Before the election, Liam Fox and William Hague stressed endlessly that the Security and Strategic Defence Review should drive the Treasury budget decisions, and not the other way around.
But in the plans for the Spending Review published today, the Treasury make pretty clear that they expect to see a detailed financial plan from the Ministry of Defence, well before the SSDR will be complete.
Ahead of the summer recess, departments will, working with HM Treasury, submit initial plans for delivering their objectives within reduced budgets. The Treasury will provide guidance to departments so that preparatory and technical work can begin now.
Departments’ submissions will include plans to deliver continuous value for money improvements, as well as proposals to make savings through more fundamental public service reform on the major blocks of spending.
The timeline looks pretty tight for the defence chiefs, who argued that it takes at least 6 months to complete the first strategic phase of a review, which would not include a detailed plan for how to pay for it.
The expectation had been that they would decide on options ahead of the Spending Review in October/November and be given a broad budget, which they would then go away and work out how to meet.
Under the Osborne proposals, it will mean that the armed forces will have to have a good idea of the nitty-gritty of axing fighter jets, force levels and major vessels by the end of July at the latest.
There is a nod to the Defence Review — officials say the two processes will inform each other. But it is little more than a nod. The Treasury will have a strong hand in sorting out the MoD finances and — if past form is any guide — they have good reason to be.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey
