The Department secured an additional £16.5 billion in funding over the next four years in the 2020 Spending Review. Given the Department’s track record of short-term financial management, and schedule delays and cost growth across its programmes, we asked the Department whether it is certain that the additional money will not just be used to plug existing financial holes and fund existing projects.59 It has already acknowledged in previous evidence sessions that part of the additional money will be used to plug its estimated £7 billion Equipment Plan shortfall.60 The Department could not provide a clear account of the extent to which the money will secure genuinely new equipment and capabilities. It had previously written to us to say that the money would be used to fund both new and existing capabilities. However, in our oral evidence session, the Department could not clearly explain the basis of its longer-term projections or point to what has and what has not been approved.61 The Department’s letter to us also set out other spending commitments using the new money, such as spending £6.6 billion on R&D, and additional funding for pension changes and enhancing childcare for service personnel.62 55 Q 86 56 C&AG’s report, para 4.11 57 Q 86 58 Q107 59 Q 96 60 Committee of Public Accounts, Oral Evidence: Defence Equipment Plan 2020–2030, HC 693, 4 February 2021, Q 24 61 Qq 94–99 62 Correspondence from David Williams, CB to Dame Meg Hillier, MP, Follow up to 4 February PAC oral evidence session: Defence Equipment Plan 2020–2030, 22 June 2021. 18 Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts