Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
The Department continues to be unclear about what additional capability the taxpayer will get from...
Conclusion
The Department continues to be unclear about what additional capability the taxpayer will get from the extra £16.5 billion in the 2020 Spending Review. We remain to be convinced that the government’s substantial uplift to the Department’s budget will not simply be used to plug financial holes across its programmes. We are struck in recent evidence sessions by how many departmental witnesses with differing responsibilities have pointed to the additional funding as a solution to their problems. We note that as well as addressing £7 billion affordability gap in the Department’s 2020–2030 Equipment Plan, the Department is spending £6.6 billion 8 Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts on R&D, and additional funding for pension changes and enhancing childcare for service personnel. It had previously written to us to say that the money would be used for both new and existing capabilities. However, witnesses could not say whether truly additional capabilities will be delivered through the additional funding. In addition, the Permanent Secretary was unclear about the basis of the assumptions informing its calculations of funding over the next ten years, including what has and has not been approved. Recommendations: The Committee expects to see absolute clarity in the Equipment Plan 2021–2031 about what additional capability the Armed Forces is getting for the additional £16.5 billion and how it has secured the long-term affordability of the Plan. It should clearly distinguish between new capabilities and those already in development. Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts 9 1 The system for delivering major equipment capabilities
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
agree with the Committee’s conclusion. The £16.5 billion extra funding from Spending Review 2020 will support the aims and priorities outlined in the Integrated Review to better counter developing and future threats. Further detail and a breakdown of the £16.5 billion will be provided in the upcoming equipment plan report for publication in February 2022, with a clear distinction between investment in new capabilities and managing the existing shortfall reported in our previous updates. As usual, this will be published alongside the NAO report. 6.3 Recognising the time taken to compile this significant edition of the Equipment Plan, the department has provided updates to the Committee following the publication of the Defence Command Paper in March 2021. The department wrote to the Committee on 22 June with detail of the investments and savings taken through the Integrated Review. The department wrote again to the Committee on 14 September 2021 in response to the Committee’s report on equipment contracts and set out more detail on the new capabilities which will cover. Twenty-Third Report of Session 2021-22 Department of Health and Social Care Test and Trace - Update Introduction from the Committee NHS Test and Trace Service (NHST&T) was set up in May 2020 as part of the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department). It provides: COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, where results are processed in laboratories, primarily for people with symptoms; and lateral flow device (LFD) testing, which give results in around 30 minutes and are used to identify people with COVID-19 who are not showing symptoms. Working with local authorities, it contacts people who have tested positive and their recent contacts to advise them to self-isolate, as well as providing telephone monitoring and support during the self- isolation period. It also supports the UK’s work on genomic sequencing of some PCR tests to track variant forms of COVID-19 and carries out other research and data analysis through the Joint Biosecurity Centre. NHST&T estimates that it spent £13.5 billion in 2020–21, an underspend of £8.7 billion against its budget. By the end of May 2021, NHST&T had dispatched 691 million lateral flow tests, with 96 million (14%) results registered. On 24 March 2021, the government announced that NHST&T would form part of the newly created UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). This transition is due to be complete by the end of October 2021. Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Committee took evidence on Thursday 08 July from the Department of Health and Social Care, UK Health Security Agency and the former Head of NHST&T. The Committee published its report on 27 October 2021. This is the government’s response to the Committee’s report. Relevant reports • NAO report: Test and Trace in England - Progress Update – Session 2021-22 (HC 295) • PAC report: Test and Trace - Update – Session 2021-22 (HC 182)