Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Acknowledged
Space acquisitions require an innovative and flexible approach to procurement, but the MoD will need...
Conclusion
Space acquisitions require an innovative and flexible approach to procurement, but the MoD will need to balance this against ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. This will not be an easy task, and the Department’s endemic failure to robustly manage major projects does not inspire confidence that they will be able to meet this challenge. The Department must meet its commitment to set out clear milestones for the significant infrastructure projects announced in the Defence Space Strategy by the end of this financial year. Timescales should also be included, and progress should be reported every six months. We will write to the Comptroller and Auditor General asking him to increase his oversight of these new projects to provide Defence Space: through adversity to the stars? 39 additional assurance and we intend to scrutinise their progress closely. In this emerging domain the Ministry of Defence has a real opportunity to learn from its past failings: history must not be repeated. The Department must meet its commitment to set out clear milestones for the significant infrastructure projects announced in the Defence Space Strategy by the end of this financial year. Timescales should also be included, and progress should be reported every six months. (Paragraph 122) 40 Defence Space: through adversity to the stars?
Government Response Summary
The government is exploring ways to enable greater agility and iterative delivery of capability, and the Defence Space Portfolio will be able to take advantage of this approach. UK Space Command recently published a Capability Management Plan, which gives an indication of milestones, and the government would be pleased to provide the Committee with a Written Ministerial Statement on the progress in early 2023.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
development. The department is exploring ways to enable greater agility and iterative delivery of capability. It is intended that the Defence Space Portfolio will be able to take advantage of this approach, which forms part of the department’s acquisition reform agenda to drive pace and agility into acquisition to deliver capability to the front line when it is needed and embrace the rapid pace of technological change. As with all programmes, the procurement of space capabilities will be subject to Defence’s robust investment decision-making process, including independent scrutiny, ensuring that oversight is maintained, and capabilities are acquired in a way that delivers value for money for the taxpayer. This process, embodied in Joint Service Publication 655, is regularly updated to ensure alignment with wider acquisition and approvals changes including, for example, mandating a new Risk and Complexity Assessment for all Defence programmes greater than £10 million and an associated tool, currently being trialled, that will enable tailoring of Assurance requirements to the project risk. UK Space Command recently published a Capability Management Plan,5 which gives an indication of milestones, and we would be pleased to provide the Committee with a Written Ministerial Statement on the progress we have made in early 2023. The MOD has already begun working with the Cabinet Office Infrastructure and Projects Authority to drive adoption of strong governance, assurance and programme delivery to meet the ambitions set out in the National and Defence Space Strategies. 5 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/space-capability-management-plan