Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 27
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)
While pointing out that this was also a problem encountered by other countries, the Department acknowledged that it did not have a good understanding of the unique factors that drive inflation on defence projects, and that there was work to be done to better understand whether there are better ways of managing or predicting it.77 Defence projects are often long-term, complex and involve new cutting-edge technologies. For example, it is likely to be buying Lightning II jets for another 20 years and will need to constantly 68 Qq 4, 74 69 Q 10 70 C&AG’s report, para 19 71 Qq 10, 13 72 C&AG’s report, para 16 73 C&AG’s report, para 1.35 74 Q 35 75 Q 38 76 Q 95 77 Qq 35, 37 16 Defence Equipment Plan 2020–2030 update the software in response to technological advances.78 The Department accepted it needed to understand and anticipate the factors that affect the cost of projects in order to retain flexibility to manage the delivery of capabilities on the scale of defence projects.79 78 Qq 34, 35 79 Q 35 Defence Equipment Plan 2020–2030 17
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."