§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
Following the range of security threats identified in the Strategic Defence Review, what interdepartmental strategy is being developed between the Ministry of Defence, the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to deal with terrorism, environmental disasters, international crime, weapons proliferation, narcotics and similar matters. [HL2901]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanA number of cross-Whitehall co-ordinating mechanisms exist to deal with the security threats identified in the Strategic Defence Review, many of which pre-date the review. Notably:
- on terrorism, the FCO and other relevant departments and agencies meet regularly to discuss terrorist threats and co-ordinate closely on counter-terrorism strategy;
- work on environmental and other disasters is being pursued in the context of the White Paper on Eliminating World Poverty (Cm 3789), on which the Department for International Development co-operates closely with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. These departments also work for early and effective international action to prevent the dangerous environmental change which can lead to such disasters;
- work on international crime and drugs is being taken forward in the context of the strategy set out in the Communique of the G8 Birmingham Summit. Drug-related work is co-ordinated by the Government's Special Representative for International Drugs Issues. The Special Representative, who was appointed in 1996, was closely involved in the formulation of the SDR, and is pursuing follow-up with the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator and relevant departments and agencies;
- there are a number of cross-Whitehall committees co-ordinating on weapons proliferation, including the FCO-chaired Non-Proliferation Steering Group.