Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether it remains their position that foreign and defence policy are aligned, as stated in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published in March 2021, and the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, published in March 2023.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Global Britain in a Competitive Age, The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy (IR 2021), set the UK’s overarching national security, foreign, defence and other relevant policy. It was supported by a series of published sub-strategies, including the 2021 Defence Command Paper and the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy.

The IR 2021 foreshadowed the global turbulence of the last two years. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - to whom the UK continues to provide a range of economic, humanitarian and defensive military assistance - to imposing additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus and conflict in the Middle East, the reality is that the world has become more dangerous, with far-reaching consequences for the security and prosperity of the British people.

Integrated Review Refresh 2023 Responding to a More Contested and Volatile World (IRR 2023) set out how the UK will meet that challenge head-on.

IRR 2023 concluded that the broad direction set by IR2021 - which includes the integration of foreign and defence policy - was right and that HMG has made significant progress in delivering against that direction. The Defence Command Paper 2023 provided details on how the UK would respond to the changing context and deliver on the Integrated Review Refresh within its resource envelope, increasing its productivity and focusing on areas that will achieve impact.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reassess the factors which informed the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published in March 2021, and the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, published in March 2023.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office continually assesses the factors that informed the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy 2021 and its Refresh in 2023. Through the National Security Secretariat and COBR structures, the government monitors and analyses the changing global security context, and reviews its strategic direction accordingly through the National Security Council. The government does not have any plans to publish a further Integrated Review at this stage.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent participation of the RAF in intercepting Iranian drones aimed at Israel required UK military assets to be withdrawn from any other exercise or deployment.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

We already have a significant presence in the region, but as a prudent measure a number of aircraft were temporarily moved from our NATO operations in Romania to bolster our existing presence. We coordinated with NATO and our Allies to ensure there was no impact to existing operations.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total cost to all parties of intercepting Iranian drones launched against Israel on 13 April; and what proportion of that cost was borne by the UK.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Net Additional Costs of Military Operations will be identified and reported in the Annual Report and Accounts in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent interception of Iranian drones by the RAF was part of Operation Shader; if so, whether the remit of Operation Shader has been expanded; and if so, in what way.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The deployment of additional RAF aircraft to the region was authorised to intercept any attacks within range of existing missions. The remit of Op SHADER has not changed, it remains focused solely on countering Daesh.

Found: There are two quick questions from Lord Strathclyde and Baroness Goldie, and then we will move on