To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's assessment is of the security risk presented by the revival of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

We assess that the Taliban retain the capability and the intent to attack the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Afghan security forces, aid workers and civilian targets across a broad area of southern and eastern Afghanistan. ISAF forces keep the threat posed by the Taliban and insurgent groups under constant review. The uplift in forces announced recently is aimed at defeating this Taliban capability and consolidating the excellent work carried out by ISAF to date.