HighlandSniper58
21-07-04, 13:15
Hoon pays advisers hundreds of millions to help cut armed forces
JAMES KIRKUP
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT - THE SCOTSMAN
GEOFF Hoon, the Defence Secretary, is spending hundreds of millions of pounds on private consultants, advisers and accountants, as he prepares to cut the front-line armed forces to save money.
Mr Hoon will tell MPs today that a tighter defence budget and the need to modernise the armed forces will require changes that could mean that some of Scotland’s historic regiments cease to exist as independent fighting units.
Cuts in spending on new aircraft and a shake-up of the RAF may also lead to the closure of at least one Scottish airbase, with Leuchars in Fife and Kinloss in Moray both being tipped for the axe.
The plans have sparked outrage among the armed forces and in parliament, where MPs of all parties have warned that the plans jeopardise British military operations around the world.
MoD insiders say they have no choice since, despite being given a larger-than-expected allowance in last week’s spending review, a new accounting system has left the ministry short of cash.
Figures obtained by The Scotsman yesterday showed that in the financial year that ended in April 2003, the MoD spent £262 million on external advisers, seeking help from the private sector on issues including media relations.
The MoD sought outside help despite the fact that the Treasury says it has too many civil servants. Civilian officials now outnumber soldiers, and Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, last month ordered the MoD to shed up to 30,000 bureaucrats as part of his review of Whitehall spending.
The figures for MoD spending are contained in the ministry’s External Assistance Estimate, which is released annually. But, risking allegations of trying to bury bad news, the MoD said yesterday figures for the year that ended in April this year are still being compiled and will be completed "in a few weeks".
By then, Mr Hoon’s controversial statement will be behind him and the House of Commons will have risen for the summer break, meaning there will be no chance for MPs to question ministers about their spending.
In any case, the MoD figures are far from easy to find: despite ministers’ assurances that the reports are placed in the House of Commons Library, the library said yesterday that it had not received any spending figures since 2002, and MPs, including Keith Simpson, a Tory defence spokesman, said they had been unable to obtain recent data.
"They make it as hard as possible to obtain this sort of information," Mr Simpson said.
After The Scotsman obtained the 2002-3 spending figures from within the ministry, a spokesman suggested that the reports had been "misfiled" in the Commons library. Officials refused to estimate the size of the most recent consultancy bill, though recent parliamentary answers have provided some piecemeal clues.
One such disclosure this month showed that in the 12 months to April, the MoD paid £39.5 million to four of the accountancy firms that advise its officials on private finance initiatives and public-private partnerships.
Such costs make up a large part of the consultancy bill, but there are other components too: in 2002-3, the ministry spent £43 million on management consultants and advisers, £48 million on information technology advice and £13 million on human-resources services, including £2 million on recruitment consultants.
"At a time when we are anticipating cuts to our armed forces, and regiments are at risk, many people will wonder how the MoD managed to spend such a large sum," said Sir Menzies Campbell, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Scottish MPs, including Rachel Squire, the deputy chairwoman of the Commons defence committee, have expressed fears that the MoD plans could threaten the Rosyth dockyard in Fife.
However, Babcock, the yard’s owners revealed yesterday that they had won another MoD contract to refit HMS Kent, a type 23 frigate, which will help to keep the yard working until next autumn.
Angus Robertson, the SNP defence spokesman whose Moray constituency includes RAF bases at Kinloss and Lossiemouth, said he feared that even Mr Hoon’s statement today would not provide clarity about the future of the armed forces, because the final detail of cuts could be left to senior military personnel.
"Scotland's servicemen and women have been left guessing about their future. That lack of clarity is playing havoc on personnel, their families, communities and veterans," he said. "This treatment by the UK government is unacceptable."
JAMES KIRKUP
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT - THE SCOTSMAN
GEOFF Hoon, the Defence Secretary, is spending hundreds of millions of pounds on private consultants, advisers and accountants, as he prepares to cut the front-line armed forces to save money.
Mr Hoon will tell MPs today that a tighter defence budget and the need to modernise the armed forces will require changes that could mean that some of Scotland’s historic regiments cease to exist as independent fighting units.
Cuts in spending on new aircraft and a shake-up of the RAF may also lead to the closure of at least one Scottish airbase, with Leuchars in Fife and Kinloss in Moray both being tipped for the axe.
The plans have sparked outrage among the armed forces and in parliament, where MPs of all parties have warned that the plans jeopardise British military operations around the world.
MoD insiders say they have no choice since, despite being given a larger-than-expected allowance in last week’s spending review, a new accounting system has left the ministry short of cash.
Figures obtained by The Scotsman yesterday showed that in the financial year that ended in April 2003, the MoD spent £262 million on external advisers, seeking help from the private sector on issues including media relations.
The MoD sought outside help despite the fact that the Treasury says it has too many civil servants. Civilian officials now outnumber soldiers, and Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, last month ordered the MoD to shed up to 30,000 bureaucrats as part of his review of Whitehall spending.
The figures for MoD spending are contained in the ministry’s External Assistance Estimate, which is released annually. But, risking allegations of trying to bury bad news, the MoD said yesterday figures for the year that ended in April this year are still being compiled and will be completed "in a few weeks".
By then, Mr Hoon’s controversial statement will be behind him and the House of Commons will have risen for the summer break, meaning there will be no chance for MPs to question ministers about their spending.
In any case, the MoD figures are far from easy to find: despite ministers’ assurances that the reports are placed in the House of Commons Library, the library said yesterday that it had not received any spending figures since 2002, and MPs, including Keith Simpson, a Tory defence spokesman, said they had been unable to obtain recent data.
"They make it as hard as possible to obtain this sort of information," Mr Simpson said.
After The Scotsman obtained the 2002-3 spending figures from within the ministry, a spokesman suggested that the reports had been "misfiled" in the Commons library. Officials refused to estimate the size of the most recent consultancy bill, though recent parliamentary answers have provided some piecemeal clues.
One such disclosure this month showed that in the 12 months to April, the MoD paid £39.5 million to four of the accountancy firms that advise its officials on private finance initiatives and public-private partnerships.
Such costs make up a large part of the consultancy bill, but there are other components too: in 2002-3, the ministry spent £43 million on management consultants and advisers, £48 million on information technology advice and £13 million on human-resources services, including £2 million on recruitment consultants.
"At a time when we are anticipating cuts to our armed forces, and regiments are at risk, many people will wonder how the MoD managed to spend such a large sum," said Sir Menzies Campbell, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Scottish MPs, including Rachel Squire, the deputy chairwoman of the Commons defence committee, have expressed fears that the MoD plans could threaten the Rosyth dockyard in Fife.
However, Babcock, the yard’s owners revealed yesterday that they had won another MoD contract to refit HMS Kent, a type 23 frigate, which will help to keep the yard working until next autumn.
Angus Robertson, the SNP defence spokesman whose Moray constituency includes RAF bases at Kinloss and Lossiemouth, said he feared that even Mr Hoon’s statement today would not provide clarity about the future of the armed forces, because the final detail of cuts could be left to senior military personnel.
"Scotland's servicemen and women have been left guessing about their future. That lack of clarity is playing havoc on personnel, their families, communities and veterans," he said. "This treatment by the UK government is unacceptable."