UK Government Launches New Role To Fix The Defence Procurement System

The biggest reform of the Ministry of Defence in over 50 years to fix what the Public Accounts Committee calls the ‘broken’ defence procurement system and to strengthen UK Defence, has been launched by the Defence Secretary.

It comes amid increasing global threats, with growing Russian aggression and conflict in the Middle East. This requires increased resilience and warfighting readiness. 

The Defence Secretary is leading the reforms to create a stronger defence centre which is able to secure better value for money, better outcomes for our Armed Forces, and better implement the Strategic Defence Review which will be published in the first half of next year. 

Central to this is the creation of a new role: the fully fledged National Armaments Director. Its aim is to ensure the armed forces are properly equipped to defend Britain, to build up the British defence industry and to crack down on waste. The recruitment process for the role has now begun, with a search for candidates now underway and which will continue over the coming weeks.

The new National Armaments Director will be responsible for:

• Delivering the capabilities required from industry to execute the Defence plans and operations demanded by the new era.
• Shaping and delivering the Defence industrial strategy which will be launched in the coming weeks.
• Ensuring a resilient supply chain and the required readiness of the national ‘arsenal’.
• Leading on UK defence exports and acquisition reform.
• Harmonising procurement and working closely with wider government, industry, academia, and international partners to deploy best practice and investment.

The changes come as the Defence Secretary commits to ensuring “value for money across every penny of defence spend.”

The reforms will also see the Chief of the Defence Staff overseeing a new Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ) where he will formally command the individual Service Chiefs for the first time. They will now be central to investment decisions between the Services, along with the Defence Secretary and Permanent Secretary. 

This Government’s MOD reforms will ensure faster delivery and clearer accountability across Defence, to support the Government’s ‘One Defence’ drive. They will also ensure defence is ready to take forward recommendations of the Strategic Defence Review, with the new MSHQ fully functioning by the end of 2024 – ready to implement recommendations from the SDR in the first half of next year. 

To read more, please visit MOD's website.