Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Accepted
Lessons from Ukraine highlight MoD need for investment in weapon stockpiles and supply chain resilience.
Recommendation
Key lessons from the war in Ukraine include the need for the Armed Forces to invest in weapon stockpiles and ensure resilience and agility in sustaining military capabilities.43 The MoD has earmarked £5 billion over the decade to 2032–33 to develop this, half of which is additional funding provided by HM Treasury in 2023–24 and 2024–25.44 The MoD has started using the new money from HM Treasury on both enhancing production capacity and working down through the supply chain to secure the supply of essential commodities, such as chemicals.45
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, agreeing to provide clearer signals to industry on future demand through the new Integrated Procurement Model and existing tools like the Acquisition Pipeline, with a target implementation date of Spring 2025. It also committed to forming a new alliance with industry for long-term strategic alignment.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2025 4.2 The department agrees with the need to provide a clearer signal to industry on future demand. Greater transparency of the future pipeline is an important element of the new Integrated Procurement Model, building on earlier commitments in the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy (DSIS) and Defence Command Paper Refresh. 4.3 Since publication of the DSIS, the Defence Capability Framework, the Acquisition Pipeline, a number of sector specific strategies and most recently the Science and Technology Collaboration and Engagement Strategy all mark significant progress on this commitment and allow industry to plan ahead. 4.4 Under the Integrated Procurement Model, the department is continuing to improve visibility of long-term planning processes to inform industry’s future plans and investment. The department is forming a new alliance with industry, moving beyond the traditional customer-supplier relationship, developing long-term strategic alignment that not only delivers the capabilities required now, but binds the department and industry into a joint endeavour that can sustain the nation in times of conflict. 4.5 The department is also bringing industry into the fold much sooner, from the conception and development of ideas through to the final stages of delivery and are involving industry at all levels earlier in the military capability development processes. The department is working to ensure there is a collaborative technical environment, operating at secret levels of classification, to share information with industry in a much more dynamic way. 4.6 The department continues to publish the Acquisition Pipeline twice yearly, in April and October.