Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 9
Fiftieth Report - Defence Equipment Plan 2020–2030
Published 16 Mar 2021
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Defence Equipment Plan 2020-2030 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Permanent Secretary also explained that the Department has had to live with an annual budget cycle and plan its equipment programme without the certainty of funding over a 10-year period. He explained that this was very difficult to manage. The 2020 Spending Review has provided the Department with the certainty of funding for the 7 Qq 24, 29, 30, 36, 43, 44, 56, 65, 76 8 C&AG’s Report, para 13 9 Qq 31, 32, 72,73 10 C&AG’s Report, para 13 11 Committee of Public Accounts, Defence Capability and Equipment Plan, 10th Report of Session 2019–2021, 15 July 2020 paras 1, 7 12 Qq 24, 30, 31, 39, 13 C&AG’s Report, para 2.3 14 Qq 10 - 13, 15 Q 35 16 Q 36 10 Defence Equipment Plan 2020–2030 next four years, providing it with a basis for planning and the opportunity to address the structural problems with the Equipment Plan.17 The Permanent Secretary told us that in 2010 the defence budget had been made affordable, but at the expense of capability. Then in 2015, capability shortfalls were addressed but without sufficient funding. The budget was, therefore, constantly unbalanced in one way or another. He told us that he hoped now to develop a coherent and sensible package of capabilities which are backed up by resources, allowing the Department to plan properly in the longer-term.18 Producing a reliable assessment of funding shortfalls
From: Public Accounts Committee, Fiftieth Report - Defence Equipment Plan 2020–2030 (HC 693), 16 March 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 31 August 2021 (deadline 16 May 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it agrees with the Committee's recommendations that are set out in the response, each with a stated target implementation date, and sets out related work already under way.
- On affordability, it agrees that the next Equipment Plan report must demonstrate affordability, and says that report (Autumn 2021) will set out the implications of the 2020 Spending Review settlement and the Integrated Review.
- On transparency over the additional funding, it agrees and says it "will write to the Committee before summer recess" with a summary of investment and savings decisions, with a target date of June 2021.
- On defence cost inflation, it agrees and says it will write to the Committee alongside the Autumn 2021 Equipment Plan report, and states it "is committed to changing attitudes and behaviours within the Defence acquisition system".
- On finance capability, it agrees with a target date of March 2023, noting that "It takes time to both train and recruit professionally qualified staff, but numbers will increase over time."