UK committee says cuts to defence equipment spending are 'likely'

The UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee has warned of impending defence cuts and is "deeply concerned" that continued operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are eroding the UK armed forces' ability to react to any new contingent operations.

In a report released on 28 January the committee suggested that despite a planned real-term increase in the defence budget of 1.5 per cent annually (GBP7.7 billion [USD15 billion] in total) until 2011, "cuts in the defence programme, including the equipment programme, are likely in the coming months as part of the Planning Round process".

It called on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to be "realistic" about the number of equipment programmes that can be funded.

The warning on defence cuts comes against a background of extensive efficiency savings already made by the MoD. From 2004 to 2007 the department achieved efficiency savings of GBP2.8 billion, around GBP1.7 billion of which came from procurement and logistics and GBP550 million through manpower reductions of 13,843 civilian staff. Further "value-for-money" savings worth GBP2.5 billion are programmed over the next four years.

UK Permanent Under-Secretary for Defence Bill Jeffery said: "If we can get smarter at negotiating with our suppliers and supporters then we can keep the front line better supported and we can do it with fewer of our own staff."

However, one of the key pressures facing the MoD is its inability to do this and keep costs under control on major procurement projects.

Image: The National Audit Office reported a 2007 in-year increase of GBP354 million on the UK Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer programme (BAE Systems) 242 of 865 words