John Baron MP: NAO report on Reservists confirms ‘balance sheet’ exercise

MP says Defence Secretary’s reputation is on the line

Today the National Audit Office (NAO) published a highly critical report on the MoD’s Army reforms to replace 20,000 Regulars with 30,000 Reservists. The report concludes that the Army 2020 reforms were not subjected to the appropriate feasibility testing. The NAO also concludes the transition to the new Army structure comes with significant risks which could gravely affect the Army’s ability to achieve its objectives and provide value for money to the MoD and the taxpayer.

John Baron MP has opposed the MoD’s Army reforms, believing they will create unacceptable capability gaps and false economies. In November 2013, John tabled amendments to the Defence Reform Bill which would have halted the reforms until Parliament had signed off on a financial report into their operation. Despite the support of the Labour Opposition, the Government narrowly won the vote.

John said,

“Army 2020 was always a cynical ‘balance sheet’ exercise by the MoD, as the report confirms. Replacing the cost of 20,000 Regulars by the Treasury meeting the heavier costs of deploying Reservists might help the MoD meet financial targets, but could cost the taxpayer more. False economies loom large”.

“For those of us who opposed the Army Reserve plans, it was clear financial necessity rather than strategic design was the driving force. Unacceptable capability gaps and false economies are the price.”

“Given the utmost importance of these reforms, the Defence Secretary’s reputation is on the line.”

Ends

Word Count: 248

Date: 11^th June 2014

Notes to Editors:

• The report was meant to be published earlier this week, but disagreements with the MoD delayed its publication until this morning.
• The report also confirms that recruitment into the Reserves has fallen well behind schedule.
• The NAO report is available at: http://www.nao.org.uk/report/army-2020/.