Moved by
Lord Coaker
138: After Clause 98, insert the following new Clause—
“Audit of Ministry of Defence procurement
(1) Within one month of the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State must commission the National Audit Office to produce and publish a report setting out any instances of Ministry of Defence procurement in the period of 5 years ending with the day on which this Act is passed that have resulted in—
(a) overspend on initially planned budgets,
(b) assets being withdrawn or scrapped or prepaid services terminated,
(c) a contract being cancelled,
(d) a contract being extended beyond the initially agreed timescale, or
(e) administrative errors which have had a negative financial impact.
(2) The National Audit Office report must include recommendations on how better management of contracts can reduce the loss of public money.
(3) Within three months of the publication of the report, the Secretary of State must report to Parliament on whether its recommendations have been accepted or rejected, with reasoning in either case.
(4) The Secretary of State must commission the National Audit Office to conduct a similar review annually.”
Member’s explanatory statement
This amendment would require an annual audit of Ministry of Defence procurement to be commissioned by the Secretary of State.