MoD publishes defence equipment plan summary
The 10th annual summary of plans by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver and support the equipment of our armed forces, has been released today.
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The Defence Equipment Plan 2021-2031
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Building on the 2020 summary, it sets out the MoD's plans for the next 10 years to deliver and support the equipment that the British armed forces need to do the jobs asked of them.
With a Foreword by The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP, Secretary of State for Defence, it includes the state-of-play on the key UK defence programmes and the department's increased emphasis on portfolio management, with the MoD testing proposals to create new portfolios of programmes, using best practice in portfolio management that ensures new investments are delivered and governed effectively and spend can be reprioritised effectively in response to evolving forecasts.
Whilst highlighting changes to management of the Equipment Plan and its financial management approach, the MoD is also setting aside £4.1 billion of funding outside the equipment plan from 25/26 onward to allow it to maintain and exploit the investment it is making in research and development and continue developing new and innovative capability without cuts to existing programmes.
MoD is still strongly supporting the pan-government Contract Management Capability Programme which offers training and development to all noncommercial staff responsible for the management of key contracts and supplier relationships, complemented by its development of a Commercial Strategic Workforce Plan.
The plan summary also emphasises the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy (DSIS), published in March 2021, which provides the framework for a deeper, more sophisticated, flexible and strategic relationship with industry, to determine the right approach to the acquisition of any given capability in line with MoD priorities and national security requirements. The DSIS will ensure the UK continues to have competitive, world-class defence and security industries that underpin our national security, drive investment and prosperity across the Union and contribute to the UK’s strategic advantage through science and technology.
ADS Chief Executive Kevin Craven said: “The 2021 Defence Equipment Plan Report sets out plans to deliver the needs of the UK’s Armed Forces, through some of the most advanced and complex programmes of their type in the world supporting UK capability and prosperity.
“The £16.5 billion uplift in November 2020 has given the Ministry of Defence headway to support ongoing programmes and invest in new, world-leading capabilities over the next few years.
“It is essential that the Equipment Plan is given sustained funding to deliver advanced new capabilities, provide investors with continued confidence and ensure the effective implementation of the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy.”