Corporate report

[Withdrawn] Ministry of Defence single departmental plan - 2019

Updated 11 July 2019

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

This publication was withdrawn on 15 July 2021

It has been replaced by a new version

Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.

Ministry of Defence (MOD) single departmental plan

Secretary of State for Defence

The Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP

Permanent Secretary

Stephen Lovegrove

The first duty of government is to defend our country and to keep our people safe. Our purpose in the Ministry of Defence is to protect the people of the United Kingdom and our overseas territories, prevent conflict, and be ready to fight our enemies. We will project our influence as the UK has an important role and responsibility to stand up for our values across the globe. We continue to tackle terrorism, extremism and state-on-state competition. We and our allies must deter and be ready to defend ourselves; we must also be able to respond when our citizens and government need our support. NATO will continue to be at the heart of our defence posture and we will work in partnership to ensure our security and safeguard our prosperity.

The Modernising Defence Programme sets out the work we are doing to mobilise our armed forces and modernise them through the delivery of Joint Force 2025. Using the additional investment of £1.8 billion announced last year we are strengthening our armed forces by improving the way we operate and do business. We are achieving this through our transformation, research and innovation programmes, while working with industry to promote the UK’s prosperity.

Our objectives

We will:

  1. Protect our people

  2. Project our global influence

  3. Promote our prosperity

  4. Transform the way we do business

  5. Support the delivery of EU Exit

1. Protect our people

Lead minister

The Rt Hon Mark Lancaster MP, Minister of State for the Armed Forces

Lead officials

General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of Defence Staff

Angus Lapsley, Director General Strategy and International

Dominic Wilson, Director General Security Policy

Lieutenant General Doug Chalmers, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations)

1.1 Deter and defend against threats to the UK, including UK bases and territories overseas.

How will we achieve this
Enforce the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, including its territorial waters and airspace, and of the Overseas Territories and Permanent Joint Operating Bases (contributes to SDG 16)
Take a leading role in NATO through the NATO Response Force, with defence contributing to exercises and operations in the land, sea and air domains, an example being; the enhanced Forward Presence deployment to the Baltic States

1.2 Deliver nuclear deterrence and the Defence Nuclear Enterprise

How will we achieve this
Deliver Trident continuous at sea nuclear deterrent to provide the ultimate guarantee of our safety
Build the new fleet of 4 Dreadnought ballistic missile submarines

1.3 Contribute to the resilience of the UK by supporting the civil authorities and protecting our cyber space and our critical national infrastructure

How will we achieve this
Continue to invest in our cyber capabilities, ensuring our capabilities are robust and continue to keep pace with our adversaries, including through the National Offensive Cyber Programme
Provide military aid to civil authorities, supporting efforts in the event of winter flooding and other events of national importance requiring urgent response, such as the chemical attacks in Salisbury, and 24-hour provision of explosives ordnance disposal (Contributes to SDG 16)

1.4 Hold forces at readiness to support and conduct Counter Terrorist operations in the UK

How will we achieve this
Work with civil authorities and security & intelligence agencies to counter terrorism and enhance homeland security and resilience
In the event of a National Emergency, provide specialist military personnel support to civil authorities, including the police and local government

1.5 Conduct overseas defence activity

How will we achieve this
Conduct major combat operations under NATO Article 5 and non-Article 5 combat operations unilaterally, as a framework nation or as part of a coalition/alliance
Conduct overseas strike operations, unilaterally or as part of a coalition/alliance
Conduct operations to restore peace and stability unilaterally or as part of a coalition/alliance (contributes to SDG 16)
Conduct overseas hostage rescue missions
Support Civilian Evacuation and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations (contributes to SDG 16)

1.6 Direct the Defence Enterprise

How will we achieve this
Deliver the UK strategic military headquarters and command UK military operations at home and overseas
Increase the defence budget every year by 0.5% in real terms and continue to meet NATO’s target to spend 2% of GDP on defence for the rest of the decade
Manage the department’s response to EU exit, identifying and acting on the risks and opportunities and supporting other government departments’ contingency planning

