Lord Levene praises Defence pace of reform
Lord Levene has delivered his fourth annual report on Defence reform and has praised the pace within the Ministry of Defence.
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Lord Levene of Portsoken has delivered his fourth annual progress report on Defence reform and has commended the Ministry of Defence for the ‘timely and successful execution’ of its reform programme. In his latest assessment Lord Levene credited the department and senior leadership for driving forward a very substantial change programme.
Lord Levene has acknowledged that the great majority of the reform programme set out in the original Levene 2011 report has been implemented. Now Lord Levene has set out five more recommendations. They include reductions in the size of the Defence Estate and the department’s top structure as well as simplification of the planning and resource allocation process.
In his report, Lord Levene said:
The way the MOD has reformed itself over the last few years shows that a leopard really can change its spots: it has been an impressive achievement. This report sets out my five new recommendations to inform the next phase of reform. I have every confidence the MOD will rise to the challenge of implementing them as it has done before.
Michael Fallon MP, the Secretary of State for Defence, said:
This review recognises the scale of the reform that has taken place, with Defence much better managed than five years ago. That doesn’t mean there isn’t more to do. There is a formidable change agenda still to come, which we are in a good position to deliver, precisely because of the strengthened management we have implemented since 2011.