RFCA Governance & Oversight Inadequacy
Inadequate governance and oversight of Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations (RFCAs), requiring significant reform.
25 items
2 sources
Source spread
Where this theme appears
RFCA Governance & Oversight Inadequacy has been flagged across 2 independent accountability sources:
20 committee recs
5 NAO recs
This issue has been identified by multiple independent accountability bodies, suggesting it is a recurring concern.
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Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
Committee Recommendations (20)
#28 — Department lacks an overall HM Treasury compliant financial framework for RFCAs.
Recommendation: The Department told us that over the last two years it had strengthened its financial oversight of the RFCAs and that monthly conversations between finance teams meant that it understood performance and risks.45 However, the Department did not have an …
Gov response: 6a. PAC recommendation: As a matter of urgency, the Department should: • Agree and implement a HM Treasury-compliant financial framework. 6.1 The government agrees with this recommendation. Recommendation implemented: August 2025 6.2 The department implemented …
Accepted
#27 — Some RFCA financial reporting failed to comply with HM Treasury guidance.
Recommendation: Some of the RFCAs’ financial reporting has not complied with HM Treasury guidance and International Financial Reporting Standards. For example, the RFCAs’ accounts have not included a cash flow statement, nor have they correctly disclosed a defined benefit pension scheme …
Gov response: 6c. PAC recommendation: [As a matter of urgency, the Department should:] • work with the Council to ensure that in future the RFCAs understand the requirements they must comply with and are equipped to do …
Accepted
#26 — Department consistently failed to publish Council's Annual Report and Accounts promptly.
Recommendation: For the past four years, the Department has failed to publish the Council’s Annual Report and Accounts in a timely manner, and the Department acknowledged that the process was much longer and more protracted than it would like. It published …
Gov response: 6b. PAC recommendation: [As a matter of urgency, the Department should:] • publish the RFCAs’ accounts for 2023–24 in a format that complies with the applicable HM Treasury and international accounting standards; and 6.3 The …
Not Accepted
#25 — Unanticipated VAT liability reduced RFCA volunteer estate maintenance funds.
Recommendation: The Department had not anticipated that the RFCAs would be liable to pay VAT on work done through the FDIS contract, which has resulted in the RFCAs having had less money available for maintenance than expected. The Department explained that …
Gov response: 5b.PAC recommendation: [To establish and maintain an optimised volunteer estate the Department should] • Write to the Committee alongside its Treasury Minute response, regarding progress on its discussions with HMRC relating to the RFCAs’ VAT …
Accepted
#23 — Future estate optimisation phases lack secured funding and a firm completion timeline.
Recommendation: The Department has planned two further phases of the estate optimisation programme. It envisages these will consolidate some sites, establishing multidisciplinary super reserve centres with additional facilities such as car parking, accommodation and feeding facilities.34 However, the Department has not …
Gov response: 5a. PAC recommendation: To establish and maintain an optimised volunteer estate the Department should: • ensure due consideration is given to the volunteer estate in its balance of investment decisions as it develops its defence …
Accepted
#22 — Volunteer estate in managed decline, requiring optimisation programme to dispose and modernise sites.
Recommendation: The Department said that the volunteer estate was a critical enabler for it to deliver the ambitions for increasing the numbers of reserves and cadets set out in the SDR. However, the Department told us that the estate had been …
Gov response: 5a. PAC recommendation: To establish and maintain an optimised volunteer estate the Department should: • ensure due consideration is given to the volunteer estate in its balance of investment decisions as it develops its defence …
Accepted
#20 — RFCA service agreements improved, but lack clear escalation processes and accountability culture.
Recommendation: In recent years the Department has improved the quality of the five service level agreements (SLAs) that it has with the Council, which set out what the armed forces and Department require the RFCAs to deliver each year. The Department …
Gov response: 4. PAC conclusion: The Department will need to continue to manage around the limitations of its current oversight arrangements for the RFCAs until it has established an NDPB. 4. PAC recommendation: Alongside its Treasury Minute …
Accepted
#18 — RFCA governance and oversight require significant reform to support Strategic Defence Review ambitions.
Recommendation: The Department said it is now at an ‘inflection point’ where the governance and oversight of the RFCAs needs to be fit for purpose to support the ambitions in the SDR. In part, the Department intends to achieve this through …
Gov response: 3. PAC conclusion: The Department has not secured the legislative slot it needs for its preferred route forward, of streamlining the 13 RFCAs and the Council into a non- Departmental public body (NDPB). 3. PAC …
Accepted
#17 — Balancing national oversight with local volunteer spirit is key challenge for RFCA reform.
Recommendation: The Department said that the challenge is to balance the need for a professional and effective national organisation that can be held to account, with the ability to leverage the membership’s volunteer spirit. It said that there was an ongoing …
Gov response: 3. PAC conclusion: The Department has not secured the legislative slot it needs for its preferred route forward, of streamlining the 13 RFCAs and the Council into a non- Departmental public body (NDPB). 3. PAC …
Not Addressed
#16 — Establishing new RFCA NDPB remains preferred route, legislation anticipated in 2026 Armed Forces Bill.
Recommendation: The Department confirmed that establishing an NDPB remained its preferred route forward. This would facilitate a streamlined organisation, simplify back-office functions and clarify accountabilities. The Department said that the next opportunity for the necessary legislation would be in the Armed …
Gov response: 3. PAC conclusion: The Department has not secured the legislative slot it needs for its preferred route forward, of streamlining the 13 RFCAs and the Council into a non- Departmental public body (NDPB). 3. PAC …
Not Addressed
#15 — Primary legislation for new RFCA NDPB thwarted by lack of parliamentary time.
