Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 27
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)
We were also concerned that the Department had not found a solution for other unfunded supporting capabilities since our 2018 report. For example, a Maritime Intra- Theatre Lift capability is crucial for moving spares (including Lightning II parts), people and, potentially, high-value assets around the fleet and to shore. The Department’s plans to develop a dedicated long-term capability have been limited by funding constraints and lack of data on what support a carrier group will need. The Department admitted it requires a long-term solution and anticipates that this will be an un-crewed autonomous system of some form. However, it is unlikely to provide this in the next 10 to 15 years. The Department told us that for the foreseeable future, therefore, it must rely on its interim solution, using Merlin Mark 4 helicopters. It assured us that this provides an adequate capability to operate the carriers. However, this solution relies on competing for spare capacity on helicopters which have other roles and restricts Carrier Strike’s ability to operate where required because of the helicopters’ limited range.55 55 Q 58; C&AG’s Report, para. 2.14 16 Delivering carrier strike
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.