1.7 Generate, sustain, and enable the armed forces

How will we achieve this
Ensure defence has the right numbers of capable and motivated people representative of the breadth of society it exists to defend (contributes to SDG 4)
Promote a diverse and inclusive culture across defence, allowing everyone to reach their potential, and ensuring the armed forces better reflect the society they serve (contributes to SDG 4)
Modernise working conditions for our people. Honour the Armed Forces Covenant and ensure that service people, and their families are not disadvantaged, with special provision for those who have sacrificed the most
Support the implementation of the 10 year inter-departmental strategy for our Veterans and deliver a new Defence Transition Policy
Ensure the necessary defence support network is in place to sustain military operations, including increasing weapon and spares stockpiles

Our performance

Some 8,000 personnel are deployed on over 30 operations in over 20 countries, including:

Activity / Region Deployments / Commitments
Counter-Daesh over 1,000 currently deployed
Africa over 500 personnel deployed across the continent in UN peace support operations and delivering specialist military training to several countries, including counter-Boko Haram and anti-wildlife poaching
Ukraine commitment to deploy around 100 personnel at any one time to train Ukrainian Armed Forces
Afghanistan an increased commitment of over 1,000 personnel
NATO c. 800 personnel deployed in support of NATO operations in Europe
Cyprus c. 280 currently deployed in support of UN operations
Maritime near continuous Royal Navy presence in the Indo Asia-Pacific region, including support for UN Security Council Resolution enforcement operations; contributed to NATO Standing Naval Forces in the Baltic and Black Sea
Romania c. 150 were deployed as part of NATO Enhanced Air Policing
Southern Mediterranean c. 80 were deployed in support of EU operations to counter illegal people trafficking

Source: Ministry of Defence

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release Schedule: Annual

Military aid to civil authorities in the UK

Year Number of occasions that military aid was provided to civil authorities in the UK
17/18 130
16/17 80
15/16 79

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 to 18

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Fisheries protection

Year Number of vessels boarded
17/18 257
16/17 280
15/16 460

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 to 18

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Counter-narcotics

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary in the Caribbean seized or disrupted 1.5 metric tonnes of cocaine in the region, worth over £50 million in 2017/18. The Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean seized or disrupted 1.5 metric tonnes of heroin or hashish in the region, worth over £33 million.

Year Quantity seized or disrupted
17/18 3 metric tonnes
16/17 3.5 metric tonnes
15/16 7 metric tonnes

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 to 18

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

UK defence spending as a proportion of GDP

Year Expenditure on defence as a percentage of GDP
17/18 2.11%
16/17 2.15%
15/16 2.06%

Source: Finance and economics annual statistical bulletin: international defence 2018

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Total size of the armed forces (UK regular, Gurkha, volunteer reserve and other personnel)

Figures provided as at Total size of the armed forces (UK regular, Gurkha, volunteer reserve and other personnel)
April 2019 192,160
April 2018 194,140
April 2017 197,040

Source: UK Armed Forces Service Personnel Statistics

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Quarterly

Number of civilians employed

Figures provided as at Number of Civilians (FTE)
April 2019 57,760
April 2018 56,870
April 2017 56,680

Source: MOD Biannual Civilian Personnel Report 2019

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Biannual

Percentage of eligible MOD workforce who are members of the Reserve Forces

Figures provided as at: Percentage of MOD Civil Service Percentage of eligible workforce
January 2019 1.84 % 3.50 %
April 18 1.80 % 3.55 %
April 17 1.74 % 3.28 %

Source: Ministry of Defence

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Proportion of recruits joining the armed forces who are female

Year to date Proportion of recruits joining the armed forces who are female
September 2018 12.40%
March 2018 12.20%
March 2017 11.40%

Source: UK Armed Forces Diversity Statistics

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Biannual

Proportion of recruits joining the armed forces who are BAME

Year to date Proportion of recruits joining the armed forces who are BAME
September 2018 6.50%
March 2018 8.40%
March 2017 7.20%

Source: UK Armed Forces Diversity Statistics

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Biannual

MOD Senior civil service representation of female staff, ethnic minority staff and disabled staff

Year Female Ethnic minority Disability
October 2018 32.8% * 4.7%
April 2018 31.3% 3.6% 4.7%

