Ministry of Defence Procurement: Accountability
Debate between Lord Snape and Lord Harlech
Lord Harlech (Con)
I am pleased to say that Challenger 3, the main battle tank to replace Challenger 2, is proceeding according to plan.
Lord Snape (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister accept that his initial response was somewhat flimsy, to say the least? Has he never read the Alan Clark Diaries? Mr Clark, who was an expert in procurement of one kind or another—
Lord Snape (Lab)
He wrote in his diaries that the procurement system in the Ministry of Defence was a complete shambles. Have we learned no lessons after 40 years? Have things improved since then? From the initial Question from the noble Lord opposite, it appears they have not.
Lord Harlech (Con)
The MoD reviews all its major projects and programmes regularly, providing both challenge and support to enable successful delivery. We aim to foster an environment of psychological safety, where SROs and programme teams are confident in raising issues at an early stage, so that they can be addressed in good time in the interests of successful delivery.