Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessments have required ministerial approval from his Department in each financial year since 2015-16.
Answered on
4 March 2019
Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) assessments themselves do not require approval by Ministers. OSJA assessments are written records of the consideration of risks surrounding a proposed activity and they document those who have been consulted. Ministerial approval may be required to authorise the proposed activity being described by the OSJA assessment, depending on the level of risk identified. If the hon. Member is seeking a record of those OSJA related activities, not the assessments themselves, such approvals are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.