Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 20
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 Department confirmed that the Integrated Review—which had not been published at the time we took evidence—would contain substantially different capability choices from the current Equipment Plan.55 The government intends that the additional funding will be invested in capability enhancements and new technologies, and be used to help the Department to address the financial problems it has faced over the last five years.56 As Ministers had not yet made final decisions, the Department could not set out what proportion of the additional funding would be used to develop new capabilities.57 The Department told us that details of the specific new programmes and capability cuts will be set out when the Integrated Review is published, and it expected this to be in spring 2021.58 We emphasised our intention to continue to scrutinise the outcome of the Integrated Review and the Department’s management of equipment expenditure.59
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."