Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 7
Twenty-Third Report - Delivering carrier strike
Published 13 Nov 2020
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Delivering carrier strike All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The government is re-assessing its defence priorities in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy (the Review), which, when we took evidence at the end of September, the Department expected would be published in November 2020.13 As part of the Review, government will re-assess its ambition for Carrier Strike. The Department acknowledged that any changes to this ambition, including how the carriers will be used and their deployment patterns, will affect the extent and type of supporting capabilities required, and the level of future investment needed.14 For example, the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review changed the policy ambition from deploying both carriers at the same time to having only one out at a time, with the other in dock. This reduced the number of operational squadrons required.15 The Department emphasised, however, that even without a full complement of planes or ships to support it, Carrier Strike would still be able to undertake a variety of tasks, from war fighting to humanitarian assistance, and that this would project Britain’s power in the world.16
From: Public Accounts Committee, Twenty-Third Report - Delivering carrier strike (HC 684), 13 November 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 4 February 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 recommendation on six of its recommendations (numbered 1 to 6), and disagrees with one part, on the whole life cost of buying more than 48 jets.
- On future ambitions for Carrier Strike, the government agrees; the department says that once the Integrated Review is published it "will evaluate the outcomes in detail to refine its policy ambitions", with any future investments captured in the costed 10-year Equipment Plan.
- On the cost of more than 48 jets, the government disagrees, stating it is "not possible" to expand the costing model beyond 48 aircraft until the Integrated Review results are known and a formal mandate change to the Lightning Programme is issued.
- On Lightning II expenditure, the government agrees, but notes that the private briefing agreed with the Committee for 20 January 2021 "does not meet the recommendation timeline (within one month)".
- On Crowsnest, the government agrees and says a written brief on how it has addressed the late delivery "will be provided to the Committee in February 2021"; full capability is to be achieved in 2023.