Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 136
136
Accepted
Defence needs fundamental shift towards long-term, resilient munitions supply pipelines
Conclusion
Both Commander, Strategic Command and the Minister for the Armed Forces were at pains to emphasise that this was a real change in approach. Commander, Strategic Command told us that Defence needed to look at long-term pipelines to supply the munitions and stockpile capabilities which meant moving away from a “just-enough, just- in-time approach [which] has put us in a place that limits our capability, our decision space and our options … We may well need enduring and surge support to be able to execute against particular contingencies”.274 He noted that industry had welcomed the concept of a partnership which spreads risk and provides long-term resilience but that Defence required the “freedoms and ability to enter into those sorts of agreements and structures”.275 The Minister for the Armed Forces acknowledged that the new approach would require “all sides of the equation—the MOD, Government and the Treasury—… to be willing to change policy on how we procure, how we work with industry and how we run competitions” as well as industry changing its approach to the process.276
Government Response Summary
The government affirmed its commitment to a transformed partnership with industry and a new Integrated Procurement Model to create a more resilient industrial base, engaging earlier in strategic conversations to avoid previous challenges of over-complex and delayed programmes.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Through commitments made in DCP23, Defence is prioritising the things that will make those capabilities more lethal and ready, such as stockpiles, munitions, and enablers including storage facilities and our transformed partnership with industry, where we will engage much earlier in strategic conversations to create a more resilient, reliable, and adaptable industrial base. This will not only bolster UK industry and diplomatic influence, but also helps sustain Ukraine in the fight in 2024 and develops its economy beyond. This is highlighted in the new Integrated Procurement Model–a system that will see earlier expert assurance of future military programmes to ensure they will deliver for UK forces on the frontline. The reforms will look to avoid previous challenges where programmes have been over-complex, over-budget, and over time. The reforms will see greater empowerment of subject matter experts across the defence enterprise including Dstl scientists, government export leads, finance experts and industry partners to challenge and shape proposals before they receive the go-ahead. Driving pace is key to the overall reforms and the concept of ‘spiral’ development will be at the forefront as new programmes are initiated, avoiding capabilities that are not adaptable to the changing environment or are overly complex and too bespoke to export.