Guidance

Strategic Defence Review 2024-2025: Terms of reference

Published 17 July 2024

Background

1. The UK faces threats that are growing and diversifying: war in Europe; conflict in the Middle East; states across the world that are increasingly acting in ways that challenge regional and global stability as well as our values and interests; terrorist groups; hybrid attacks; and instability caused by climate change.

2.  Therefore, on 16 July 2024, the Prime Minister launched a Strategic Defence Review (SDR) to ensure the United Kingdom is both secure at home and strong abroad – now and for the years to come.

Purpose

3. The SDR will determine the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK Defence to meet the challenges, threats and opportunities of the twenty-first century, deliverable and affordable within the resources available to Defence within the trajectory to 2.5%. The Review will ensure that Defence is central both to the security, and to the economic growth and prosperity, of the United Kingdom.

Scope

4. The SDR will consider all aspects of Defence, involving and receiving inputs from other Government Departments, agencies and industry, in areas where they support UK Defence. Other areas of national security policy are outside the scope of the Review.

5. The following themes cover the key issues the review should consider. The Reviewers will have discretion to consider other issues that arise during the course of the review.

• The strategic and operational context, including the threat picture and the current baseline state of UK Defence.

• The major features of the force structure needed to create the necessary integrated multi-domain Defence capability of the future.

• The opportunities for modernisation and transformation, and greater productivity, including through the rapid and consistent application of Digital Age technologies.

• The UK’s international partnerships and alliances, and how these can be strengthened in the cause of collective security and deterrence.

• The approach to be taken to acquisition and support in order to deliver the required capabilities in a timely way, and how to secure the best possible value for money and rapidly changing technology.

• The approach to recruiting, educating, training and retaining the people needed for One Defence, including Regular, Reserve, Civil Service and industry. This is to include how Service life can be improved for those who commit to serve their country in uniform.

• The Defence Estate including how it can be modernised and streamlined to support both defence outputs and wider HMG objectives on housebuilding and net zero.

• The state of the defence technological and industrial base, and the contribution of Defence to the government’s Growth Mission.

6. The Review will identify where reprioritisation of roles, capabilities, activities, and support may be made in the current Defence programme, to allow new investment, achieve better value for money, and secure greater economic gain for the UK, and will make recommendations.

Parameters

7. The Review will be conducted with the following parameters in place:

• The Government has a total commitment to the independent UK nuclear deterrent. The SDR will consider the efficiency and effectiveness of the nuclear programme.

• NATO will remain the cornerstone of UK Defence. The SDR will look at enhancing the UK’s contribution to the Alliance and sustaining a “NATO first” defence policy, while protecting vital UK sovereign requirements and strategic reach.

• The first duty of Government is to keep the country safe and protect its citizens. The SDR will examine the Defence capabilities and options to reinforce UK homeland security.

• The United Kingdom’s support for Ukraine is steadfast and will endure for as long as it takes for Ukraine to succeed. The SDR will consider ways in which this support can be maintained in the short, medium and long term.

• All Defence personnel – in and out of uniform – are at the heart of Defence’s plans.

• The SDR will identify ways to maintain the UK’s defence ties to the Indo Pacific region, the Gulf and the Middle East. The UK is committed to the delivery of the AUKUS partnership with the US and Australia.

• Within these parameters, the Review will consider the need for prioritisation of objectives, and therefore investments and activity, to set out a deliverable and affordable plan for Defence.

• As set out in the Labour Party’s Manifesto, the Government “will set out the path to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.” This will be dealt with at a future fiscal event.

Arrangements for the Review

8. The Prime Minister has commissioned the Defence Secretary to oversee the Review, which will be headed by three external Reviewers. The lead Reviewer will be Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, with General Sir Richard Barrons and Dr Fiona Hill CMG as the other two Reviewers.

9. The Reviewers will select a small Defence Review Team (DRT) to support their work. The DRT will comprise senior experts from inside and outside Defence, working closely with other Government Departments, notably HM Treasury.

10. The SDR will be supported by a dedicated Secretariat provided by the Ministry of Defence, within the Main Building in London. The Ministry of Defence will support the Reviewers with full transparency and candour; the SDR will be the Department’s top priority after operations.

11. The Reviewers will consult widely, including with Parliament, the Defence community, academia, and industry. Allies will be engaged regularly to seek their views. The Reviewers will call for concise contributions, which will then be subject to a review and challenge process.

12. The Reviewers will report regularly on progress to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Defence and will make their final report to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Defence Secretary – with recommendations – in the first half of 2025.

13. The Secretary of State for Defence will subsequently report the SDR to Parliament.