Peers urge government to accelerate war preparations within 1,000 days

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 11 Nov, 00:27 · Archive

A Lords committee has warned the government must move faster to prepare Britain for possible war within 1,000 days.

A Lords committee has warned the government must move 'further and faster' to prepare Britain for the possibility of war within 1,000 days. The Lords Industry and Regulators Committee said in a report published on Wednesday that industry would be unable to 'move quickly enough' to protect the UK unless the government alters its 'buyer-seller' relationship with companies and regulators strip away 'overly prescriptive' rules.

Peers called for a 'significant shift in the culture' at the Ministry of Defence, arguing it has 'too often focused on the comfort blanket of following process rather than delivering capability at speed'. They urged the department to become 'more comfortable' with taking risks when procuring military capabilities and to look beyond simply securing the lowest cost when assessing value for money.

The committee also said investors must be given 'more certainty' over the timing and nature of contracts to unlock funding. In recommending how to improve procurement, the report suggested the government should consider funding multiple companies working on the same problem to ensure greater industrial resilience and capacity. The committee noted that much of the bureaucracy in defence procurement was intended to reduce waste but has 'slowed down procurement without obviously reducing waste'.

How it is being reported

• Government must go 'further and faster' to ensure Britain is ready for war in 1,000 days, peers warnIndustry will be unable to ‘move quickly enough’ to protect UK unless the government changes its “buyer-seller” relationship with companies, a committee has saidThe Independent · 11 Nov, 00:01
• Government must 'move at pace' to be war-ready in 1,000 days, peers warnPeers have demanded a ‘significant shift in the culture’ at the Ministry of Defence to focus on ‘delivering capability at speed’Evening Standard · 11 Nov, 00:01

In this story: Andy Burnham's Government · Ministry of Defence · Lords Industry and Regulators Committee · Britain · UK

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