Asked by: David Mowat (Conservative - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on reducing the proportion of the defence budget which is spent on legal fees.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
A fraction of one per cent of the defence budget is spent on legal fees, most of it necessary to protect the interests of the taxpayer in securing value for money or in protecting the operational freedom and reputation of the Armed Forces. We have work in hand to reduce opportunistic litigation which is harmful to Defence and diverts funds from the front line.
Asked by: David Mowat (Conservative - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department takes to audit or monitor the outcomes of successful applications to the Armed Forces Covenant (Libor) Fund.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Ministry of Defence administers the £35 million LIBOR Fund on behalf of the Cabinet Office-led Covenant Reference Group. Successful projects are funded on the basis of a standard set of terms and conditions plus additional measures as appropriate. Those who receive funding are required to produce regular monitoring reports, and to retain financial data for audit purposes.