House of Commons report recommends procurement changes

Homeland August 4, 2023

A House of Commons Committee report has made a number of recommendations to the government following a damning summation of defence procurement.

With the war in Ukraine prompting a new dimension to defence and security, with Russia proving a dangerous opponent willing to invade with little warning, a Sub-Committee was established in January 2023 to take a detailed look at the principal entity for purchasing and then maintaining the UK’s military equipment, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S).

In this new, more challenging environment the committee found that we need a defence procurement system which can not only equip our Armed Forces to fight and to win, but also sustain them over time, should any such conflict become protracted (as in Ukraine).

The committee reports that during the course of the inquiry, which lasted some six months, it rapidly became apparent that, while there are major issues within DE&S, there are also several wider factors, across Defence as a whole, which also materially impact our ability to procure equipment successfully.

The Review from Clive Sheldon KC into the management of the Ajax Armoured Fighting Vehicle programme, was used by the committee to inform the report, which exposed the ‘inner wiring’ of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) procurement system and its numerous weaknesses.

The committee comments on a ‘UK procurement system which is highly bureaucratic, overly stratified, far too ponderous, with an inconsistent approach to safety, very poor accountability and a culture which appears institutionally averse to individual responsibility’ and believes the system is ‘in need of major, comprehensive reform’.

The Report makes 22 specific recommendations, to seriously overhaul the system. At the heart of these is improving accountability and aligning it more clearly with responsibility, to actually empower those who need to deliver change to do so.

They recommend giving Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) much greater power over their programmes, with rights of direct escalation to the CEO of DE&S and then Ministers, if programmes begin to go badly wrong.

Further recommendations include putting the CEO of DE&S back onto the Defence Board and also making them, rather than the Permanent Under-Secretary at the MoD, the Accounting Officer for all purchasing and support of UK equipment.

The sub-committee’s report calls for a system which places a much greater value on time, promotes a sense of urgency rather than institutional lethargy, and prevents endless ‘requirements creep’.

To make much greater use of both spiral development and also Urgent Capability Requirements (UCRs) both as a procurement methodology, in a timely manner and at an affordable cost.

This Report also emphasises the importance of improving skills within DE&S, including a professional procurement stream within the military; extending time in post for key positions to improve continuity and giving access to specialist contract lawyers, to help write far more robust contracts.

Improved relationships with industry are a necessity, from increasing transparency about forthcoming requirements, expanding the emphasis on exportability, better defining ‘social value’ in competitions, through to fostering critical skills, preventing skill-fade and encouraging and developing the Defence apprentices and workforce of the future.

Download the Full Report [PDF 1MB]

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