Press Release - Ministry of Defence - Managing the Defence
Estate
25 March 2005
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported
today that the Ministry of Defence is successfully introducing new
management and contractual arrangements to deliver a better quality
estate and has embarked on a major programme of estate
rationalisation. However, more needs to be done to ensure that the
benefits of these changes are realised.
The MoD is one of the largest landowners in the United Kingdom
with an estate of 240,000 hectares. The UK and overseas estate is
valued at some £15 billion and costs some £1.3 billion per annum.
The challenges faced by the MoD in managing its estate are growing,
particularly in meeting changes in operational needs. The defence
estate had suffered deterioration in its quality; a result not only
of previous limits on funding due to other defence priorities, but
also the use of traditional methods of managing and procuring
estate services. Against this background the MoD has made good
progress in delivering against its strategy - “In Trust and On
Trust” – to meet the challenges it is facing.
To deliver an estate of the right size, the MoD has undertaken a
major programme of estate rationalisation. The MoD has received
£1.2 billion from selling off surplus land since 1999. The MoD’s
estate requirements have yet to be brought together into a
longer-term coherent funded plan but MoD has identified funding for
some estate rationalisation in the current planning round and it is
estimated that a further £732 million could be sold over the next
three years.
To deliver the right quality estate, the MoD has introduced new
management and contractual arrangements, based around five new
Regional Prime Contracts. The MoD also has a number of ambitious
projects being delivered through separate contracts and through
Public Private Partnerships both at home and overseas. Insufficient
funding due to conflicting defence priorities means that the MoD
may not deliver all the expected long-term efficiencies, however,
MoD has made a substantial investment in the estate. The move to
large, centrally managed contracts needs a change in the culture
amongst MoD staff and contractors. Whilst there is more to do to
consolidate this change these arrangements do have widespread
support in the Department.
Estate rationalisation, new management processes and new
contracting arrangements promise much in the way of improvement,
not only to the quality of the estate but also in terms of
efficiencies that can be directed at improving the front line. In
addition improvements in the quality of working and living
conditions of Service personnel and their families will result . To
ensure that this happens, the MoD needs to draw together a coherent
funded programme for the rationalisation and development of the
estate and develop a plan for the realisation of benefits arising
from these changes.
Sir John Bourn said today:
I congratulate the Department on the considerable
progress it has made in improving the way it manages its estate.
This will mean a more effective and more efficient estate with
wider benefits for the performance of the military and not least on
the morale of service personnel and their families. This is why it
is important that the MoD does more to strengthen its new
arrangements to achieve the full benefits.
Notes for Editors:
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at www.nao.org.uk. Hard copies can
be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 25/05
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