Managing Change in the Defence Workforce: Ministry of Defence

HC 1791, Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Session 2010-12

Author:

National Audit Office (NAO)

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

Price: £16.00

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The report 'Managing Change in the Defence Workforce: Ministry of Defence (HC 1791)' examines the Department's approach to reducing its headcount, which has been largely in accordance with good practice and has acted in a way that is consistent with value for money.

However, the urgent need for the Department to cut costs means it is having to cut its headcount in advance of planning how it will operate in the future, thereby risking further skills shortages.

The Department plans to cut its civilian workforce by 29,000 and its armed forces by 25,000. To meet these targets the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has started a redundancy programme and a Voluntary Early Release Scheme, both of which run in several tranches.

The most recent estimates by the Department are that the process will cost £0.9 billion and produce £4.1 billion in cost reductions (just over £3 billion net).

The Department now has to reduce the numbers in the Army by a further 5,000 by 2015, but has not yet worked out in detail how it will do this. Delays to the process erode the level of potential savings as the Department continues to pay salaries, benefits and contributions to pensions.

Without real changes to ways of working, cutting headcount is likely to result in the Department either doing less with fewer people or trying to do the same with greater risk.

Extent	36 pages	ISBN	9780102975390
Size	A4	Price	£16.00
Format	Paperback	Published	09 Feb 2012
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges