Going Out with a Bang
The House of Commons Defence Select Committee has quite rightly come in for a lot of criticism for not holding the MoD to account in a sufficiently robust fashion, but in its last report before being replaced by a new committee after the General Election, it has gone out with a very big bang. It is worth putting the kettle on a settling down for a hour to read the full report including the transcripts of the evidence session and you will be taken aback by the breathtaking arrogance of the MoD.
At a weighty 190 pages long the first section sets the tone for the rest of the report.
The ability of DE&S to deliver the equipment programme is overshadowed by the existence of a funding gap which the NAO estimates could be as much as £36 billion over the next ten years. The management of this funding gap, in particular the practice of delaying projects already underway, is a major factor in the slippage of time and costs, and makes it difficult objectively to assess the performance of DE&S.
It has been suspected for some time that this situation existed. We welcome the public acknowledgement of the issue and the provision of data about the extent of the problem. We accept the NAO’s analysis and wish to record our disappointment that it has taken the MoD so long to admit to the problem. The evidence we have received indicates that the MoD’s responses to our questions about the funding gap in our Defence Equipment 2009 inquiry were at best confused and unhelpful and at worst deliberately obstructive.
Ouch
Read the full report here
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