Indefensible: Reforming the Ministry of Defence

The Adam Smith Institute’s latest discussion paper, written by Tim Ambler, proposes a number of reforms to improve the efficiency and value for money of the Ministry of Defence.

This paper is part of the Adam Smith Institute’s “Reforming the Civil Service” series.

• The Ministry of Defence has responsibility for a number of functions that are currently performed inefficiently and represent poor value for taxpayer money;

• Defence procurement has long been associated with delays, financial overruns and equipment failures;

  • Previous reform efforts have proved ineffective: the solution is to remove procurement from the MoD altogether;

• A number of MoD enabling organisations are ripe for privatisation, including the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, the Hydrographic Office and the Oil and Pipelines Agency;

• Several other MoD enabling organisations could have their functions effectively performed by existing bodies;

  • Taking care of veterans should be left to the Royal British Legion with pensions contracted out as other large employers do;

• Full headcount numbers which carry no security risk should be published annually, with a view towards greater transparency and appropriate scrutiny;

• This paper demonstrates opportunities to reduce the MoD headcount by approximately 28,682 civilian personnel (45%) through restructuring, redistribution and redundancy.