Download or read book Spring Supplementary Estimate 2006 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-05-16 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spring supplementary Estimate 2006 : Explanatory memorandum by the Scotland Office

Download or read book Ministry of Defence main estimates 2007 08 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-07-10 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Main Supply Estimates are the means by which the Government requests resources from Parliament to meet its expenditure plans for the coming financial year, setting out a resource-based Estimate for each Department and for public service pension schemes. The Committee's report focuses on the Estimates for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for 2007-08 (HCP 438, session 2006-07; ISBN 9780102944969). It identifies no issues which require to be debated by the House of Commons before the House is asked to agree to the Main Estimates, but the report highlights the fact that MoD's request for resources of £33.7 billion in the Main Estimates does not include the expected costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and so greatly underestimates the total expected cost of the MoD's activities in 2007-08. It argues that the MoD should include estimated costs of military operations in its Main Estimates, instead of waiting for the Supplementary Estimates as it does at present, as it is unacceptable that the MoD is incurring costs on military operations, without parliamentary approval and without even providing Parliament with an outline of the anticipated costs.

Download or read book Cost of military operations written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-05-25 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Response to 10th report, HC 379 session 2006-07 (ISBN 9780215032997). The Ministry of Defence's spring supplementary estimates are contained in HC 293 (ISBN 9780102944457) published in February 2007

Download or read book Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual report 2006 07 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-11-19 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report is the Committee's annual review of how the FCO is managing its resources. This year a key area off interest has been the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review because the Committee think it is one of the tightest in Whitehall and it risks jeopardising some of the FCO's important work. Apart from this the other subjects covered are: measuring performance; operational efficiency; management and leadership; FCO services; diplomatic representation overseas; transparency and openness; public diplomacy; British council; BBC World Service.

Download or read book Administration and expenditure of the Chancellor s departments 2006 07 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Treasury Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-03-07 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first annual scrutiny by the Treasury Committee of the Chancellor of Exchequer's Departments. The Committee sets out a number of conclusions and recommendations, including: that the Treasury should include within its' annual reports a summary of the results of the annual surveys of stakeholder opinion and the Treasury's response to stakeholders; the Committee recommends that the Treasury set itself a target to ensure that the Public Service Agreements finalised as part of the next Spending Review in 2009 or 2010 include a clear statement about the resources to be allocated across Government to the delivery of each Agreement; the Committee criticises the Treasury's failure to meet its objective for the appointment of professionally-qualified Finance Directors in all Departments by December 2006 and that a relevant accountancy qualification be described as an essental criterion in all future post advertisements; the Committee views the Value for Money Delivery Agreements across Government as disappointing, and wants the Government to develop programmes that measure quality of service and efficiency effectively; the Committee commends the Royal Mint's return to profitability but is concerned about the ambitious target set for next year; that the Office of Government Commerce has failed to publish a regular annual report; the Committee expresses surprise that HM Revenue and Customs had approved a 60% increase in senior civil service bonus payments over a period of poor performance and headcount reductions, also the Committee highlights the problems experienced in VAT registrations and the failure of HMRC to meet its processing target of VAT receipts as well as poor administration of tax credits.

Download or read book Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs departmental report 2007 written by Great Britain. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-05-17 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dated May 2007

Download or read book Excess votes 2006 07 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-02 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excess Votes 2006-07 : Seventh report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal Minutes

