7-708: The Air Force Board of the Defence Council is responsible for the management of the Royal Air Force . Prior to the creation of the current UK Ministry of Defence in 1964, the administration of the RAF and its personnel was undertaken by the Air Force Council , part of the Air Ministry . In 1964, the Defence Council took over this role, but the day-to-day management of the three services
14-672: 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
21-788: The crown with "general responsibility for defence" of the United Kingdom. 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
28-766: The military authority of the Crown , as head of the Armed Forces , to the Defence Council. It has the power of "command and administration" over the military. 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
35-550: 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. As of November 2024, membership of the Defence Council is as follows: The Defence Board is described as the highest committee of the Ministry of Defence, responsible for
42-431: 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,
49-606: Was delegated to the three single service boards, of which the Air Force Board is one. The composition is as follows: This RAF article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Defence Council of the United Kingdom The Defence Council of the United Kingdom is the supreme governing body of the British Armed Forces . It was established by the Defence (Transfer of Functions) Act 1964, which statutorily delegated
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