Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of broadening the scope of the proposed Defence Readiness Bill to include national resilience and other risks identified in the national risk register.

Defence Readiness legislation is a key part of the Government's work to strengthen the UK's resilience and readiness. In line with the Strategic Defence Review, the Government intends to bring forward this legislation later in this Parliament.

The legislation will help ensure the Government has the powers needed to respond to sub-threshold and hybrid threats, while providing a framework of reserve powers that could be activated during a national crisis or escalation towards conflict.

Work is underway across Government, and consideration is being given to how the legislation can support wider national resilience objectives.