Recommendation 5

The Department remains a long way short of having the finance skills it needs to manage the Plan effectively. Strong financial skills are needed to manage the large and complex set of programmes, crucial to a well managed and affordable Plan. But according to HM Treasury, the Department is in the third quartile of government departments in terms of financial capability. The proportion of Finance staff with professional qualifications has only increased from 41% to 43% in two years, against a target of 60%. There are hundreds of gaps in finance staff across the Department. Ministry of Defence Equipment Plan 2021–31 7 We acknowledge that some progress is being made, with around 400 staff studying for qualifications, but progress is very slow even taking account of the disruptive effect of the pandemic over the last two years. Recommendation: The Department should accelerate its efforts to increase its financial skills by making a career in finance more attractive and making qualifying easier. It should aim to be in the top quartile of financial capability within government departments within 3 years and set out a credible plan to achieve this.