Source: MOD Civilian Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Biannual

Total number of organisations signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant

Figures provided as at Total number of organisations signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant
April 2019 3,600
November 2018 3,000
November 2017 1,300

Source: Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

2. Project our global influence

Lead ministers

The Rt Hon Mark Lancaster MP, Minister of State for the Armed Forces

The Rt Hon The Earl Howe, Minister of State in the House of Lords

Lead officials

General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of Defence Staff

Angus Lapsley, Director General Strategy and International

Lieutenant General Doug Chalmers, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations)

2.1 Project our global influence through international defence engagement

How we will achieve this
Strengthen the rules based international order including through capacity building, international defence training and nuclear weapon counter-proliferation
Strengthen our international defence partnerships through regional engagement strategies (contributes to SDG 16)
Conduct capacity building with partners, allies and multinational organisations in support of UK strategy (contributes to SDG 16)
Provide force elements for NATO and other reassurance measures and exercises
Contribute to the global defence network, resourcing core staff posts and increasing our global points of presence, including NATO staff posts, defence Attachés, advisers, loan service personnel, exchange posts, embeds and other cross government partners

2.2 Contribute to understanding the global security environment

How we will achieve this
Work with partners across government and allies to collate information and share intelligence gathered

Our performance

United Nations defence commitments

Year Number of UK military personnel deployed on UN-led peacekeeping operations
April 2017 720
April 2016 350
April 2015 300

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 - 18

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

International defence Training

In the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we committed continually to increase the number of International defence training places offered to other nations from the 2015 to 2016 baseline of 1,964.

Year Numbers of International Defence Training places offered
2017 to 18 2,269
2016 to 17 2,240
2015 to 16 1,964

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 to 18

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Overseas major exercises conducted

For a period in 2018, 19,000 personnel from all three services were deployed on exercises, including:

Exercise details Numbers of personnel deployed
NATO’s largest exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE in Norway 2,700
Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3 in Oman 5,500
Exercise WESTLANT 18, completing F-35B Lightning II sea trials on HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH in the Atlantic 1,500

Source: Ministry of Defence

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Headquarters staff embedded in other nations’ armed forces

This includes UK service personnel embedded in another nation’s armed forces, who are deployed on operations together with those who work on operations in deployed coalition or single nation headquarters roles.

Snapshot as at Number of staff embedded in other nations’ armed forces’ headquarters
March 2018 52
March 2017 53
March 2016 161

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 – 18

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Exchange officers embedded in other nations’ armed forces

This includes UK service personnel embedded in another nations’ armed forces, with a corresponding exchange officer from that nation embedded with the UK armed forces.

Figures provided as at Number exchange officers embedded in other nations’ armed forces
March 2018 86
March 2017 13
March 2016 15

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 – 18

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Defence Attachés/Advisers

Figures provided as at Number of Defence Attachés/Advisers
March 2018 146
March 2017 120

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 – 18

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

3. Promote our prosperity

Lead minister

Stuart Andrew MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Procurement

Lead officials

Cat Little, Director General Finance

Angus Lapsley, Director General Strategy and International

3.1 Promote UK prosperity and civil society

How we will achieve this
Shape and strengthen the competitiveness of UK defence industry and successfully collaborate overseas (contributes to SDG 8 and 12)
Promote defence exports, lead Strategic Campaigns, and increase global opportunities for UK industry in the defence sector (contributes to SDG 8)
Provide MOD sponsored cadet forces
Maximise defence contribution to the wider economy including employment and skills
(contributes to SDG 4 and 8)
Release surplus MOD land to support the national house building programme
Work with the devolved administrations in support of the wider government objective to strengthen the UK and contribute to the fabric of the nation including the union (contributes to SDG 4)
Conduct and encourage innovative research and development to enable the UK to gain operational advantage and access to allies’ research and development (contributes to SDG 8)
Maximise defence contribution to inward investment, working across government and with other sectors to shape, encourage and grow inward investment (contributes to SDG 8)