Recommendation: One of the two headline recommendations in the Department’s 2019 review of the RFCAs was to regularise and streamline the Council and 13 RFCAs into a single NDPB. This would provide a clear governance structure that aligned with government policy …
Gov response: 3. PAC conclusion: The Department has not secured the legislative slot it needs for its preferred route forward, of streamlining the 13 RFCAs and the Council into a non- Departmental public body (NDPB). 3. PAC …
Not Addressed
#1 — Committee initiated inquiry into MOD oversight and support of Reserve Forces’ Associations.
Recommendation: On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Defence (the Department) and the Council of Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (the Council) on their oversight and support of the …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. the skills, scale and agility of both the Active and Strategic Reserve, in line with the 2025 Strategic Defence Review’s recommendations. The department is planning to introduce legislative …
Accepted
#6 — Implement HM Treasury-compliant financial framework, publish timely RFCA accounts, and ensure future compliance.
Recommendation: The Department’s arrangements for monitoring and reporting on the RFCAs’ financial performance are inadequate. The RFCAs’ accounts have been produced very late in recent years. The Department published the RFCAs accounts for 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 together, in October 2024, …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. the required financial standards and has already funded a professionally qualified Finance Director as recommended in the 2019 review. The newly agreed Treasury compliant Framework document clearly sets …
Accepted
#5 — Integrate volunteer estate needs into defence investment plan and report on RFCA VAT progress.
Recommendation: The Department does not have a modernised and fit-for-purpose volunteer estate to support the enhanced roles of the reserves and cadets. The reserve training sites are the basis for mobilising the reserves, while having accommodation for thousands of cadet units …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. consider the case and provide further opinion and guidance on what evidence or actions are necessary to be able to recover VAT incurred by MOD on maintaining the …
Accepted
#4 — Detail plans to enhance accountability for RFCA performance under current arrangements.
Recommendation: The Department will need to continue to manage around the limitations of its current oversight arrangements for the RFCAs until it has established an NDPB. The Department has improved its oversight of the RFCAs since 2019, implementing around 70% of …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Performance monitoring has been sharpened. The MOD appointed a single departmental sponsor (the Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, Reserves & Cadets) to provide coordinated oversight of the …
Accepted
#3 — Update Committee on progress establishing new NDPB for cadet and reserve forces.
Recommendation: The Department has not secured the legislative slot it needs for its preferred route forward, of streamlining the 13 RFCAs and the Council into a non-departmental public body (NDPB). Creating an NDPB requires legislation. However, the Department’s earlier plan to …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Reserves Forces and Cadet Association (RFCA) Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). This follows the recommendations of the 2019 Sullivan Review, which identified the need for stronger governance and a …
Accepted
#5 — Mandate a dedicated Scottish representative on the permanent Industrial Strategy Council in future legislation.
Recommendation: We welcome the establishment of a permanent Industrial Strategy Council when parliamentary time allows. However, while we acknowledge that there has been engagement between the council and Scottish stakeholders, we are concerned that the absence of a dedicated Scottish representative …
No Published Response
#21 — Volunteer estate of 2,500 dispersed sites is critical infrastructure for cadets and reserves.
Recommendation: Stewardship of the volunteer estate is one of the RFCAs’ core activities. The volunteer estate, which provides the essential infrastructure that the cadets and reserves need to operate, is made up of around 2,500 sites which are widely dispersed around …
Gov response: 4. PAC conclusion: The Department will need to continue to manage around the limitations of its current oversight arrangements for the RFCAs until it has established an NDPB. 4. PAC recommendation: Alongside its Treasury Minute …
Accepted
#8 — RFCAs adopting customer-segmentation approach for effective employer engagement.
Recommendation: The Department said that engaging with society and employers was essential. Effective engagement with employers, building on the RFCAs’ Defence Relationship Management function and securing employers’ support for their staff to be involved in the reserves, will be important for …
Gov response: 1. PAC conclusion: It is unclear how the Department will deliver the ambitious plans for expanding the role of the Reserves set out in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR). 1. PAC recommendation: The Department must …
Accepted
#19 — Departmental oversight of RFCAs improved since 2019, implementing 70% of Sullivan Review recommendations.
Recommendation: The Department said that its oversight of the RFCAs had improved since the publication of the Sullivan Review in 2019, and that it had fully or partially implemented around 70% of the Review’s 80 recommendations. It now has a single …
Gov response: 4. PAC conclusion: The Department will need to continue to manage around the limitations of its current oversight arrangements for the RFCAs until it has established an NDPB. 4. PAC recommendation: Alongside its Treasury Minute …
Accepted
NAO Audit Recommendations (5)
Government Shared Services
f) Departments working together as clusters should complete individual ?declarations? that set out agreed ways of working and reaffirm their commitment to the Shared Services Strategy. This should be signed by each departmental accounting officer.
Accepted
Government Shared Services
c) The Cabinet Office should streamline its central governance arrangements so that they avoid duplication and unnecessary work for departments.
Accepted
Government Shared Services
e) Departments should establish cluster-level governance arrangements to avoid duplication in decision-making and to embed the cluster model. It should no longer use existing departmental governance routes to approve high-level strategy decisions.
Accepted
Managing FCDO’s overseas estate
FCDO should review its estates governance structure to ensure that it is working effectively. FCDO should review whether its new ESND structure is achieving the intended benefits and identify whether any further improvements are necessary to ensure effective oversight of …
Accepted
The Ajax programme
b) reassess the way the programme is governed and resourced – focusing on the role of the programme board and interfaces between the Army, DE&S and the bodies involved in trials and managing the interdependencies. Duty holders should have sufficient …
Accepted