Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 40
40
Acknowledged
UK Armed Forces deployed beyond designed capacity, impacting platform maintenance.
Conclusion
The Minister for the Armed Forces acknowledged that the UK Armed Forces were deployed in excess of what the force structure was designed for, noting that “there is absolutely no pretending that we are not spending resource more keenly than our 51 X (formerly known as Twitter) post by the Ministry of Defence, 21 December 2023 [Accessed 26 January 2024] 52 HC Deb, 20 November 2023, col. 3; Defence Secretary visits Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories to explore options to boost humanitarian aid, Ministry of Defence Press Release, 7 December 2023 ; HC Deb 19 December 2023; HCWS163 [Commons Written Ministerial Statement] 53 Defence Secretary deploys UK forces to Kosovo for NATO peacekeeping mission, Ministry of Defence Press Notice, 1 October 2023 54 Guyana: UK to send warship to South America amid Venezuela tensions, BBC News, 24 December 2023; Royal Navy patrol ship visits Guyana amid border claim, Royal Nay press release, 18 January 2024 55 Q406 56 Oral evidence taken on 15 November 2023, HC (2023–24) 52, Q35 57 Oral evidence taken on 15 November 2023, HC (2023–24) 52, Q12–13 58 Oral evidence taken on 15 November 2023, HC (2023–24) 52 Q12 18 Ready for War? current force levels would require, but in an age as unstable and insecure as this is—and worsening—we have no choice but to do that”.59 When we questioned how sustainable crisis response deployments were, the Minister declined to tell the Committee what the opportunity costs of such deployments were, beyond acknowledging that the UK Armed Forces had a finite number of personnel and platforms.60 However, the CEO of DE&S cited the high operational tempo as the reason that a number of platforms have not entered planned maintenance.61
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the need to prioritise resources for modernisation and readiness, stating that lessons from the Russia-Ukraine War have led to a re-evaluation of assumptions and a greater focus on warfighting readiness, balancing existing programmes.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Defence must prioritise resources to support both future modernisation and current readiness. We do this in concert with our Allies through NATO, continuously reviewing our priorities and capability plans to address shortfalls we have identified. As an example, the lessons from the Russia-Ukraine War have led to a re-evaluation of previous assumptions around capabilities and readiness. Until now the demands on the Department have allowed for the Global Operate programme to continue at pace. However, given the threat to Euro-Atlantic has increased, and the Department must now be more focused on warfighting readiness. The Department is taking forward work on balancing the Global Operate programme with delivery of the Priority Outcomes as detailed in the Defence Command Paper 23.