Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Audit Office report, The Ajax Programme, published 11 March 2022, how many of the 136 open concerns raised by DSTL that his Department were tracking as of October 2021 have been resolved; and what each of those 136 concerns relates to.

The National Audit Office report, published in March 2022 noted that 136 concerns relating to the Ajax programme were raised by DSTL in October 2021. Such issues relate to aspects of the capability that could be improved, may be at risk or would benefit from additional design, test or trials evidence. This is a live list and is primarily managed through Technical and Trials Expert Working Groups that include both the MOD and General Dynamics. Ultimately, it is the Joint Assurance Verification and Acceptance Team that reviews evidence to determine whether contracted requirements have been met.