Political Risk:
Very Low
Score:
84/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
75/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The business of the UK Parliament takes place in two Houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Their work is similar:…
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The Parliament is effective in regularly scrutinising issues pertaining to defence policy. For instance, only in May 2019, the Parliament scrutinised policies related to…
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The Parliament’s independent scrutiny is ensured by the Parliamentary sovereignty principle, which makes Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK [1]. There is…
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Q2
83/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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There is a Defence Committee, with extensive formal rights. The House of Commons Defence Committee (HCDC) is a cross-party Select Committee consisting of eleven…
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The majority of the members of the Defence Committee (at least 7 out of 11 members) hold defence expertise [1]. The vast majority of…
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Based on the Committee’s activity and inquiries made, it can be deduced that it reviews major defence policies and decisions every 5 years or…
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The Committee meets, on average, once a week [1]. It issues recommendations and requires Ministries to respond [2]. However, the Committee does not appear…
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The Committee conducts long-term investigations on current activities, including operations. For example, in May 2018 the Defence Committee announced an inquiry into examining the…
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The responses provided by the Ministries to the Committee’s recommendations suggest that they generally incorporate its recommendations into practice, albeit with some caveats. The…
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Q3
88/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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The UK’s defence policy and national security strategy is debated by the executive [1], the legislative [2, 3] and the public [4, 5]. Public…
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Discussion is in-depth, and addresses all of the following issues: clear articulation of the security threats that the country is facing [1], procurement decisions…
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Research suggests that formal consultations on defence policy exist and that they take place regularly. For example, formal public consultations were held following the…
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The public can easily access documents and regularly updated information on all aspects of defence policy or security strategy [1, 2] and documents are…
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Q4
92/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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There is a policy that encourages defence and security institutions to be open to CSOs, however there is no formal requirement to do so.…
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CSOs enjoy a range of protections from government, and are able to operate openly and without intimidation from the government, as evidenced by the…
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Defence and security institutions have specifically worked with CSOs on issues of corruption. For instance, the 77th Brigade of the UK Army has worked…
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Q5
88/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Q6
100/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Outside government, there is regular public debate among academics, journalists, opinion-formers, and CSOs about defence issues [1, 2, 3, 4]. Debate persists on high…
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The government engages in regular debate with academia, opinion-formers, and CSOs about defence issues in collaborative ways. The government co-organises discussions with independent think…
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Q7
100/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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The UK Anti-Corruption Strategy 2017-2022 explicitly mentions defence and security as a high risk area for corruption [1]. Similarly, the latest Strategic Defence and…
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The ‘Year One Update’ of the UK Anti-Corruption Strategy 2017-2022 outlines the steps taken to implement the Strategy in the Defence and Security Sector…
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Q8
100/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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The Fraud Defence Act is the MOD’s single point of reference for the reporting and recording of suspicions and incidents of fraud, corruption, bribery…
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As a Head Office Function, reporting to the Director General Finance and Permanent Secretary, Fraud Defence is independent of the chain of command of…
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As part of the government’s Counter Fraud Function, Fraud Defence leads the Fraud Risk Discipline which has been operational since 2013 and regularly conducts…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. While a survey specifically assessing whether the public trusts the institutions of defence and…
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Q10
100/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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Fraud Defence conducts regular risk assessments which identify corruption risks, although there is little publicly available evidence of this. According to the MOD, Fraud…
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According to the MOD, all risk registers are subject to reviews every 12 weeks by the Fraud Risk Discipline team and the Senior Risk…
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According to the MOD, the MOD Counter Fraud and Corruption Strategy, and subsequent action plan, all consider the consolidated output of all the risk…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
92/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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There is a clear process for acquisition planning in place which is outlined in the Knowledge in Defence (KiD) portal of the MoD [1].…
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The public has access to information about the entire process itself, so that information can be obtained as needed [1]. Information that is proactively…
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The National Audit Office assess performance, and the country’s long-term acquisition plans [1]. The Parliament (the Defence Committee) is also involved in the oversight…
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Q12
100/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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The defence budget contains comprehensive and disaggregated information on expenditure across functions. Information includes personnel (salaries, allowances), military R&D, training, construction, procurement/acquisitions, maintenance of…
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Since 2017, the budget proposal that includes the defence budget is provided to the legislature and the public in the autumn, before the budget…
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Q13
75/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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The Defence Committee has extensive formal rights of scrutiny of the defence budget [1]. It scrutinises the MoD’s budgetary estimates, which are provided in…
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Both the Defence Committee as well as the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy review the defence budget and issue recommendations [1, 2].…
