotland’s shipbuilding sector.
In this session, the committee will focus specifically on military shipbuilding, a strategically significant industry that has seen renewed focus in recent years.
MPs will seek views on the Strategic Defence Review and its vision for UK shipbuilding and naval capability, as well as whether the UK industry is equipped to deliver the outlined capabilities.
The committee may ask about procurement practices, shipbuilders’ engagement with the wider supply chain and export opportunities for the Scottish shipbuilding industry.
Members could discuss recruitment challenges and skills shortages facing the industry, as well as current provisions to support the skills development of its workforce. There may also be questions on the effectiveness of the Shipbuilding Skills Strategy in addressing these workforce challenges.
Witnesses at 9.30am:
- Sir Simon Lister, Managing Director of BAE Systems Naval Ships
- John Howie MBE, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Babcock International
09 Jun 25. All three lead Strategic Defence Review authors to be quizzed by MPs
Evidence Session: One-off Session with the reviewers who led the Strategic Defence Review
Wednesday 11 June 2025, 10.00, CR16
Watch on parliamentlive.tv
The Defence Committee will hold a one-off session to examine the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) following the Government’s announcement that it will accept the review’s recommendations in full earlier this week. The session will be held at 10.00, on Wednesday 11th June.
Since the Second World War, defence reviews have been conducted within Government, however the most recent review was conducted by a panel of external reviewers.
In this session, the Committee will hear from all three authors of the review – Lord Robertson, General Sir Richard Barrons and Dr Fiona Hill – to explore the content and process of delivering the 2025 review.
MPs are likely to examine the recommendations set out in this review and could consider the challenges the Government may face in its plans to implement them. Questions may also focus on the economic viability of the measures set out in the SDR and to what degree it will interact with the Secretary of State’s Defence Reforms programme.
10.00, Wednesday 11 June:
- The Rt Hon. the Lord Robertson of Port Ellen KT – Lead Reviewer, Strategic Defence Review
- General Sir Richard Barrons – Reviewer, Strategic Defence Review
- Dr Fiona Hill – Reviewer, Strategic Defence Review