I am often asked, from across the political spectrum “what is defence for?” as well as “what do we get for our money?”. But just because much of what we do is hidden from plain sight doesn’t mean that we don’t make an enormous global difference. Today the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship, RFA Mounts Bay, is providing disaster relief to the Bahamas and providing vital reassurance to our allies in the UK’s overseas territories.

In the Strait of Hormuz, four Royal Navy warships, including the frigate Montrose and destroyer Defender, are on duty protecting British-flagged merchant ships from Iranian aggression.

All the while our cyber warriors on the online frontier are defending our systems from attack. So we should be tremendously proud of the brave men and women of the Armed Forces who provide our security across the globe day in, day out.

Yet, as the first former regular soldier for many years to lead the Ministry of Defence, I am also well aware that we only succeed because we invest.

We are currently Europe’s biggest defence spender by far and we have an impressive future force coming on line. It will include world-class, fifth-generation F35 stealth fighters, our two mighty carriers – one already bound for the United States to take part in operational trials – Dreadnought-class submarines and advanced armoured vehicles.

But this is about much more than just the men and women in uniform. Behind our military operations and armed services sits a supportive and innovative defence industry that sustains more than 260,000 jobs and last year exported £20 billion of aerospace and security equipment to our allies around the world. Next week’s Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition will showcase our world-class talent across all domains – not just air, land and sea but the evolving disciplines of security and joint operations.

It will act as a reminder, too, that not only does our defence industry strengthen our precious union, but it spreads wealth the length and breadth of our country.

However, we cannot afford complacency. The threats against our nation are growing. We’re not just contending with an increase in state competition and Daesh terrorists directing murder on British streets, but with cyber criminals who lurk in the shadows. That’s why the decision by the Prime Minister to significantly increase the defence budget is so important.

Defence cannot just be the backbone of our security but the point of the spear for a Britain returning to its traditions as a global trading nation, sought after for its innovation, respected for its willingness to defend global prosperity, and feared by its adversaries – a global Britain that is in Palmerston’s famous words “a great and energetic nation”.

The government has today (Monday 16 September) published the terms of reference for the independent review of the Prevent programme.

This follows the appointment of Lord Carlile to lead the review.

The review will focus on the current delivery of Prevent and make recommendations for the future of the government’s strategy for safeguarding those vulnerable to radicalisation. This will include looking at how effectively Prevent is delivered at local and national levels, how effectively the Prevent statutory duty is being implemented, how it might be improved to respond to justified criticisms and complaints, and how it interacts with other safeguarding strategies.

The review will report to Parliament by August 2020.

Security Minister Brandon Lewis said:

Prevent is an absolutely vital part of our efforts to stop people from being drawn into or supporting terrorism. Since 2012, more than 1,700 people have been steered away from terrorism via the Channel programme, which provides confidential, tailored support for individuals at risk of radicalisation.

We know that Prevent is successfully stopping people being drawn into terrorism, and this review will give us further evidence of what works well, while also suggesting areas for improvements. I look forward to seeing these recommendations.

Independent reviewer of Prevent Lord Carlile said:

This review is an opportunity to take stock of what Prevent looks like in practice, what’s working and what isn’t, and identify what improvements need to be made to respond to how the threat might change in the future.

Making these terms of reference public is an important step. It paves the way to my engagement with a wide range of those interested in the UK’s strategy for safeguarding those vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism, both critics and supporters alike, in an independent and open way. This will include a formal call for evidence in the coming weeks and a series of roadshows over the Autumn and Winter.

The purpose of Prevent is to safeguard vulnerable people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism, by engaging with those who are identified as being vulnerable to radicalisation or targeting by terrorist recruiters.

Prevent deals with all forms of terrorism, including Islamist and extreme right wing, and does not focus on any one community.

The Prevent duty came into force as part of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and ensures that specified authorities have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. It covers schools, colleges, universities, health, local authorities, police, and prisons. Delivery of Prevent in these sectors will be considered as part of the review.

IPAFFS is the UK’s new notification system for importing animals and animal products.

The specification for Ayrshire new potatoes/Ayrshire earlies, a protected food name product.