Most Ministry of Defence projects funded by PFI deals are delivered satisfactorily, on time and on budget. In six of the eight projects examined by the NAO, the Department has generally achieved value for money through effective allocation and management of risks. Failures to identify and manage risks reduced the value for money achieved from […]
The Ministry of Defence programme to replace hundreds of different IT systems with a single, secure, high quality computer infrastructure is based on a sound rationale and convincing business case. According to a National Audit Office report issued today, the Defence Information Infrastructure Programme (DII) has delivered important benefits, but has run into implementation difficulties, […]
The NAO has today reported on whether the Ministry of Defence has taken appropriate steps to make its fleet of eight Chinook Mk3 helicopters operational. The helicopters were delivered in 2001 but airworthiness concerns mean that they have been kept in storage and not flown operationally. According to today’s report to Parliament, the MoD’s progress […]
The National Audit Office’s annual report on 20 of the top defence equipment projects shows that, while there has been progress on the majority of projects in the last year, there continue to be time delays and cost increases on some of the major projects. Of the fifteen projects not in service as at April […]
This briefing has been prepared for the Defence Committee of the House of Commons to provide an overview of the work and performance of the Ministry of Defence in the financial year 2006-07 and subsequent months.
The Environment Agency has made a number of improvements in the management of flood risk since 2001. Despite this, the Agency has not met its target to maintain 63 per cent of England’s flood defence systems in their target condition. A report out today by the National Audit Office highlights a number of improvements to […]
The Ministry of Defence has introduced positive changes to how it manages its estate and has invested substantial resources to maintain and improve it. The MoD, however, accepts that it has more work to do to provide a sustainable estate of the right quality, the National Audit Office has today reported to Parliament. The MoD […]
The Ministry of Defence’s £2.4 billion programme to transform battlefield communications, command and control through the joint introduction of Bowman digital radios and the advanced Combat Infrastructure Platform (CIP) to an exacting 30 month timescale, has been recast. A revised programme and a further £121 million of funding have been approved to deliver the capabilities […]
The Ministry of Defence is at the forefront of best practice in some areas of contract negotiation but needs to achieve these high levels more consistently, the National Audit Office reported today. The report to Parliament by head of the NAO, Sir John Bourn, looks at the importance of good contract management and builds on […]
Reserve Forces have provided a vital contribution to recent military operations, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament. As part of the biggest mobilisation since the 1956 Suez Crisis, over 12,000 Reserves have so far served in Iraq. The Ministry of Defence has successfully developed a culture where Volunteer […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on the progress made by the Ministry of Defence in implementing the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in its 2002 report on combat identification. Following a number of deaths of UK service personnel during the combat phase of Operation TELIC in Iraq […]
The National Audit Office’s annual report on the top 20 defence equipment projects shows that, in the last year, the forecast cost has actually decreased by £700 million but on average each project has been delayed by two and a half months. The delays are mainly due to technical problems in three projects: CIP (which […]
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 […]
Overview The National Audit Office published today its “gold standard” for project control of major defence projects. This aims to help the MoD improve its performance in delivering projects on time and to budget. It forms part of a second in a suite of studies exploring key project success factors and how the MoD and […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) does well to manage the difficult job of having housing available for Service personnel and their families when posted overseas. However, it needs to adopt a greater customer focus in its delivery of housing services overseas. It also […]
The National Audit Office report on Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs), whereby the Ministry of Defence (MoD) uses a streamlined version of its procedures to support operations by buying equipment quickly, finds that UORs are a necessary and increasingly important feature of operations and that the Department has shown impressive ingenuity to deliver urgent requirements to […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that in the last year, costs on the MOD’s 20 biggest equipment projects have increased by £1.7 billion and that these projects have been delayed by three months each on average. The problems on these projects show that the sensible principles of Smart Acquisition […]
Pooling the Royal Navy’s, Army’s and Royal Air Force’s battlefield helicopters has brought significant benefits, Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today. Efficiencies have been produced through a joined up approach, by standardising procedures and removing duplication, but there is a large shortfall in helicopter capability and further improvements […]