Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking with the Ministry of Defence to support a forthcoming Defence Readiness Bill, as recommended in the Strategic Defence Review.

The Cabinet Office is supporting the Ministry of Defence to determine what new legislative measures may be required to increase readiness in the event of crisis or conflict. In line with the Strategic Defence Review and its recommendation concerning a “whole of society approach”, we expect the legislation to enable the Government to better keep the UK safe in crisis or war by improving the preparedness of key industries and to support the mobilisation of wider defence capacity, including the Reserves. As the lead department, the Ministry of Defence will provide more detail in due course.