Action taken by the Ministry of Defence to balance its overall budget in the short term following the Strategic Defence and Security Review has contributed to a near £500 million in-year cost increase in the 15 largest defence projects.
The Ministry of Defence does not place sufficient emphasis on financial management in its decision making. Annual financial plans at the MOD have been over-committed. During 2009-10 the Department had to find additional savings of £800 million to bring its planned expenditure back into line with its budgets.
The MOD, one of the largest landowners in the UK, has strengthened its estate planning and achieved significant receipts from disposal of property. However, the changes are not yet sufficient to drive value for money for the taxpayer rigorously.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Ministry of Defence has a good system for reporting the readiness of its Armed Forces, which continues to improve. More work is required, however, both to better define and measure its Public Service Agreement target for readiness, and to define and […]
The Department for International Development responds quickly and, in general, effectively when intervening in humanitarian emergencies, especially sudden-onset disasters, and has helped to save lives. However, according to a report to Parliament by the National Audit Office, DFID should do more to measure and evaluate the success of its humanitarian work in order to learn […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today told Parliament that defence equipment acquisition was an inherently complex and often expensive task. Co-operation adds another layer of complexity. It also offers potential economic, military, industrial and political benefits but in the past not all of these have been secured. Recent initiatives from the […]
The MoD’s current controls for how it manages two major military programmes on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are clear.
89% of Ukrainian troops trained this year by the British Army under Operation Interflex felt better equipped to survive on the battlefield.
This study examines whether the Ministry of Defence’s Equipment Plan provides a reliable assessment of the affordability of the MoD’s equipment programmes over the next ten years.
This study examines whether the Ministry of Defence’s Equipment Plan provides a reliable assessment of the affordability of the MoD’s equipment programmes over the next ten years.
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2021 was a big year for government’s commitments to the environment. The statutory target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was backed up with a strategy and the Environment Bill gives legal force to nature recovery targets. The challenge now lies in turning targets and strategies into actions that will combat rising […]
This report examines whether the Ministry of Defence has managed to reduce the risks to affordability in its Equipment Plan.
This report reviews the robustness of assumptions underpinning the Ministry of Defence’s 2020–2030 Equipment Plan.
This report examines the Ministry of Defence’s management of its large and complex infrastructure projects at nuclear-regulated sites.
We investigated the performance of the MoD’s military flying training system
This report assesses the Ministry of Defence’s approach to reducing and reforming its civilian workforce.
The risks to the affordability of the Ministry of Defence Equipment Plan are greater than at any point since reporting began in 2012.
The risks to the affordability of the Ministry of Defence Equipment Plan are greater than at any point since reporting began in 2012.
The Department for International Development’s spending on humanitarian interventions has almost trebled between 2010-11 and 2014-15 to more than £1 billion per year, rising as a share of its total budget from 6% to 14%.