Our performance

Jobs supported by direct MOD expenditure with UK industry and commerce

Sectors Breakdown of jobs by sector (2017/18)
Technical, Financial Services & Other Business Services (including R&D, Equipment testing, Education and Healthcare) 41,600 jobs
Shipbuilding and Repair 19,300 jobs
Other Manufacturing 3,600 jobs
Aircraft and spacecraft 4,400 jobs
Construction 6,500 jobs
Weapons and Ammunition 5,700 jobs
Computer Services 7,100 jobs

Source: Finance and economics annual statistical bulletin 2017/18

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Defence exports

Year Value of defence exports 2015 to 2017 (based on orders)
2017 £9 billion
2016 £5.9 billion
2015 £7.7 billion

Source: DIT UK Defence and Security Export Statistics

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Apprenticeships

We have enrolled 53,000 civil service and armed forces apprentices between April 2015 and March 2019, against a government target of 50,000 by April 2020. Over 90% of military non-commissioned personnel now gain an apprenticeship as part of their trade training and first assignment.

Source: Ministry of Defence

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Cadet Units parading in schools

Year Number of Cadet Units parading in schools
December 2018 444
December 2017 411
December 2016 363

Source: Annual Reports and Accounts

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Land release

By December 2018, land to provide capacity for 3,033 houses has been scored against the target (including 2,278 service family homes and single living accommodation) and land for up to a further 3,500 units has been transferred to Homes England.

Source: Ministry of Defence

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

This figure is based on the amount of land that has been scored for release meaning they have reasonable planning certainty, and a contract with the private sector for their sale is in place for 2020.

Innovation proposals received by Defence and Security Accelerator

Year Number of proposals received
2017 to 18 700

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 - 18

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Research and development expenditure

Year MOD research and development total net expenditure at current prices
2016 to 17 £1,623 million
2015 to 16 £1,636 million
2014 to 15 £1,704 million

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 - 18

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

4. Transform the way we do business

Lead minister

The Rt Hon The Earl Howe, Minister of State in the House of Lords

Lead officials

David Goldstone, Chief Operating Officer

Cat Little, Director General Finance

Our aim is to transform the way we do business to maintain momentum on strengthening and modernising defence. We aim to create financial headroom for modernisation whilst continuing to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our services, including implementing Functional Leadership across MOD.

How will we achieve this
Deliver savings and efficiencies across defence by implementing the new portfolio approach to transformation
Ensure that the defence programme is balanced, affordable and cost effective
Deliver a modernised and reformed Department of State by developing an improved defence operating model that is fit for today and in the future
Over the next 10 years we will spend £178 billion on defence equipment and equipment support and provide annual reporting and assurance of the defence equipment programme
Work to ensure that public appointments made by defence contribute to realising the ambition that by 2022, 50% of all public appointees are female and 14% of all public appointments made are from ethnic minorities
Contribute to ‘greening’ government and construction strategy objectives (contributes to SGD 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 15)

Our performance

Annual spend on defence equipment and equipment support

Over the next 10 years we will spend £178 billionn on defence equipment and equipment support.

Year Spend on defence equipment and equipment support from 2016 to 17
2017 to 18 £15.3 billion
2016 to 17 £14.7 billion

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 - 18

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Total 10 year planned expenditure on equipment and support, includes:

Category Planned expenditure on equipment and support between 2018 to 2028
Submarines (all submarines and atomic weapons establishment) £44.6 billion
Information systems and services £24.8 billion
Ships (for example T45s, T26s, Queen Elizabeth Carrier, Support Shipping) £19.5 billion
Air Support (for example Voyager, A400M, C130) £18.6 billion
Land equipment (for example AJAX and personal equipment) £18.4 billion
Combat Air (for example Typhoon, Tornado, F-35) £17.8 billion
Weapons (for example air and sea launched missiles) £13.8 billion
Helicopters (for example Merlin, Apache, Chinook) £9.6 billion
Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (air traffic management and multiple small programmes) £4.9 billion
Naval Bases £3.2 billion
Logistic Delivery £2.2 billion
Other £2.5 billion
Departmental contingency allocated to equipment plan £5.1 billion
Nuclear-related contingency dedicated to nuclear programme £1.1 billion
Logistic Delivery £2.2 billion

