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Defence Council of the United Kingdom
Governing body of the British Armed Forces
Governing body of the British Armed Forces
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| agency_name | Defence Council of the United Kingdom |
| logo | MinistryofDefence.svg |
| logo_width | 120px |
| formed | 1964 |
| preceding1 | Defence Board |
| preceding2 | |
| jurisdiction | United Kingdom United Kingdom |
| headquarters | Whitehall, Westminster, London |
| coordinates | |
| minister2_pfo | |
| deputyminister2_pfo | |
| chief1_name | John Healey |
| chief1_position | Secretary of State for Defence (Chairman) |
| chief2_position | |
| child1_agency | Defence Board |
| child2_agency | Admiralty Board |
| child3_agency | Army Board |
| child4_agency | Air Force Board |
| keydocument1 |
The Defence Council of the United Kingdom is the highest formal governing body of the British Armed Forces, the Defence Council is delegated the responsibility and powers over "command and administration" of the armed forces, by the Crown in their capacity as Head of the Armed Forces.
It was established by the "Defence (Transfer of Functions) Act 1964," which established the Defence Council and transferred to it the responsibilities and delegated powers of the previous separate departments that managed the armed forces prior to 1964.
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.
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, 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.
Membership
As of September 2025 membership of the Defence Council is as follows:
| Members | Title | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Ministers | Secretary of State for Defence (Chair) | John Healey |
| Minister of State for Defence Readiness and Industry | Luke Pollard | |
| Minister of State (Minister for the House of Lords) | The Lord Coaker | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for the Armed Forces) | Colonel Alistair Carns | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Veterans and People) | Louise Sandher-Jones | |
| Civil servants | Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence | David Williams |
| Director General Finance | Aneen Blackmore | |
| Military officers | Chief of the Defence Staff | Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton |
| Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | General Dame Sharon Nesmith | |
| First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff | General Sir Gwyn Jenkins | |
| Chief of the General Staff | General Sir Roly Walker | |
| Chief of the Air Staff | Air Chief Marshal Harvey Smyth | |
| Commander Cyber & Specialist Operations 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. It meets every month and provides strategic direction and oversight of defence matters.
| Members | Title | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Ministers | Secretary of State for Defence (Chair) | John Healey |
| Minister of State | ||
| (Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry) | Luke Pollard | |
| Minister of State (Minister for the House of Lords) | The Lord Coaker | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for the Armed Forces) | Colonel Alistair Carns | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Veterans and People) | Louise Sandher-Jones | |
| Civil servants | Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence | David Williams |
| Director General Finance | Aneen Blackmore | |
| Chief Executive Officer of Defence Equipment and Support | Andy Start | |
| Military officers and officials | Chief of the Defence Staff | Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton |
| 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
References
- (25 July 2019). "Ben Wallace Named New Defence Secretary".
- "Defence (Transfer of Functions) Act 1964".
- "Defence Council". Ministry of Defence.
- {{London Gazette. (20 March 1964)
- "How Defence Works".
- {{London Gazette. (10 August 2023)
- "Our Governance".
- "How Defence Works (December 2015)".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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