ALMOST a third of major Ministry of Defence (MoD) procurement projects are behind schedule, a public spending watchdog has warned.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said 10 of the 32 most significant MoD programmes – including patrol vessels, aircraft and communications systems – need “urgent action” or are “undeliverable” within the approved timescale. Only five were likely to be delivered on time, which undermined the MoD’s ability to carry out key tasks.
On average, the projects are expected to be more than two years late when they are declared fully operational. The estimated total procurement cost of the projects is £196.2 billion, but the NAO said they are not being delivered to the expected standard or on time.
At a time of fast-paced technological developments and global change, it was essential the MoD could make full use of the capabilities it needs as planned.
The NAO said a persistent ongoing problem for the MoD was suppliers delivering equipment either late or faulty – nearly a third of the 32 projects reported serious issues with suppliers, with years of poor performance in some cases.
MoD project and delivery teams were under-resourced and lacked essential skills, also contributing to delays in delivery. Six of the 32 projects faced shortfalls of more than 20% in their programme teams.
The NAO has also identified examples where poorly defined delivery “milestones” have meant the MoD has been unclear what has actually been achieved.
It said the MoD is introducing a new approach to procurement to speed up delivery and allow it to flexibly upgrade equipment in response to technological change, but for this to work, key decision-makers must have a full understanding of the capability that has been delivered.
NAO head Gareth Davies said: “It is essential that the MoD improves the way it introduces important new defence capabilities into service.
“This includes ensuring that pressure to be seen to deliver quickly does not lead to it accepting incomplete projects, and making decisions on the basis of incomplete reporting.”
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