Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to work with the Ministry of Defence to codify civilian assistance to military authorities for home defence, as recommended in the Strategic Defence Review.

Developing plans for civilian assistance to the military in a time of conflict is a key component of the Cabinet Office's Home Defence Programme. The Cabinet Office is working closely with the MoD and other Whitehall departments to set a baseline understanding of the support requirements for defence and how positions and roles may need to be backfilled in a conflict scenario. This work is ongoing.