Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 11
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Support costs include the cost of maintaining, repairing and upgrading equipment. Operating costs include items like fuel, port fees and stock.27 The Department is developing its understanding of the requirements of a carrier strike group when on deployment, and believes that its cost estimates are beginning to mature.28 It has used the sea trials to improve its understanding of what it takes to operate Carrier Strike, and collect more information on the associated costs. However, the Department told us that these trials are not representative of routine operations and that it would not develop a fuller understanding of future support and operating costs until 2022.29 The first operational deployment in 2021 will therefore provide the Department with a crucial opportunity to understand what operating a carrier strike group costs.30
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.