Download or read book Defence Equipment 2009 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mission of the MoD's (Ministry of Defence's) Defence Equipment and Support (DE & S) organisation is to equip and support our Armed Forces for operations now and in the future. Support to current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq has taken priority and the organisation has performed well. The Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) system remains highly effective in enabling vital equipment to be provided quickly to the two theatres to meet rapidly changing threats, but there are concerns that UORs represent a partial failure to equip our forces for predicted expeditionary operations, and on their effects on the core budget in future years. DE & S' performance in procuring longer-term equipment declined significantly in 2007-08. The forecast costs for the 20 largest defence projects increased by £205 million and the forecast delays increased by some 100 months in the year. The improvements promised by both the long-standing application of the principles of 'smart procurement' and the more recent formation of the DE & S organisation appear not to have materialised. The FRES (Future Rapid Effect System) programme has been a fiasco, being poorly conceived and managed from the outset. The Committee condemns the failure to date to publish an updated version of the Defence Industrial Strategy and considers that its continuing absence increases the risk that the UK Defence Industrial Base will not be able to meet the future requirements of our Armed Forces. Finally, the UK's future military capability depends on the investment made today in Research and Development. Sufficient funding for defence research needs to be ring-fenced and the MoD must recognise the very high priority of research and reverse the recent cut in research spending.

Download or read book The comprehensive approach written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-18 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Defence Committee report recommends that when troops are committed to operations in future there must be robust plans to coordinate military and reconstruction efforts from the earliest stages. The next Government should lay out the requirements of the "Comprehensive Approach" (the combination of civilian and military actors in a counter-insurgency operation) in order better to preserve all the lessons learned in the complex operations of Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them having been painfully re-learned from Bosnia, Kosovo and even Malaya. The Committee looks to the recently formed Stabilisation Unit (owned by the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence) to maintain a capacity to deploy significant numbers of personnel for post-conflict reconstruction and to ensure that vital knowledge and skills gained during deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan are retained and built on. The Comprehensive Approach requires close work with local nationals to build up their capability and confidence in all fields including security, governance, law and order and development. This must include women at all levels. The Government needs to find better ways to draw on the expertise of NGOs without compromising the effectiveness and safety of aid workers on the ground.

Download or read book Strategic lift written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-07-05 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ministry of Defence needs the capability to transport personnel, equipment and stores from the UK to operational theatres across the globe. This capability, known as Strategic Lift, can by delivered by sea, land or air, and its annual cost to the MoD is almost £800 million a year. The Committee's report examines the progress of the MoD in delivering the Strategic Lift requirements set out in the Strategic Defence Review and whether these requirements need to be revisited given the experience of the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Findings include that good progress has been made in improving strategic sea-lift, particularly in relation to Ro-Ro ships and the acquisition of Landing Platform Dock (Auxiliary) vessels. However, strategic air-lift is a particular concern given the age of many of the aircraft, and the report looks at the progress of two major equipment programmes designed to deliver new transport aircraft (the A400M transport aircraft) and new tanker aircraft (the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft).

Download or read book Operational costs in Afghanistan and Iraq written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-03-10 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operational costs in Afghanistan and Iraq : Spring supplementary estimate 2007-08, eighth report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal minutes and written Evidence

Download or read book The defence industrial strategy written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-02-15 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government's Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) was published in December 2005 (Cm. 6697, ISBN 9780101669726) with the aim of providing greater transparency to the UK's future defence requirements and, for the first time, setting out those industrial capabilities the UK needs to maintain appropriate sovereignty and operate equipment independently. Following on from its previous report on the strategy (HCP 824, session 2005-06; ISBN 9780215028594), the Committee has examined the progress made in implementing the strategy during its first year and remaining challenges. Findings include: progress in restructuring the maritime sector, both surface ships and submarines, has been disappointing and it needs to be pushed forward to avoid delays to when the new carriers and associated aircraft come into operational service; there are some practical concerns over operation of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme; the Ministry of Defence needs to improve the arrangements for long-term partnering arrangements as an alternative to competitive procurement; and adequate funding needs to be provided in the Comprehensive Spending Review if the full benefits and improvements offered by the DIS are to be realised.

