Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Department could not provide us with a detailed explanation of how it planned to use the additional £16.5 billion of funding as ministers have yet to finalise decisions.51 Given that the 2020–2030 Equipment Plan is unaffordable, it accepted that it would need to use some of the new funding to address the shortfalls on the existing equipment programme.52 The Department told us that, even after this, it will need to cut capabilities to establish an affordable programme and that Ministers faced some tough choices in deciding which capabilities to retire or reduce.53 Furthermore, the Department has been clear that it faces funding pressures elsewhere, for example across its defence estate, and will need to assess how much of the additional resources will be spent on spending infrastructure, people and operations to address shortfalls in these areas. It told us it will set out its plan to manage the next four years and the equipment programme over the next ten years.54 45 Q 57 46 Q 28, 40 47 C&AG’s report, para 20 48 Committee of Public Accounts, Defence Capability and Equipment Plan, 10th Report of Session 2019–2021, 15 July 2020 49 Qq 10, 11 50 Qq 12, 13 51 Qq 14, 39, 54 52 Qq 24, 28, 36, 44 – 49, 56, 57, 102 53 Qq 11, 43 54 Qq 50, 51 14 Defence Equipment Plan 2020–2030
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."