MOD announce reforms to Defence Procurement

On 28 February, the Ministry of Defence published its policy paper Integrated Procurement Model – Driving pace in the delivery of Military Capability. The purpose of the paper is to set out the changes required to UK defence procurement processes in order to achieve the strategy of greater pace and accelerated delivery, set out in the 2023 Defence Command Paper. Most notably, delivering equipment programmes with five years, and digital programmes within three. It also acknowledges the lessons to be lessons to be learnt  ‘where things have gone wrong’ including with the AJAX programme.

The paper sets out the following as the key five features:

1. Having a ‘joined up approach’ aimed at achieving more with existing budgets by ‘conducting planning and balance of investment across the whole Defence portfolio’.
2. Ensuring suitable checks and balance are in place, drawing on a broad expert base to inform decision making, and place more emphasis on integration from the start.
3. Considering export potential, working with industry partners to ‘meet the exports challenge’.
4. Developing ‘a new alliance with industry’ to engage industry earlier in capability development, and provide greater transparency in future acquisition pipelines.
5. ‘Embedding a spiral development approach’ which means the ability to deploy a minimum capacity quickly rather than waiting until project completion allowing for iteration ‘in the light of experience and advances in technology’.

Finally, the paper sets out deadlines for the adoption of these changes including the Integration Design Authority Advise and Assure Services operational by the end of 2025, to provide guidance on integration standards, the risks and opportunities of new programmes.

To read the paper in full, please click here.