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10-11-2004 Scotsman MoD debt would fund 1,000 regiments By Gethin Chamberlain Defence Correspondent POOR management and a failure to adhere to sensible principles has plunged the Ministry of Defence a further GBP 1.7 billion into the red on its key equipment projects - enough to cover the annual running costs of 1,000 regiments. Completion times for major projects, including the Eurofighter and the new Type 45 destroyer, have also been further delayed, leaving the armed forces to wait on average another three months for the delivery of much needed new kit. Yesterday the MoD admitted the overspending would inevitably have an impact on future defence budgets and would lead to further cuts on top of the sweeping programme already announced. The disastrous overspend comes as the MoD has been attempting to claw back some of its previous overspending by axing four infantry battalions - including one in Scotland - and by making sharp reductions in naval and air forces. It also comes less than a year after the National Audit Office took the MoD to task for allowing spending on the 20 key projects to spiral GBP 3.1 billion over budget. Edward Leigh, the chairman of the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, lambasted the MoD for its continuing failure to get the projects under control. "The MOD has not broken its wasteful mould," he said. "The new procedures and approaches of recent years are not working. This is a terrible way to plan for the defence of our country. "I am alarmed to see that the MOD is yet another billion over budget. GBP 1.7 billion of taxpayers' money, to be exact, which in future years will have to be found from somewhere else. "And the time delays reported - an average of three months per project - mean that our troops will have to wait even longer before they can use the promised kit." The MoD claimed that it was not possible to indicate where additional cuts would have to fall to make good the shortfall. "Overspends are deeply unwelcome and will have implications on our budgets overall," said a spokesman. "But it is not as easy as saying that if we had that money we could save the Black Watch." The figures are revealed in a report published today by the NAO. The report shows that the cost of the Eurofighter project alone has risen by GBP 130 million in the last year, while the Nimrod project lurched GBP 408 million over budget. The cost of the Future Joint Combat Aircraft rose by GBP 372 million and the overall cost of the top 20 projects has now reached GBP 50 billion. By way of contrast, the cost of running a one battalion infantry regiment such as the Black Watch is estimated at GBP 17 million a year.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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