Source: Defence Equipment Plan 2018

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

People survey engagement score

Year Engagement score
2018 61%
2017 58%
2016 58%

Source: Civil servive people survey

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

MOD civil service representation of female staff, ethnic minority staff and disabled staff

Year Female Ethnic minority Disability
2018 42.9% 4.8% 11.7%
2017 42.0% 4.6% 11.2%
2016 41.1% 4.3% 10.7%

Sources: MOD Civilian Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Biannual

Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard (disability figures)

Release schedule: Quarterly

Human security including women, peace and security agenda

Year Milestone
In 2018 all roles in armed forces open to women
  women make up around 7% of those the UK deploys on UN peacekeeping missions (more than twice the UN average)
  each year the British Peace Support Team provides training on sexual and gender violence to over 7,000 African peacekeeping personnel
  short term training teams provided gender sensitive training to over 7,500 Kurdish Peshmerga in Iraq
  over 100 female graduates from Afghan National Army Officer Academy
Since 2016 commencement of a phased approach to enable women to serve in ground combat roles

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2017 to 18

(Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Greening government commitments 2016 to 2020

Year Total emissions reduction
2017/2018 36%
2016/2017 27%

Percentage reductions against a 2009/10 baseline.

Source: Sustainable MOD Annual Report

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: Annual

Percentage of procurement spend allocated to SMEs

Year Percentage of total spend
2018 16.5%
2017 13.1%
2016 16.1%

Source: Central government spend with SMEs data

(Non-Official Statistic)

Release schedule: annually

5. Support delivery of EU Exit

Lead ministers

The Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, Secretary of State for Defence

Lead officials

Angus Lapsley, Director General Strategy and International

How will we achieve this
We will support the government to deliver on the referendum vote to get control of our money, borders and laws, while building a strong new relationship with Europe
We will manage the department’s response to EU exit, identify risks and opportunities, support HMG’s negotiations, and continue to develop our bilateral and multilateral relationships through defence engagement, including options for enhanced relationships as we continue to work closely with European states
We will ensure the continued delivery of defence outputs and will be prepared to support wider government as the UK leaves the EU

Public value framework

To support the delivery of our objectives, we will be improving our performance against the Public Value Framework in the following areas: understanding vision and goals, implementing planning and monitoring progress, managing financial resources, improving quality of data and forecasts, building workforce capability and capacity.

Our equality objectives

MOD SDP Equality Objectives

Our vision is that defence harnesses the power of difference to deliver capability that safeguards our nation’s security and stability.

Defence is committed to meeting the goals that have been set out in its Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (D&I) 2018 to 2030: A Force for Inclusion.

  1. to be an inclusive employer where all staff can fulfil their potential and feel confident that their unique perspectives and talents will be valued;

  2. to be an organisation that, at all levels, appropriately represents UK society; and

  3. to be recognised as a force for inclusion in wider society.

The goals are supported by a range of challenging objectives (and commitments) which clearly set out where we want to see change (detailed in the D&I Strategy).

MOD endeavours to be aware of how civilians are impacted by conflict. The presence of human-trafficking, sexual violence in conflict and child soldiers in operations must be understood by British personnel and planned for.

In addition, to ensure gender and related perspectives are integrated in to the MOD’s operational planning, we will train at least 60 UK Human Security Advisers each year and share best practice with 20 international students better to consider these matters overseas, including in National Action Plan focus countries.

Our finance

Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL): £47.98 billion

Resource DEL (including depreciation): £38.2 billion

Capital DEL: £9.78 billion

Annually Managed Expenditure (AME): £1.5 billion

Control totals included in this document are in line with those presented in the Main Supply Estimates 2019 to 2020 and are currently subject to Parliamentary approval. Any changes arising from the Parliamentary approval process will be reflected in due course.

Source: Main Supply Estimates 2019 to 20

Our people

As at 31 December 2018, the Ministry of Defence had 247,900 employees.

Source: UK Armed Forces Service Personnel Statistics

Release schedule: quarterly

(Official Statistic)

Source: MOD Biannual Civilian Personnel Report 2018

Release schedule: Biannual

(Official Statistic)

Note

Many of the figures included are official statistics. Other figures have been quality assured, although they have not undergone the full quality assurance process that would be used for official statistics.