Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
1
Conclusion
Thirty-Sixth Report - The Defence digit…
Acknowledged
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Defence (the Department) about the Defence digital strategy. The rapid advance of technology is changing the character of warfare, introducing a shifting and accelerating landscape of threats. The rapid deployment and …
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On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Defence (the Department) about the Defence digital strategy. The rapid advance of technology is changing the character of warfare, introducing a shifting and accelerating landscape of threats. The rapid deployment and exploitation of new technology is now at the very heart of the defence of the realm, and the urgency of this challenge is demonstrated by the current conflict in Ukraine.1
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the committee's conclusion regarding the rapid advance of technology and its impact on warfare.
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HM Treasury
14
Recommendation
Thirty-Sixth Report - The Defence digit…
Acknowledged
The NAO report identified that Defence Digital’s project delivery has suffered from a lack of skilled and experienced personnel, immature project controls, and a culture focused on the approvals process rather than outcomes.42 The Department accepted that its performance up to now is worrying and that it needs to up-skill …
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The NAO report identified that Defence Digital’s project delivery has suffered from a lack of skilled and experienced personnel, immature project controls, and a culture focused on the approvals process rather than outcomes.42 The Department accepted that its performance up to now is worrying and that it needs to up-skill staff and think differently about processes and risk.43 In particular, the Department said that it wants a more diverse mix of experience in its digital project delivery teams. It hopes that by bringing in different skills and ways of thinking from industry, it can become more confident at working in agile ways that are more appropriate to developing software, as opposed to conventional defence items.44 BAE Systems, in its written evidence, argued that it is quicker and easier to iterate five versions of a digital product or service than it is 34 Qq 89–90; C&AG’s Report, paras 3.13–3.14 35 Qq 16, 86 36 Q 16 37 Qq 30–33; Letter from Laurence Lee CMG to PAC Chair Dame Meg Hillier, 18 November 2022 38 Q 16 39 Q 78 40 C&AG’s Report, para 17 41 Q 15; C&AG’s Report, para 18 42 C&AG’s Report, para 17 43 Qq 15, 70–71 44 Q 70 The Defence digital strategy 13 to be perfect first time.45 The Department also told us it is trying to think differently about management information and reporting, as well as wider peer challenge and review across its project delivery portfolio to make better use of the specialists it has.46
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Government response AI summary
The department already has key actions in place to improve its performance in delivering major digital programmes, including updating programme management policies, upskilling staff, and improving programme governance.
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HM Treasury
15
Recommendation
Thirty-Sixth Report - The Defence digit…
Acknowledged
Nonetheless, we challenged the Department on its need to get better at stopping and improving failing digital programmes.47 The Department stated it had recently paused its core networks programme to make changes to its design before going out to the market.48 They also paused specific software components of the Morpheus …
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Nonetheless, we challenged the Department on its need to get better at stopping and improving failing digital programmes.47 The Department stated it had recently paused its core networks programme to make changes to its design before going out to the market.48 They also paused specific software components of the Morpheus programme (itself a sub- component of the Land Environment Tactical Communications and Information Systems (LE TacCIS) programme) as they did not believe these were being delivered appropriately.49 However, they stated that while there have been problems with one component part of Morpheus, they would still deliver continuous capability upgrades through this programme, and the over-arching LE TacCIS programme, over time.50
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Government response AI summary
The department already has key actions in place to improve its performance in delivering major digital programmes, including updating programme management policies, upskilling staff, and improving programme governance.
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HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Thirty-Sixth Report - The Defence digit…
Acknowledged
We asked the Department what it was doing to work more closely domestically and with international partners, such as NATO.76 The Department is creating shared architectures to help it work more closely and share data securely with other parts of government, including at higher security classifications, and explained that the …
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We asked the Department what it was doing to work more closely domestically and with international partners, such as NATO.76 The Department is creating shared architectures to help it work more closely and share data securely with other parts of government, including at higher security classifications, and explained that the COVID-19 pandemic 65 Qq 45–46 66 Q 12 67 Qq 95–96; C&AG’s Report, para 12; TDS0004 68 C&AG’s Report, para 10 69 Ministry of Defence, digital strategy for Defence: Delivering the backbone and unleashing the power of Defence’s data, April 2021 70 C&AG’s Report, para 15 71 Q 20 72 Q 18 73 Q 52 74 Q 18 75 Qq 53–55 76 Qq 34–44 16 The Defence digital strategy sped up the use of collaboration software.77 We wanted to know what discussions the Ministry of Defence has with other departments about using digital technology to work more closely, and if it has thought about where this might be most important, such as in crisis response.78 The Department felt that the technology to respond in a coordinated way to a domestic crisis exists now, but policy and seniors across government need to come together to solve those problems.79 The Department pointed to how it is taking part in the Cabinet Office’s central digital strategy and its digital and data board, which is bringing government together.80 Internationally, the Department told us it wants to take part in emerging conversations within NATO about data interoperability and common architectures.81 77 Q 34; Ministry of Defence, digital strategy for Defence: Delivering the backbone and unleashing the power of Defence’s data, April 2021 78 Qq 34–36, 41–43 79 Q 36 80 Q 42 81 Q 35 The Defence digital strategy 17
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the Committee's (implied) recommendation, setting an April 2023 target, and describes its ongoing Digital Exploitation for Defence (DX4D) programme and delivery of the Digital Backbone by 2025 as means to accelerate digital transformation across Defence.
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HM Treasury