Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to abolish the Secretary of State’s Office for Net Assessment and Challenge.

We have no plans to abolish the Secretary of State’s Office of Net Assessment and Challenge, known as SONAC.

As the Strategic Advisor to the Secretary of State and Head of Review and Challenge, Malcolm Chalmers will be responsible for providing expert strategic advice to the Secretary of State and as appropriate to the PUS, CDS and NAD as well as the Ministerial team. He will lead, providing senior oversight and tasking, but not line management of SONAC’s approx. thirty staff, who will continue their expert work.

SONAC will continue to work with top external experts, running red teams and wargames to test and challenge departmental thinking, as well as continuing their long-term Net Assessment program to ensure we understand the problems we’re facing. These will be vital inputs to Malcolm Chalmers as he provides advice to the Secretary of State.