Defence Online

Government to launch review into foreign policy

Homeland February 28, 2020

The government has outlined a new review of foreign policy and defence, security, and development.

The report is expected to be the most extensive review of foreign policy, defence, and security since the Cold War, using input from a wide variety of experts. The Integrated Review will cover all aspects of the UK’s place in the world, from the role of our diplomatic service and approach to development to the capabilities of our Armed Forces and security agencies.

The review will be policy-led and will go beyond the parameters of a traditional review by considering the totality of global opportunities and challenges the UK faces and determining how the whole of government can be structured, equipped and mobilised to meet them. It will look at areas such as the procurement process used by the Armed Forces and other security services, ways to tackle Serious and Organised Crime more cohesively by building on the work of the Mackey Review and how Britain can better use technology and data to adjust to the changing nature of threats.

The remit of the review is to:

• define the Government’s ambition for the UK’s role in the world and the long-term strategic aims for our national security and foreign policy
• set out the way in which the UK will be a problem-solving and burden-sharing nation, examining how we work more effectively with our allies
• determine the capabilities we need for the next decade and beyond to pursue our objectives and address the risks and threats we face
• identify the necessary reforms to Government systems and structures to achieve these goals.

Departments across Whitehall will input, including the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence, Department for International Development, the Home Office, the Treasury, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Integrated Review will run in parallel to the Comprehensive Spending Review, ensuring departments are equipped with the resources they need to enact the review’s conclusions.

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Post written by: Ciara Houghton