Full Report - National Audit Office

part oneThe Department faces personnel recruitmentand retention challenges1.6 The Command Paper assumed the need to ensurethat the organisation of the Armed Forces reflects thereasonable aspirations of Service personnel in the21st Century in terms, for example, of greater geographicstability in their home lives. The Defence White Paper‘Supporting Essay on People’ 3 went into more detailsetting out a number of the key personnel challenges.For example, the population of the UK is ageing; thenumber of 16-25 year olds that the Services especiallyneed to recruit is set to tail off after peaking in 2009.A service career poses unique challenges, notably therequirement to be mobile and spend considerable timeaway from families, balanced by unique opportunities.Individuals’ expectations are changing and many seekgreater choice as to how they are accommodated; spouseswant to pursue their own careers; Service personnel wantcontinuity of education and healthcare for their families.The estate was deteriorating to an extent thatcannot be addressed by traditional fundingand procurement methods1.7 The Department recognises that the estate has sufferedfrom a legacy of under investment. The Department hasconcluded that this situation has arisen not only becauseof limited budgets but also because of the reliance ontraditional procurement methods. Previously, procurementwas undertaken in many parts of the Department and washampered by having a multitude of contracts, contractorsand client-customer interfaces, imprecise allocation of risk,and vulnerability to fraud and malpractice.The Department is committed to a new targetfor efficiency improvements1.8 As part of the Spending Review 2004 settlement,arising from the Gershon review, the Departmentis committed to achieving efficiency improvementsamounting to at least 2.5 per cent of the total defencebudget. A key component of the efficiency programmeis defence estate modernisation through rationalisation,the merger of Defence Estates with the Defence HousingExecutive, more effective contractual arrangements,and through building new accommodation for Servicepersonnel to assist staff retention.Environmental and social factors are ofincreasing importance1.9 More individuals and organisations are taking aninterest in the defence estate and the way it is used.The Department has to take account of a diverse andchanging agenda in the fields of planning, environmentalsustainability, rural issues and transport. This applies atthe international level as well as across national, regionaland local administrations. Whilst these factors constrainDepartmental estate management, it has still beenable to act in a very positive way towards conservingthe environment.The Department has a strategy andmeasures to implement the strategyThe Department’s strategy was publishedin 20001.10 The vision set out in the strategy for the defenceestate 4 , first published in 2000, is “To have an estate ofthe right size and quality to support the delivery ofdefence capability, that is managed and developedeffectively in line with acknowledged best practice, andis sensitive to social and environmental considerations”.It is the Department’s intention to revisit the strategy everyfive years. A review is underway aimed at producing arefreshed strategy for publication in 2005.The Department produces reports on progresswith implementing the strategy1.11 The Department publishes an annual StewardshipReport detailing progress against the strategy’s goals.The management of the estate is overseen by an internalcommittee of senior stakeholders within the Department,called the Defence Estate Committee, who receive regularreports on progress.3 Delivering Security in a Changing World: Supporting Essays, Cm 6041-11, published December 2003.4 In Trust and On Trust – The Strategy for the Defence Estate, published June 2000.8MINISTRY OF DEFENCE: MANAGING THE DEFENCE ESTATE