Written question asked by Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative) on Wednesday, 27 April 2011.

Libya

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are integrating planning between government departments on the Libya crisis; and which departments are involved.

Answer: Government inter-departmental planning on the Libya crisis is co-ordinated by the National Security Council sub-committee on Libya, under the chairmanship of my right honourable friend the Prime Minister. It is attended by my right honourable friends the Deputy Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Defence, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the Secretary of State for International Development and the Attorney General. Senior Officials, including the National Security Adviser, the Cabinet Secretary, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and the Intelligence Agency Heads, also routinely attend. Daily official level meetings also take place in the Cabinet Office briefing rooms (COBR) to monitor developments and co-ordinate follow-up work. The main, but by no means the only, departments dealing with aspects of the Libya issue include the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, HM Treasury and the Department for International Development. The tri-departmental Stabilisation Unit has played an active role in facilitating cross-Whitehall planning discussions, providing expert advice on stabilisation and preparing cross-department planning papers for the National Security Council.

Secondary information