Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Integrated Procurement Model in improving value for money for defence acquisitions.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Good progress has been made on design and implementation of the key features of a reformed model, which form part of the wider defence reforms announced by the Defence Secretary in October.
We will take a more joined up, One Defence approach to our requirements to secure the best possible value for money from the defence budget.
Improving value for money will be a key aim of the reforms and of the new National Armaments Director role being established. Its aim is to ensure the Armed Forces are properly equipped to defend Britain, to build up the British defence industry, and to cut waste.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his timeline is for full implementation of the Armed Forces Recruitment Partnership across the Armed Forces; and what the key milestones are.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Due diligence reviews have been conducted to determine the winning bidder of the Armed Forces Recruiting Programme (AFRP) contract. With the contract’s approval process ongoing, it would not be appropriate to publish the outcome of the evaluation. Independent programme evaluations, to assess delivery success against agreed benefits, will continue throughout the life of the Armed Forces Recruiting Service.
The approvals process is due to be completed in early 2025. Following this, the contract will be awarded and the successful bidder announced. This is expected in February 2025.
The implementation of the AFRP has been phased to reduce the risks to service delivery.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to complete the evaluation phase of the Armed Forces Recruitment Partnership; and whether he plans to publish the findings.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Due diligence reviews have been conducted to determine the winning bidder of the Armed Forces Recruiting Programme (AFRP) contract. With the contract’s approval process ongoing, it would not be appropriate to publish the outcome of the evaluation. Independent programme evaluations, to assess delivery success against agreed benefits, will continue throughout the life of the Armed Forces Recruiting Service.
The approvals process is due to be completed in early 2025. Following this, the contract will be awarded and the successful bidder announced. This is expected in February 2025.
The implementation of the AFRP has been phased to reduce the risks to service delivery.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 17774 on Ministry of Defence: Capita, whether (a) penalties under and (b) adjustments to Capita's contract have been applied as a result of the (i) March and (ii) September 2024 performance reviews.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 17 December 2024, to Questions 19639, 19640, 19641, 19642 and 19643.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 17774 on Ministry of Defence: Capita, whether the performance reviews of Capita in (a) March and (b) September 2024 made recommendations.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 17 December 2024, to Questions 19639, 19640, 19641, 19642 and 19643.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what measures are in place to mitigate cost overruns in projects managed under the Integrated Procurement Model.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Good progress has been made on design and implementation of the key features of a reformed model, which are part of the wider defence reforms announced by the Defence Secretary in October.
To set programmes up for success from the outset, the Department is taking steps to provide expert advice on cost estimating much earlier in the project lifecycle.
This will help inform strategic balance of investment decisions, reduce optimism bias to improve future financial stability, and ultimately improve delivery and drive pace.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Integrated Procurement Model improves the delivery timelines of major defence projects.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Good progress has been made on design and implementation of the key features of a reformed model, which are part of the wider defence reforms announced by the Defence Secretary in October.
We will improve delivery timelines for our major programmes through an integrated approach to ensure strategic alignment around outcomes, earlier expert advice including closer working with industry, and greater use of Spiral acquisition approaches to exploit technology and innovate.
Improving delivery timelines will be an important part of the new National Armaments Director role being established. Its aim is to ensure the Armed Forces are properly equipped to defend Britain, to build up the British defence industry, and to cut waste.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Integrated Procurement Model will be fully introduced across all defence procurement processes.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Good progress has been made on design and implementation of the key features of a reformed model, which are part of the wider defence reforms announced by the Defence Secretary in October. Implementation will continue into 2025.
Through these changes we will deliver defence capabilities at greater pace, taking a One Defence approach to our requirements to secure the best possible value for money.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how the Integrated Procurement Model ensures equitable access for small and medium-sized enterprises in the defence supply chain.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Good progress has been made on design and implementation of the key features of a reformed model, which are part of the wider defence reforms announced by the Defence Secretary in October.
The Ministry of Defence has a long-standing commitment to improve its engagement with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in order to broaden and strengthen its supply base. The recently published Defence Industrial Strategy Statement of Intent recognises our intention to foster a more diverse community of suppliers, and will prompt a refresh of our SME Action Plan.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 17776 on Armed Forces: Recruitment, what financial penalties have been applied to Capita under the Recruitment Partnering Programme contract for failure to meet contractual performance standards in the last five years.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The new Government inherited a crisis in retention and recruitment. We have made it a priority to address this with a series of work streams designed to increase recruitment and renew the contract between the nation and those who serve to improve retention. Recruiting and retention remain one of our highest priorities - the Army/Capita Recruiting Partnering Project is completely focused on delivering a significant increase in recruitment in 2024-25.
Working in a collaborative partnership, the Army and Capita have robust contract management measures, including Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and penalty deductions where KPIs are not met, to monitor performance against contractual requirements. However, as I am sure the right hon. Member will understand, detailed contractual arrangements, including performance measures, are not routinely disclosed by the Department in order to protect the commercial interests of all parties.