The House of Commons will hold a debate on
Thursday 21st March around three
reports on UK defence published recently by the Defence and
Public Accounts Committees (PAC).
The three reports address concerns around the UK’s military
readiness and capabilities. The debate will be an opportunity for
Members of the House of Commons to explore the reports’
recommendations and conclusions.
The Defence Committee’s report, Ready for War?, found
that overstretch has negatively impacted high intensity
warfighting readiness due to the number of operations and other
commitments the Armed Forces are tasked with. The Committee
voiced concern over the crisis in recruitment and retention, slow
procurement processes and the resultant stockpile shortages.
Following the Spring Budget last week, the Defence Committee
commented that the Defence Secretary’s assessment that the UK is
in a “Pre-War” state “does not appear to be reflected in his
Department’s Budget allocation”.
The most recent of the PAC’s
reports into the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Equipment Plan
found that there is no credible Government plan to deliver its
desired military capabilities. The report comes in the context of
the largest deficit ever (£16.9bn) between the MoD’s budget and
its military capability requirements.
The PAC’s January 2024 report
found that the MoD did not have the powers needed to deal with
the fragmentation of its inventory management, noting that
significant risks were caused for front-line armed forces by MoD
inventory failures.
