Recommendation 15

The Department’s support for Ukraine has also led it to reconsider what level of financial and operational risk it is willing to tolerate. A higher risk appetite allows equipment to be delivered quicker as there is less checking for mistakes. Circumstances can affect the risk appetite – in a war situation, for example, the risk appetite is extraordinarily high. The Department is trying to streamline its procurement processes by pushing decision-making down the hierarchy as much as it can. To do this, the Department said it must gauge which of its regulations and procedures are sensible, and which are arcane.25 This includes ensuring that the approvals process strikes a better balance between assurance and pace.26