Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Q122 of the oral evidence by David Williams to the Committee of Public Accounts on 22 January 2024, HC 451, what support senior responsible owners are receiving from (a) programme directors and (b) Defence Equipment and Support.

The Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) is supported by a Programme Director who is accountable to the SRO. The Programme Director has delegated responsibility for the day-to-day management of the programme to deliver the desired outcomes and outputs and realise the required benefits, within agreed time, cost and quality constraints. This includes establishing the programme governance framework and ensuring the team is resourced with suitably qualified and experienced people throughout the programme lifecycle.

As one of MOD's Enabling Organisations, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) provides delivery services to SROs for equipment procurement and through life support related matters. DE&S Delivery Teams act as the Contracting Authority with Industry to deliver the SRO's programme, providing expertise in many fields including Engineering, Safety, Project Management, Commercial, Finance and In-Service Support.