Download or read book The future of the UK s strategic nuclear deterrent written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-03-07 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government white paper (Cm 6994, ISBN 9780101699426) recommended the renewal of the Trident system, and wanted a decision made in 2007 as delay would imperil the UK's security. This report analyses the white paper's findings and conclusions, and explores the key issues and questions which should be addressed in the debate on the future of the deterrent. The Committee reports some disagreement with the Government's timetable for procurement of new submarines. The reduction in the total number of warheads is welcomed, but as the number deployed on submarines is not to change the Committee is uncertain of the operational significance of this measure. The Committee would also like clarification of the nature and geographical scope of what the Government considers the UK's "vital interests" for which the nuclear deterrent exists. There appears to be no legal consensus that the proposals are consistent with all of the UK's international obligations, in particular the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, so political considerations will govern the renewal decision. Detailed estimates of the costs are vital to inform the debate. The Committee acknowledges the Government's efforts at openness on this matter.

Download or read book Funding the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business and Enterprise Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The NDA is funded by a combination of commercial income and grant-in-aid. For 2007/08 its budget is set at £2,790 million; of this, £1,420 million was intended to be ring-fenced grant-in-aid and £1,370 million commercial income, chiefly from reprocessing but also including income from waste substitution. The National Audit Office report (HC238, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102951974) identified uncertainty as to whether the waste substitution income budgeted for would actually be forthcoming. There has been a shortfall in the NDA's budget and the large request for additional funding that resulted came at a very late stage in the financial year. The Committee believes the NDA's funding model is unsustainable, particularly in light of the volatile and declining nature of the NDA's commercial income. Public funding will almost certainly have to increase significantly, over and above the current plans. This has major implications for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) which already spends 40 per cent of its departmental expenditure limit on the NDA. A new system of funding is needed, as the Permanent Secretary of DBERR acknowledged, and work on this needs to begin urgently.

Download or read book The contribution of ISTAR to operations written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-25 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report recognises the efforts of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to improve the methods by which intelligence is collected, interpreted and then disseminated over the battlefield, where it can be used to best effect - a process known as ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance). However there are fears that plans for the development of ISTAR capability might be put to one side or slowed during the process of the Strategic Defence Review, due largely to financial constraints. The report warns that control of such a vital resource as ISTAR needs to be clarified to ensure proper coordination and development across the Services. The Committee has been impressed by the commitment within the MoD, the Armed Forces and within industry to improve detection of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) as a priority, and to work creatively and co-operatively to that end. The technologies and techniques refined during the current campaign in Afghanistan must be mainstreamed into future UK ISTAR capability. However the theoretical expectations of what ISTAR can contribute to minimising civilian and UK military casualties must be kept in proportion. Realism about the nature of asymmetric warfare, and what ISTAR can contribute, is essential if current and future missions are to succeed.

Download or read book Office of Science and Innovation written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-04-03 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The scrutiny of the Office of Science and Technology (OSI) is one of the core tasks of the Committee. During the period covered by this report the OSI and DTI Innovation Group have successfully merged and there has been a new performance management system. There has been a welcomed increase in the science budget but the breach of the principle of ring fencing the budget is deprecated. An important part of OSI's work is reviewing the use of science in Government departments. Although these are valuable the pace of review and information available on them needs to be improved.

Download or read book Making British Defence Policy written by Robert Self and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-06-16 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the process by which defence policy is made in contemporary Britain and the institutions, actors and conflicting interests which interact in its inception and continuous reformulation. Rather than dealing with the substance of defence policy, this study focuses upon the institutional actors involved in this process. This is a subject which has commanded far more interest from public, Parliament, government and the armed forces since the protracted, bloody and ultimately unsuccessful British military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The work begins with a discussion of two contextual factors shaping policy. The first relates to the impact of Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with the United States over defence and intelligence matters, while the second considers the impact of Britain’s relatively disappointing economic performance upon the funding of British defence since 1945. It then goes on to explore the role and impact of all the key policy actors, from the Prime Minister, Cabinet and core executive, to the Ministry of Defence and its relations with the broader ‘Whitehall village’, and the Foreign Office and Treasury in particular. The work concludes by examining the increasing influence of external policy actors and forces, such as Parliament, the courts, political parties, pressure groups and public opinion. This book will be of much interest to students of British defence policy, security studies, and contemporary military history.