It would seem that, for once, the MoD may have learnt a lesson in the way it awards contracts to private business. The trouble is that it has taken a total of around about 14 years worth of delays and overspends exceeding £3bn. The Nation Audit Office are expected (See this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3421309.stm ) to heavily criticise the MoD for significant failures in a number of major projects, 90% of the which involve BAE Systems. MoD look set to respond by awarding the next major defence project to a company other than BAE.It doesn’t, however, seem that other areas of MoD have learnt anything from similar problems. Readers of this blog will be well aware of the many overspent, failed and high cost government projects involving EDS, most recently our own JPA. Despite this SPVA senior management seem more than happy to forge even closer ties with EDS,
The problem with the massive overspends and the cost associated with correcting failures is that it is more often than not the ordinary civil servants that suffers, or worst still the service personnel risking their lives abroad.
Arguably it is the very fact that the government has been stung by these massive overspends that have left it laughably short of funds for the things that keep soldiers alive.
Quoting from an article from bbc.co.uk
Inadequately equipping troops is "unforgivable and inexcusable", the coroner at the inquest of Captain James Philippson has said - but shortages have become a much-reported reality in military life.
A pre-Iraq war deployment exposed shortcomings with soldiers' boots that melted in the heat, vehicle engines that overheated, and rifles that jammed.
More recently, the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Conservative MP Edward Leigh, said: "I think it's well-recognised now that our troops are seriously under-supported, under-provisioned, and as a result our own troops are now being fired at because they can't take stuff in helicopters.
"They're having to use under-protected Land Rovers and people are actually dying directly as a result of this procurement failure," he told BBC's File on Four in October 2006.
Sgt Roberts gave his flak jacket to another soldier
Sgt Steven Roberts, 33, of Cornwall, was one of the first casualties in the war when he was shot during a riot in Basra in March 2003.
At his inquest in 2006, it emerged he had been ordered to give up his enhanced body armour three days before his death, due to shortages.
Assistant coroner for Oxfordshire Andrew Walker described the delays in providing body armour to troops as "unforgivable and inexcusable".
Mr Walker said: "I have heard justification and excuse and I put these to one side as I remind myself that Sgt Roberts lost his life because he did not have that basic piece of equipment."
Whilst the effect, on civil servants, of these overspends is not life-threatening they can be life changing. Pay awards have been poor, morale is low and job security is lessening daily.
As reported before staff at Innsworth are being threatened with enforced moves to a different part of the country, which rather perversely, will cost the taxpayer huge amounts of money.
Hilariously more ‘savings’ are planned by out sourcing various areas to the companies already responsible for costing the tax-payer more.
