CEO Dstl message to Suppliers in response to COVID-19
As the lead agency for defence science and technology in the UK, one of our values is collaboration and I wanted to reach out to you today to let you know what we are doing to maintain our support for suppliers during the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
I know you will have been inundated with communications like this one. Even so, I wanted to share some of the steps Dstl is taking to maintain business continuity as far as practical in these unprecedented times.
Please be assured that we are working hard to protect the relationships, networks and social value that is critical to the operation we deliver as the organisation that puts the science inside UK national security.
In light of the ongoing spread of COVID-19, as CEO of Dstl I have activated our business continuity plan. My priority under this plan is to ensure the health and safety of our employees, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders to enable the continuity of our services and delivery of critical defence and security outputs as well as COVID-19 support to government agencies.
We have also moved to limit on-site activity to defence critical outputs and the work we are doing to support the MOD’s COVID-19 Support Force, to be there in support of public services in any way we can assist.
You will be aware that the Chancellor has already made £330 billion available in his Economic Response to COVID-19, to support business during this time. In addition, and in respect of Dstl suppliers, we are committed to prioritising:
- Supporting our core systems to ensure our suppliers are still able to get paid and Dstl are still able to raise purchase orders
- Continuing to run our critical procurements and programmes
- Working with Dstl’s strategic and prime suppliers on their Business Continuity Plans and understanding impacts to their supply chain in support of Dstl outputs
- Monitoring wider implications to the economy and the impact of those on our direct and indirect suppliers
My staff will work closely with you and use all available options to sustain the supply of goods and services to Dstl and wider defence partners. These include maintaining cash flow and timely payments to all our suppliers.
We would look to you too in this respect to continue to pay your sub-suppliers promptly to ensure the broader supply chain continue to operate effectively through these challenging times.
How we’re keeping our employees safe and operating with the Supply base
The Dstl business continuity plan includes guidelines for staff well-being, working and managing teams remotely. I am confident that both Dstl staff and our infrastructure will enable us to continue to work with you, our suppliers, to an effective and appropriate level.
In line with government recommendations, I have suspended all non-essential travel and we will now be conducting the majority of meetings with our suppliers by telecom or VTC for the time being.
Dstl have invested in remote communications technology and my staff have the tools necessary to deliver the majority of their duties from a home or remote locations and this is what we are supporting them to do, thus reducing the risks for our people and supporting the government’s firm position and actions around social distancing to limit the spread of the virus.
As an Executive team we have also moved to operate in remote groups to ensure we can continue to provide leadership capacity to the organisation moving forward.
We have also established a Dstl list of MOD civilian ‘Key Workers’, who if needed will be supported during times of school closure to allow them to continue to work on critical defence and security outputs.
We will continue to keep you updated and communicate any new information through our corporate channels as the situation continues to unfold.
We’re here to help
Please be assured that over the coming weeks and months Dstl will work with you and help in whatever way we can as we face these challenges together. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or concerns.
We appreciate the support that you, our suppliers, continue to provide to help us deliver our critical, as well as non-critical, outputs as the lead agency for defence and security science and technology in the UK, and we acknowledge and appreciate that you are doing so while working under similar constraints in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak.
With best wishes to you and your people from everyone at Dstl.
Stay safe and well.
Gary Aitkenhead CEO Dstl