SNP warns defence procurement ‘failing those in uniform’ following report into Ministry of Defence’s equipment plan

The SNP has warned the UK Government’s defence procurement is “failing those in uniform” following a report into the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) equipment plan.

In a damning report published on Wednesday, the public accounts committee warned the department’s ten-year plan was “out of date” and failed to reflect lessons emerging from the war in Ukraine a year into the conflict.

The committee noted the MoD’s quick response in assisting Ukraine, but said it was not convinced there was “sufficient urgency” to deliver new capabilities needed by the UK’s own armed forces.

Now SNP defence spokesperson Dave Doogan has claimed the state is being failed by the MoD. He said: “The defence procurement apparatus in the UK, if there was any doubt, has now been thoroughly exposed as failing the state and failing men and women in uniform.

The Ministry of Defence has been accused of "failing the state and those in uniform".

“A preoccupation with top level capital procurement projects like carriers and F-35s, while necessary, appears to come at the cost of ordinary day-to-day inventory management, the type of mundane activity that ensures we have enough munitions and ordnance to defend the state and support international peace and security.

“The reality is this is a symptom of 13 years where the Government has failed to get a grip on defence procurement, the colossal financial and operational effects of which are now plainly and alarmingly obvious.”

The report also outlined doubts about whether the department’s rolling 2022/23 plan is affordable or agile enough to react to new volatilities.

It highlighted Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as evidence of the need for a “responsive” programme that ensures the MoD can “quickly develop the capabilities of our armed forces”.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, deputy chairman of the committee, said: “If the MoD does not act swiftly to address the fragility of its supply chain, replenish its stocks and modernise its capabilities, the UK may struggle to maintain its essential contribution to Nato.

“The 2022/23 equipment plan is already somewhat out of date. It doesn’t reflect the lessons emerging from Ukraine, more than a year in. And every year it’s the same problems – multi-billion-pound procurement problems.

“Equipment arrives in service many years late and significantly over budget, and some of it just isn’t arriving at all. The MoD still does not have or seem to be able to attract the skills it needs to deliver the plan.

“Neither taxpayers nor our armed forces are being served well. There needs to be meaningful change of this broken system. The department needs to break from this cycle of costly delay and failure and deliver a fundamental, root-and-branch reform of defence procurement.”

An MoD spokesperson said: “The public account committee’s assessment that our equipment plan does not align with the lessons learnt from the Ukraine conflict is unsubstantiated.

“The lessons we have seen from Ukraine have largely confirmed our 2019 warfighting analysis, which underpinned our subsequent investment decisions, meaning we have not needed to substantially reform our equipment pipeline, nor do we recognise the broken procurement system painted by this report.

"The department routinely assesses time, cost and risk factors on all projects, and delivers the vast majority on time and in budget, and we have made numerous changes to improve procurement practices where projects have fallen short.”