Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 57 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, updated on 8 July 2025, what will be the requirements to sit on the independent review board.

The Strategic Defence Review recognises Ministers in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) must have direct access to information on the collective readiness of Defence, the NHS, and private healthcare to meet the demands of warfighting and other strategic health emergencies involving DMS.

The Government endorses the Review’s vision and accepts all 62 recommendations, including the recommendation an independent review board, akin to the US Defense Health Board, should assure ecosystem readiness, reporting periodically to Ministers, the Defence Board, and Parliament.

The implementation of the Review’s recommendations is underway. Implementation will be priority business of the Department and will be executed through a whole of UK Defence effort.