Ministry of Defence: Arms Length Bodies
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 74 of the Defence Investment Plan, published 30 June 2026, which bodies will be (a) closed and (b) reclassified.
Answered by Ministry of Defence
Defence is closing or reclassifying bodies which no longer perform a required function, or that can be better delivered with greater Ministerial oversight.
The Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons has been closed, as no longer required by MOD.
The Independent Medical Expert Group and the Nuclear Research Advisory Council have been reclassified as expert committees.
The Department continues to reshape its wider public body landscape as part of Civil Service Reform and Defence Reform, to simplify structures, improve delivery and ensure that each body remains necessary and appropriately classified.
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