123
MOD-defence industry relationship ineffective for strategic readiness despite acknowledged reliance
Conclusion
Despite the acknowledged reliance on industry, both General Lord Houghton and General Sir Nick Carter questioned whether the relationship between the MOD and industry was effective in supporting strategic readiness. General Lord Houghton told us that despite numerous reviews on defence procurement, the relationship between Defence and the defence industry “is still not anywhere close to where it needs to be”.245 General Sir Nick Carter pointed out that defence industry reports to its shareholders rather than Government and so if the Government required resilience from industry then it would need to incentivise that rather than focusing on efficiency and value for money.246 Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman described the lack of thinking about industrial capacity as a strategic failure.247
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 25 April 2024. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document.
Source
Committee
Defence Committee
Inquiry
Armed Forces Readiness
Report
First Report - Ready for War?
04 Feb 2024
HC 26
Addressee Bodies
Ministry of Defence
Timeline
Recommendation age
2.6 yrs
Report published
04 Feb 2024