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Q14
92/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The approved defence budget is proactively published for the public in disaggregated form. It is accompanied by an explanation of the budget intended for…
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The vast majority of the approved defence budget is fully disclosed to the media and civil society actors [1] [2]. There is clear and…
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A review of the Freedom of Information Statistics [1] suggests information requested by citizens, media, and civil society about the defence budget is provided…
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Q15
75/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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The MoD publishes all sources of income, the amounts received, and the allocation of this income in its Annual Report and Accounts [1]. External…
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Mechanisms of scrutiny of MoD income, including non-central government sources of funding, are in place and administered by the National Audit Office [1]. The…
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While there has been public scrutiny regarding ‘funding black holes’ in MoDs plan to equip the Army, public scrutiny of non-central government sources of…
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Q16
38/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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The MOD have a Defence Internal Audit (DIA) function which provides internal auditing across the MOD. With the exception of Military Operations, all business…
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DIA reports are shared with DARAC along with progress reports and updates [1]. However, there is no evidence that the parliamentary defence committee uses…
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The role and position of DIA is subject to review and comment by the NAO as part of their comments on the overall Governance…
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DIA completes close to 200 internal audits per year [1]. Individual reports including opinions are shared with the relevant entity owners, the DARAC, individual…
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Q17
88/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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The National Audit Office has the mandate to review the defence sector, and regularly audits military defence spending in a formal, in-depth process. Both…
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The NAO’s independence and auditory powers are enshrined in the National Audit Act (NAA) 1983 (s.6 & 8 particularly) and the Budget Responsibility and…
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The NAO proactively publishes its reports relating to MoD’s expenditure, with extensive level of detail and within a resonable timeline [1, 2, 3].
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The MoD generally agrees with recommendations issued by PAC and the NAO and commits to implementing them, however, there are instances where it disagrees…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
83/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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There is no evidence that there are legal restrictions on defence institutions or individuals having controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the…
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There is no evidence in the MoD’s annual report and accounts to suggest the MoD has controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with…
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There is no evidence of any cases of individual defence personnel being involved in businesses relating to the country’s natural resource exploitation [1, 2].
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable, as there is no evidence that such interests exist [1].
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable, as there is no evidence that such interests exist [1].
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Organised Crime
Q19
100/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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Although the threat of organised crime has been at record levels in 2019, there is no evidence to suggest that organised crime has penetrated…
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Although the likelihood of the penetration of organised crime in the defence and security sector is low, the government is aware of this possibility…
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Q20
83/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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The mandate of the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) includes dealing with organised crime and corruption in the defence services. One the ‘core capabilities’…
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In its enforcement of the criminal law and to maintain the peace, the MDP operates ‘independently of political or departmental control’ [1]. Furthermore, ‘the…
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MOD Police have jurisdiction over Service and civilian MoD employed personnel, and conduct prosecutions through the civilian justice system, all subject to the usual…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
75/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) was first established by the Intelligence Services Act 1994 to examine the policy, administration and expenditure…
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The Members are subject to Section 11b of the Official Secrets Act 1989, and have access to highly classified material in carrying out their…
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Q22
92/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The director of the Security Service is appointed by the Secretary of State of the Home Office under the terms of the Security Service…
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GCHQ, MI5 and other intelligence services have rigurous selection procesudres, including for senior positions [1, 2, 3]. This provides little space for opportunities for…
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At GCHQ, the vetting process involves completing detailed questionnaires, discussing these with a Vetting Officer and agreeing references for interview [1]. At MI5, candidates…
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Export Controls
Q23
75/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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The UK has signed up to and ratified the ATT [1]. The Treaty was ratified in April 2014, and entered into force in December…
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DESA follows the Government process for arms exports decisions which involves approval via an F680 for any assets that are classified OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE or higher.…
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The Government submits annual reports on the controls imposed on strategic exports to Parliament. The Committee on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) draws together four…
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Lobbying in Defence
The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 regulates lobbying activities, including within the defence sector [1]. However, the scope…
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UK Government departments, including the Ministry of Defence, are required by the Ministerial Code to publish the details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations…
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Part 1 of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 makes an offence of consultant lobbying without prior registration,…
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There are two things to address here: the enforcement of the Ministerial code by the Cabinet Office Proprietary and Ethics team (and ultimately the…
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