This briefing was prepared for the House of Commons Defence Committee to help inform its inquiry into the education of Service personnel, its fourth in a series of inquiries looking at the workings of the Armed Forces Covenant.
We investigated the Ministry of Defence’s progress with submarine disposal and in implementing the projects needed to make this work.
The project to replace the UK’s ageing Anti Air Warfare capability, which is currently provided by the Type 42 destroyer, has suffered significant delays of over two years and costs have escalated to some £6½ billion, up by nearly 30 per cent from initial estimates of £5 billion. More recently, the project has progressed well, […]
This report examines how far the Ministry of Defence has embedded environmental sustainability in estate management, procurement, governance and policy-making.
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 […]
This report reviews the robustness of assumptions underpinning the Ministry of Defence’s 2020–2030 Equipment Plan.
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 […]
This briefing was prepared for the House of Commons Defence Committee to help inform its inquiry into the education of Service children, its third in a series of inquiries looking at the workings of the Armed Forces Covenant.
This report assesses the Ministry of Defence’s approach to reducing and reforming its civilian workforce.
There is a shortfall of 5,170 (2.8 per cent) trained Armed Forces personnel against the Ministry of Defence’s estimated requirements. Only the Army is within “manning balance”, and there are wider shortages of personnel in specific trade groups. According to today’s report to Parliament, by head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn, there […]
This report examines whether the government tackles serious and organised crime in an effective and coherent way.
This report assesses the robustness of the Ministry of Defence’s financial data and assumptions for its Equipment Plan 2018-2028.
This report examines how effectively the Cabinet Office coordinates the 2016–2021 National Cyber Security Programme.
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 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 […]
This study examined whether the MoD gets the capabilities it requires when it needs them to meet its defence objectives.
The Ministry of Defence’s privatisation of the defence technology business QinetiQ safeguarded the viability of a business of national strategic importance and generated significant proceeds for the taxpayer. However, the NAO believes the taxpayer could have received more money from the deal. Risks remain which the MoD must manage carefully if long term value for […]
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 […]
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 […]
This investigation looks at the centralisation and performance of national security vetting services.