Defence Council of the United Kingdom

Defence Council of the United Kingdom
Agency overview
Formed	1964
Preceding agency	Defence Board;
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	Whitehall, Westminster, London
Agency executive	John Healey, Secretary of State for Defence (Chairman);

The Defence Council of the United Kingdom is the supreme governing body of the British Armed Forces. It was established by the Defence (Transfer of Functions) Act 1964, which statutorily delegated the military authority of the Crown, as head of the Armed Forces, to the Defence Council. It has the power of "command and administration" over the military.

The Defence Council consists of the Defence Board, its principal committee, as well as the Admiralty Board, the Army Board and the Air Force Board. The Defence Board is chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence, the minister of the crown with "general responsibility for defence" of the United Kingdom.^[2]

Functions

Prior to 1964, there were five government ministries responsible for the British Armed Forces: the Admiralty, the War Office, the Air Ministry, the Ministry of Aviation, and a smaller Ministry of Defence. By Orders-in-Council issued under the Defence (Transfer of Functions) Act 1964,^[3] the functions of these bodies were transferred to the Defence Council and the Secretary of State for Defence, who heads a larger Ministry of Defence.

The Secretary of State for Defence, who is a member of the Cabinet, chairs the Defence Council, and is accountable to the King and to Parliament for its business. The letters patent constituting the Defence Council vest it with the power of command over His Majesty's Forces and give it responsibility for their administration, or in the words of the letters patent:

…to administer such matters pertaining to Our Naval Military and Air Forces as We through Our Principal Secretary of State for Defence direct them to execute And to have command under Us of all Officers Ratings Soldiers and Airmen of Our Naval Military and Air Forces…

In practice, the Defence Council is a formal body, and almost all its work is conducted by the Defence Board. In addition, the three service boards (the Admiralty Board, the Army Board and the Air Force Board), which are sub-committees of the Defence Council meet annually for each service chief to report to the Secretary of State on the health of their respective services.^[4]

Membership

As of January 2025, membership of the Defence Council is as follows:^[5]^[6]

Members	Title	Name
Political	Secretary of State for Defence (Chair)	John Healey MP
	Minister of State for Defence	Lord Coaker
	Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry	Maria Eagle MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces	Luke Pollard MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People	Alistair Cairns MP
His Majesty's Civil Service	Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence	David Williams
	Second Permanent Under-Secretary of State of the Ministry of Defence	Paul Lincoln
	Director General Finance	Aneen Blackmore
Military	Chief of the Defence Staff	Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
	Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff	General Dame Sharon Nesmith
	First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff	Admiral Sir Ben Key
	Chief of the General Staff	General Sir Roly Walker
	Chief of the Air Staff	Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton
	Commander Strategic Command	General Sir James Hockenhull

Defence Board

The Defence Board is described as the highest committee of the Ministry of Defence, responsible for the full range of defence business other than the conduct of operations.^[7] It meets every month and provides strategic direction and oversight of defence matters.^[8]

Members	Title	Name
Political	Secretary of State for Defence (Chairperson)	John Healey MP
	Minister of State (Minister for Defence Procurement)	Maria Eagle MP
	Minister of State in the House of Lords	Lord Coaker
	Minister of State (Minister for the Armed Forces)	Luke Pollard MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People	Alistair Cairns MP
His Majesty's Civil Service	Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence	David Williams
	Second Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence	Paul Lincoln
	Director General Finance	Aneen Blackmore
	Chief Executive Officer of Defence Equipment and Support	Andy Start
Military	Chief of the Defence Staff	Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
Military	Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff	General Dame Sharon Nesmith
Non-executive board members	Lead Non-Executive Board Member	Brian McBride
	Chair of the Defence Audit and Risk Assurance Committee	Dr Brian Gilvary
	Lead Non-Executive Director to the Defence Nuclear Board	Robin Marshall
	Chair of the People Committee	Kate Guthrie

References

^ "Ben Wallace Named New Defence Secretary". Forces Network. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Defence Council". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
^ "No. 43277". The London Gazette. 20 March 1964. p. 2545.
^ "How Defence Works" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. p. 18. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^ MOD website
^ "No. 64139". The London Gazette. 10 August 2023. p. 15970.
^ "Our Governance". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
^ "How Defence Works (December 2015)" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 16 June 2016.

External links

Ministry of Defence Our Governance

[1] "Ben Wallace Named New Defence Secretary". Forces Network. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.

[DefenceCouncil-2] "Defence Council". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 11 February 2011.

[3] "No. 43277". The London Gazette. 20 March 1964. p. 2545.

[4] "How Defence Works" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. p. 18. Retrieved 14 September 2023.

[5] MOD website

[6] "No. 64139". The London Gazette. 10 August 2023. p. 15970.

[7] "Our Governance". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 16 June 2016.

[8] "How Defence Works (December 2015)" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 16 June 2016.

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