Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
The Department told us it had reviewed its approach so that it no longer fell...
Conclusion
The Department told us it had reviewed its approach so that it no longer fell into the trap of setting an excessive number of requirements. It said it now only approved programmes with a reasonable number of requirements, such as the 150 to 200 for the purchase of Boxer and the upgraded Challenger tanks.20 It told us it had now developed a more sophisticated approach, which it had set out in the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy.21 For example, it recognised that acquiring an off-the-shelf capability quickly could sometimes be better than waiting for a capability to be developed that was exactly what it wanted. With Boxer, for example, the Department plans to introduce a base platform which it would develop when in service, rather than over-specifying requirements at the design stage.22
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The department is actively taking the actions recommended by the National Audit Office to improve the effectiveness of the Ajax programme and has accepted the recommendations made in the King Report and in this Committee report. The independent Ajax Lessons Learned Review is intended to provide insights that will help the department deliver major programmes more effectively in future. Recommendations will be considered alongside the implementation of other Ajax and wider programme management improvements underway.