Found: Lord Robertson of Port Ellen: The benefit is very clear.

Found: Lord Robertson of Port Ellen: The benefit is very clear.

Found: Led by three external reviewers – Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, General Sir Richard Barrons, and

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 26 July to Question 198 on Defence, what the cost to date of the Strategic Defence Review is (a) in total and (b) by category of allowance or expenditure.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

On 17 July 2024, the Prime Minister commissioned the Defence Secretary to oversee the Strategic Defence Review, which is headed by three external Reviewers, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, General Sir Richard Barrons and Dr Fiona Hill CMG. The Review is being conducted with the best value for money for Defence in mind, within current budgets. Costs will be provided after the review has concluded.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions he has met with Lord Robertson of Port Ellen to discuss the Chagos Islands in the context of the Strategic Defence Review since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Secretary meets Lord Robertson of Port Ellen regularly to discuss matters relevant to, and receive updates on, the Strategic Defence Review.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on the security of the Diego Garcia strategic base; whether he consulted Lord Robertson of Port Ellen in his capacity as Head of the Strategic Defence Review before this decision was taken; and whether the Government negotiated enforceable guarantees to prevent the use of other Chagos Islands to (a) spy upon and (b) otherwise compromise the military utility of the Diego Garcia strategic base.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

This historic agreement protects the long-term secure operation of the UK-US base on Diego Garcia with Mauritius, which plays such a crucial role in regional and international security. We have full Mauritian backing for robust security arrangements, including preventing foreign armed forces from establishing themselves on the outer islands, or otherwise undermining the effective operation of the base, meaning the base is more protected than ever from foreign malign influence in a more insecure world.  This deal has been welcomed by a range of key international partners, including the US and India. It is our intention to pursue ratification in 2025 by submitting the treaty and a Bill to Parliament for scrutiny.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to his Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Department has not removed any direct Ministerial appointees or public appointees from their posts.

No direct Ministerial appointees or public appointees have been asked to resign.

The Department has made no statutory direct Ministerial appointments.

The Department has made eight non-statutory direct Ministerial appointments.

These are as follows:

Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2024

Lead reviewer- Lord Robertson of Port Ellen

Reviewer - Dr Fiona Hill

Reviewer - General Sir Richard Barrons

Review Team Expert - Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Quin

Review Team Expert - Edward Dinsmore

Review Team Expert - Robin Marshall

Review Team Expert - Grace Cassy

AUKUS

UK Government’s AUKUS Adviser - Sir Stephen Lovegrove

The Department has made four other public appointments.

These are as follows:

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Non-Executive Director - Mark Wild

Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Non-Executive Director - Sarah Albon

Non-Executive Director - Eloise Francis

UK Hydrographic Office

Non-Executive Director - Tom Betts

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers she has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Department has not made any statutory direct Ministerial appointments.

The Department has made eight non-statutory direct Ministerial appointments. These are as follows:

Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2024

Reviewers:

• Lead reviewer- Lord Robertson of Port Ellen
• Reviewer - Dr Fiona Hill
• Reviewer - General Sir Richard Barrons
• Review Team Expert - Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Quin
• Review Team Expert - Edward Dinsmore
• Review Team Expert - Robin Marshall
• Review Team Expert - Grace Cassy

Remuneration rates have not yet been finalised.

All these appointments are subject to the Terms of Reference for the SDR which is available on GOV.UK.

AUKUS

• UK Government's AUKUS Adviser - Sir Stephen Lovegrove

Un-remunerated. Appointment's Terms of Reference available on GOV.UK.

Found: Therefore, I strongly agree with the noble lord, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, and I wish to emphasise