'They're laying off staff': Delays to Royal Navy defence reforms causing people to 'suffer' and lose jobs
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Jobs are being cut at smaller defence businesses due to the delays in major armed forces reforms, MPs have said.
Ian Roome, Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon, said the lack of a published Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is causing small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to lay off staff. The document, designed to set out the costing parameters of transformational policies in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), was originally set to be published in the autumn of last year.
That has now lapsed by several months after various reassurances from defence secretary John Healey and other Labour politicians that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is working “flat out” to finalise it. Members of the defence select committee grilled civil servants yesterday (March 17) about the hold-ups.
Mr Roome said: “Trade organisations have told me that smaller SMEs, which this government said they are prioritising, are having to lay off staff because they haven’t got the DIP. We can paint a rosy picture saying ‘we’re working flat out’. Has it got to go through 1,000 signatures within the MoD before it gets passed? What is the absolute minute problem for the delay?”
Permanent secretary James Pocklington said the DIP is a fundamental reset of the MoD’s plans, and declined to give a specific timeframe of when it will be published. He said: “It’s the first time the MoD has done that in 18 years. I’m not going to provide a running commentary. That is not what officials can do in public, and that would not be an appropriate thing to do. There are limits on what we can say.”
The DIP is aimed to set out priorities for MoD budgeting, allocating the main areas where financing will go. This covers major reforms in the Royal Navy, Army, RAF, Royal Marines, and elsewhere. Some contracts have already been agreed despite the setbacks, including the New Medium Helicopter contract, but others deals are lagging behind. Mr Healey previously said in parliament that the DIP delays are “not holding up” any major projects, but concerns are being raised by various firms.
Politico reports that one of the reasons for the delays is Chancellor Rachel Reeves being in a row with No 10 over further cuts to the international aid budget to fund a promised increase in defence spending. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he wants to accelerate plans to reach three per cent of GDP being spent on defence. Ministers have been warned the MoD faces a £28bn shortfall over the next four years.
Michelle Scrogham, Labour MP for Barrow and Furness, echoed the concerns of Mr Roome. “The plan is very delayed. Industry needs to know exactly where that money will be spent, before they will prioritise. They’re shedding staff at a time where we need more staff to secure the skills in the workforce. If they don’t have that plan in front of them, we will suffer as a country. Trying to build them up from where they’re hollowed out is going to be a challenge.”
Mr Pocklington said he could see the "value in providing a clear signal to suppliers" but it was important to get the plan right. “We are working flat out to agree the plan with everyone across government,” he added.
The UK's National Armaments Director Rupert Pearce apologised to the committee after telling them in December that the plan would be ready in a matter of days, instead of weeks or months. “I got it wrong,” he said. “I felt that was where we were," adding that "things drop away" over Christmas and New Year, but work was now under way "in earnest".