Source · National Audit Office

The Equipment Plan 2023 to 2033

Published: 4 Dec 2023 Recommendations: 2 Type: Value for Money NAO confirmed: 2 Department: Ministry of Defence

The Ministry of Defence’s Equipment Plan for the next decade is unaffordable and it is facing the largest budget deficit since the Plan was first published in 2012, according to a new report by the National Audit Office.

Dept: Ministry of Defence Topics: Defence and national securityMilitary equipment, logistics and technology nao.org.uk →

Recommendations

2 items

2 accepted 2 in progress

Rec	Recommendation	Addressee	Acceptance	Implementation
1	MoD should assess the effect of delaying major decisions on each TLB and ensure that both decision-makers and Parliament understand the financial and capability impacts of this delay. Ref Page 11, 20a	Ministry of Defence	Accepted	In progress ✓ NAO
2	MoD should ensure greater consistency in the approach of each TLB to producing their equipment plans. It should provide clear guidance on whether each TLB should include the full predicted costs of the capabilities they are being asked to provide to fulfil defence commitments, regardless of the budget available. This would enable the MoD to use next year?s Equipment Plan to establish the baseline for its negotiations with HM Treasury during the next Spending Review. Ref Page 11, 20b	Ministry of Defence	Accepted	In progress ✓ NAO

Public Accounts Committee follow-up

3 reports

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.

20 Jun 2025 Public Accounts C… 32nd Report - The Future of the Equipment Plan — 13 recommendations · parliament.uk

8 Mar 2024 Public Accounts C… Nineteenth Report - MoD Equipment Plan 2023–2033 — 12 recommendations · parliament.uk

19 Apr 2023 Public Accounts C… Forty-Eighth Report - MoD Equipment Plan 2022–2032 — 12 recommendations · parliament.uk