The federal government has but to set out when its promised acceleration of defence procurement shall be achieved, as a written parliamentary trade reveals the division nonetheless has no outlined timetable for assembly the contracting velocity targets outlined in current coverage.
Ben Overweight Jecty, the Conservative MP for Huntingdon, requested the division “by when is his goal to scale back the common occasions to contract for (a) main initiatives of six years, (b) pace-setting modular upgrades to 2 years and one 12 months respectively and (c) a goal of three-month cycles for fast business exploitation.”
The query sought readability on when the MOD expects to succeed in the accelerated acquisition benchmarks it has set out in current defence coverage.
Responding for the division, Minister of State Luke Pollard stated that decreasing supply timelines stays central to procurement reform efforts. He said within the written reply that “decreasing the time taken to ship functionality is a key driver of our acquisition reforms.” Pollard stated the MOD is introducing a “segmented strategy to procurement, supported by accelerated business pathways,” which is meant to assist programmes attain contract extra rapidly.
Nonetheless, the reply makes clear that the division has not fastened dates for attaining the precise reductions cited within the query. Pollard wrote that “no timescale for attaining the targets has been set,” signalling that the MOD isn’t but committing to when the one 12 months, two 12 months or three month cycles may be reached.
The one formal milestone referenced within the reply is the institution of the brand new segmented strategy itself. Pollard stated the division is progressing towards “the goal date of 1 April 2026 for institution of the segmented strategy in step with the Strategic Defence Assessment.” Based on the reply, it will start with pilot initiatives supposed to determine early alternatives for enchancment.
Whereas the MOD continues to current accelerated procurement as a precedence, the implementation stays tied to structural reforms quite than clear supply timelines for the targets described in coverage statements.