Concerns reinforced about Government's handling of national security matters
30 Apr 2014 12:46 PM
In a report published today, the Joint Committee
on the National Security Strategy says that recent events in Ukraine and the
winter flooding in the UK underline the importance of long term and strategic
thinking in Government.
Report findings
The
Committee highlights a number of concerns about the Government’s handling
of national security matters:
- It
calls on the National Security Council to examine the risks to the UK’s
resilience from the likely longer-term impacts of climate change, and consider
whether the Government should be allocating more resources to this
area.
- It
highlights the importance of the UK’s relationship with the EU to our
national security and says it is worried that EU matters are not considered by
the National Security Council risking “crucial connections being
missed.”
- It
says the Prime Minister’s evidence last January was helpful and
demonstrated his personal interest in national security, but it is critical of
his statement that he believes in “planning on the basis of what you want
to achieve”. It is concerned that in some areas the Government seems not
to have any contingency plans and says this is “dangerous and
unwise”: “An attitude of “no Plan B” is dangerous when
national security is at stake.”
In
earlier reports the Committee concluded that the National Security Council
appeared to have focused on operational matters and short-term imperatives,
rather than strategic and domestic concerns. It welcomes the Prime
Minister’s decision to give it access to the NSC’s agendas but says
it has seen no evidence that the meetings have become more strategic in focus
or that sufficient time is being provided to consider issues in depth. The NSC
could be more effective, it believes.
National Security Strategy Post Election
2015
The
Committee is particularly concerned about the lack of planning for the next
National Security Strategy which is to be published after the election in
2015. It says:
- It
is crucially important that energy security and domestic resilience are fully
addressed.
- Expecting there to be no shrinkage in the UK’s
influence is wholly unrealistic. Any national security strategy based on this
is “wishful thinking rather than credible
strategy.”
- The
Prime Minister should reconsider his approach to the next NSS and give a clear
steer to his officials that they are expected to produce a radically different
NSS in 2015, tackling the big (and politically difficult) questions and which
will guide decisions going forward.
Committee Chair
The
Chair of the Committee, Rt
Hon Margaret Beckett MP said:
"The Prime Minister has been helpful and candid
with us about his approach to national security and vision for the UK’s
future, but we think he is too focused on managing current events at the
expense of looking ahead. Recent events at home and abroad are a salutary
reminder of the value of thinking about threats to our national security in the
widest sense and of keeping a close eye on what is over the
horizon.
So
far the Government has not been receptive to our calls for an open consultation
on the next National Security Strategy and for it to be a very different
document from the last. Worryingly, there is every sign that we are heading for
another rushed job after the Election and for a “motherhood and apple
pie” document that again avoids the big questions and is of little
practical use in guiding government decision-making. That is not what this
country needs at a time when resources are limited and we must focus on what is
most important.
As
a Committee we will continue to press our concerns on the Government and to
work on our own suggestions for what the 2015 NSS should
say."