Recommendation 19

In 2018, the Department established a Strategic Partnering Programme (SPP) to maximise commercial leverage with its 19 most important suppliers by improving contract performance and managing strategic risks.45 The Department told us that the 38 C&AG’s report, para 3.16 39 C&AG’s report, para 3.8 40 C&AG’s report, paras 3.4–3.5 41 Q 3 42 C&AG’s report para 5.12 43 C&AG’s report para 5.13 44 Q 3 45 C&AG’s report, paras 3.17–3.18 Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts 15 programme is now embedded across 14 suppliers and emphasised its vision to achieve a single view of suppliers’ contracts with the Department and suppliers’ performance under contracts. Witnesses cited ongoing detailed work looking at dockside support for ships and submarines as an example of how its ‘workstreams’ will improve efficiency.46 Its current savings target for the programme is £160 million—less than 0.1% of its forecast Equipment Plan spend of £163 billion, though its intention is to scale up its savings targets by ‘hundreds of millions’ of pounds.47 The Department told us that attributing savings to the programme’s interventions is challenging and it was worried about double counting of savings because of overlaps with DE&S’s ongoing efficiency programme work.48