The government is chopping and changing its plans for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier programme. The project has become a symbol of gross government incompetence and of everything the public thinks is wrong with defence procurement. This multibillion pound project, so vital for our national security, will forever be known as the aircraft carrier without any aircraft, and a dismal example of mismanagement of taxpayers’ money.
When Labour signed the contract to build the carriers in 2007 the government agreed to buy a variant of the Joint Strike Fighter able to take off and land onboard. However, as part of the cost saving measures in the Strategic Defence and Security Review the coalition decided to switch to a variant with longer range, greater firepower and lower maintenance costs, seemingly failing to realise that the carriers themselves would need a substantial and expensive redesign. Last year the public accounts committee warned that the cost of installing the catapult and arrestor gear would balloon and they have. This work, which has already begun, caused costs to spiral, meaning we could only afford to use one of the carriers, with plans made to sell off or mothball the other.
However, recent reports claim that ministers are considering a U-turn on this decision, as the costs of the redesign have spiralled. If this is the case the government has wasted time, leaving our armed forces without the equipment they need, and money that could have been spent on their protection.
The public accounts committee met today for a special session to question the permanent secretary at the MoD about the mess the government has caused through their indecision and inability to get a grip on the programme. This has been necessary because ministers have been so reluctant to keep parliament informed. We were told that a ministerial statement would come before Easter, but it didn’t, and numerous parliamentary questions have gone unanswered.
Ministers have remained silent and inactive in the face of developments. We read that the US Government Accountability Office fear the JSF programme is at risk, that the UK has told the French government that interoperability is no longer an option and that the unit price will rise as Italy and the US reduce the size of their orders, but still ministers remain silent.
Parliament, the people and most importantly our brave servicemen and women need to know where we stand in this important procurement programme. Ursula Brennan stonewalled at this morning’s meeting. However, it is difficult not to conclude that the government has failed to manage the project or taxpayers’ money adequately. Hiding behind a veil of silence is no longer an option.
—————————————————————————————
Nick Smith MP is a member of the public accounts committee
—————————————————————————————