| Synopsis: |
This Report examines the administration, expenditure, activities and achievements of the MoD during the 2007-08 financial year, as described by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in its most recent annual report and accounts ("HC 850-I, II, Session 2007-08", ISBN 9780102955095). The implementation and operation of the Joint Personnel Administration program (JPA) has so far revealed very considerable failings. The lack of sufficient financial controls led the Comptroller and Auditor General to qualify the MoD's Resource Accounts for 2007-08. The scope of these failings is significant and impacts upon several areas critical to service personnel satisfaction with life in the Armed Forces. The Committee is disappointed that the MoD has failed to gauge accurately its likely performance against targets in the years preceding this year's Annual Report and Accounts, particularly with regard to its readiness targets. It is also concerned about the over-optimism that allowed the MoD to believe that it had some chance to meet targets that, in the end, it entirely failed to meet. Its forecasting of performance has been poor and must improve.The Committee also express reservations about the transparency of the MoD's targets in the 2004 Spending Round reporting period, and about the clarity with which the MoD reported against them. The terminology used in reporting was ambiguous and could equally cover near-success and close to abject failure, and the level of subjectivity in assessing performance against some targets was very considerable indeed. There is particular concern about performance against readiness targets, which has shown no improvement this year, with little chance of significant improvement for years to come. |