Recommendation 12

The Department assured us that it did not have major concerns over its budget for sustaining a carrier strike group and that it could place the support contracts it needs.31 However, it admitted that it does not yet fully understand the maintenance requirements and told us that the budget for spare parts is tight.32 The Department acknowledged that it has not prioritised investment in support activities—including spares and weapons stockpiles—in the way that it should have done. This has meant that maintenance periods 20 Qq 6, 17, 72 21 Q 17 22 Q 20 23 Qq 19–21 24 HC Committee of Public Accounts, Delivering Carrier Strike, Fourteenth Report of Session 2017–2019, HC 394, January 2018 25 Q 75; Comptroller and Auditor General: Ministry of Defence: The Equipment Plan 2019 to 2029, Session 2019–20, HC 111, National Audit Office, February 2020 26 Q 75 27 C&AG’s Report, paras 3.15and 3.16 28 C&AG’s Report, para 15 29 Letter from Stephen Lovegrove, 20 August 2020 30 Qq 69, 70 31 Q 74 32 Qq 69, 76 Delivering carrier strike 11 for the carriers have occasionally been delayed.33 The Comptroller and Auditor General identified examples where the Department had scaled back investment on support activities on affordability grounds, such as postponing the purchase of a second Lightning II spares pack.34 As a result, there is a risk that the Department may not have sufficient provision in later years’ budgets to reflect the full costs of operating Carrier Strike.35 The Department acknowledged that it must make sure it had appropriate support to operate Carrier Strike on a global scale and meet the Government’s aims.36 33 Qq 16, 76 34 Q76, C&AG’s Report para 3.7 35 C&AG’s Report para 16 36 Q 76 12 Delivering carrier strike 2 Providing essential supporting capabilities