Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
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)
The operational freedom of a carrier group relies on tankers supplying it with oil and water, and solid support ships providing food, ammunition and general stores, where and when they are required. The Department identified that it needed new solid support ships in 2005, and by 2017 it had decided that a fleet of three new support ships was necessary, entering service from 2026. Indeed, the Department told us that the fleet solid support ship programme was one of the four key components of its ambition to develop Carrier Enabled Power Projection. It began the procurement of the three ships in May 2018 but stopped the competition in November 2019 because it did not have a compliant bidder. The Department told us it was now reconsidering its requirement and had not yet launched a further competition. It has not confirmed when the first new ship will now enter service but estimates it will be October 2027 at the earliest, and possibly as late as April 2029.53
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.