This Library Note has been prepared in advance of the debate in the House of Lords on 3 December 2015: "that this House takes note of the United Kingdom’s role in supporting international security and stability in the light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review".
United Kingdom’s Role in Supporting International Security and Stability (173 KB , PDF)
In light of the recent publication of the Government’s National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (NSS-SDSR) published on 23 November 2015, this short Library Note provides a brief summary of key points from the NSS-SDSR and of the Prime Minister Mr David Cameron’s statement on the review, in relation to the Governments strategy in supporting international security and stability. It also provides a short summary of the Government’s strategy for official development assistance, UK Aid: Tackling Global Challenges in the National Interest, which was also published on 23 November 2015. The Note summarises the debate which took place in the House of Commons following Mr Cameron’s statement on the NSS-SDSR, along with a selection of initial comment on the review, upon its publication. It concludes with a selection of further reading on matters relating to the United Kingdom’s role in supporting international security and stability more broadly.
United Kingdom’s Role in Supporting International Security and Stability (173 KB , PDF)
This briefing is the fifth of a series on the post-war history of the UK economy. The series proceeds decade-by-decade from the 1950s onwards, providing an overview of the key macroeconomic developments of each decade. This fifth briefing looks at the 1990s. In this decade the UK economy settled into a period of low inflation and steady growth; however, living standards growth was lower and more regionally concentrated than in previous decades.
While international attention has largely been focused on the Middle East and Ukraine, the civil war in Sudan continues. The UN has characterised the conflict as the “world’s largest hunger crisis”. As peace negotiations stall, concerns are rising not only for the people of Sudan but also about the conflict spreading to neighbouring states.
The Budget Responsibility Bill would require ministers to request an assessment from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for every major fiscal announcement and give the OBR the power to decide to publish one if the minister failed to request it. This follows the September 2022 ‘mini-budget’. The statement included plans that would have resulted in a projected £45bn reduction in tax income. It did not have an accompanying OBR assessment.
