In the light of the Secretary of State for Defence's warning that
the UK needs to be ready to fight or deter military action within
1,000 days, and the Chancellor's promise to reach 3% GDP
expenditure by 2030, a House of Lords committee has urged the
government to move faster to implement the Strategic Defence
Review's (SDR) recommendation of a new relationship between
government and the defence industry.
In its report, Ready for action in 1,000 days? Forging a new
partnership between Government and the defence industry,'
published today (Wednesday 11 November) the cross-party Industry
and Regulators Committee calls for a culture change within the
Ministry of Defence (MoD) which delivers faster procurement, a
less risk averse approach to new technologies, an easier route
for SMEs looking to supply defence needs and the training of the
necessary skilled workers.
The report welcomes the Government's adoption of the Strategic
Defence Review's recommendation to make this new partnership a
reality and its implementation so far of some major structural
changes to meet the challenge. However it warns that to give
investors the certainty and confidence they require, political
leadership, driven by the Prime Minister, is needed to
demonstrate that the MoD can respond to change and that all parts
of the Government, including HM Treasury, accept this new
approach.
The Committee is also calling on the Government to:
Improve defence procurement:
- accelerate its speed and report annually to Parliament on its
performance against the targets set out in the Defence Industrial
Strategy by June 2027;
- drive a culture change allowing for greater risk in
procurement to supply new technologies to the front line.
Improve communication with industry:
- set clear expectations for prime contractors about their
spending with SMEs, and how they should treat and support SMEs in
their supply chains;
- ensure that the Defence Office for Small Business Growth has
the resources to provide a single front door for SMEs;
- provide an indicative multi-year pipeline of defence allowing
greater predictability for businesses and their investors.
Increase UK industrial capacity:
- provide clarity on how the Government, local and devolved
authorities and industry should develop the thousands of skilled
workers the defence industry needs;
- report annually on its actions to address any vulnerabilities
of critical inputs for defence that cannot be sourced in the UK;
- weight defence procurement towards UK companies, including
requiring substantial UK manufacturing and the use of UK based
SMEs and supply chains;
- contract sufficient industrial capacity to produce and adapt
unmanned systems, such as drones in the event of conflict;
- ensure appropriate measures are taken to protect staff,
facilities and buildings in the defence sector from malign
actors.
, Chair of the Industry and
Regulators Committee said:
Last year the Strategic Defence Review called for a new
relationship between government and the defence industry to
reflect the urgency of rebuilding the UK's defence strength to
meet the challenges and changing nature of warfare demonstrated
so clearly by the war in Ukraine.
Whilst we welcome recognition of the need for change within the
Ministry of Defence, it must accelerate, embrace new technologies
and enhance the role of SMEs, whilst ensuring the skilled
workforce needed to deliver this change.
With ongoing threats from Russia and other malign actors, the
Government must show the necessary leadership and move at pace to
achieve the Defence Secretary's target of being ready for action
within 1,000 days and use the 1 December Defence Investment
Summit to provide certainty to business to drive the new
partnership forward.
Notes to editors
- The Committee has asked the Government to report on its
progress in implementing its recommendations by the end of 2027.
The Government is likely to respond to the report in early 2027.
