Modernising Defence Programme inquiry

Government response published

On 25 January the Defence Secretary made a statement to the House of Commons announcing that the Defence strand of the ongoing National Security Capability Review (NSCR) was being separated, and that a new Modernising Defence Programme (MDP) would take its place. The rationale of the MDP remains that the threats facing the UK have become more “complex and intertwined”. Unlike the NSCR, the Secretary of State indicated that he did not intend for the MDP to be a fiscally neutral exercise.

The MDP will be made up of four strands, three of which will look at organisation, efficiency management and business and commercial practices in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and a fourth focusing on capability and force structure. The department’s intention is to publish the review before the House of Commons rises for its summer recess in late July. The Committee is seeking to take evidence in order to lay out its priorities and expectations ahead of the MDP reporting.