Government must 'move at pace' to be war-ready in 1,000 days, peers warn

Andy Burnham’s Government must go “further and faster” to prepare Britain for the possibility of war within 1,000 days, a group of peers has warned.

The Lords Industry and Regulators Committee warned that industry would be unable to “move quickly enough” to protect the UK unless ministers overhaul their “buyer-seller” relationship with companies and encourage regulators to scrap “overly prescriptive” rules.

In a report published on Wednesday, the committee also called for investors to be given “more certainty” over the timing and nature of contracts to unlock funding.

Peers demanded a “significant shift in the culture” at the Ministry of Defence, accusing it of having “too often focused on the comfort blanket of following process rather than delivering capability at speed.”

They urged the department to become “more comfortable” with taking risks when procuring military capabilities and to look beyond simply securing the lowest cost when assessing value for money.

“When procuring innovative capabilities, the Government should consider funding a number of companies working on the same problem to ensure greater industrial resilience and capacity,” the report said.

“Much of the bureaucracy and process in defence procurement was intended to reduce the risk of wasting public money. This has slowed down procurement without obviously reducing waste.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham

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“The Ministry of Defence must become more comfortable with greater flexibility and risk in its procurement of new capabilities, accepting that the finished product might not be as initially envisaged, that failure can be instructive, and that speed can be more important than cost management.”

“If the Government continues its arm’s-length, buyer-seller relationship with industry delivering against detailed and prescriptive technical specifications, industry will not be able to move quickly enough to exploit fast-developing technology or to protect the UK in the event of war,” the report said.

“The Ministry of Defence must improve its ability to work with the defence industry on a quicker, more informal basis to improve outcomes. It should consult earlier in process, before requirements become fixed.”

‘The Ministry of Defence must improve its ability to work with the defence industry on a quicker, more informal basis to improve outcomes,’ peers warned

The committee welcomed the Government’s adoption of the 2025 strategic defence review’s recommendation of a new partnership with industry and said its recommendations focus on “where the Government must go further and faster”.

Chancellor John Healey committed the Government to spending 3% of economic output on defence by 2030 in his November budget and said next year’s spending review would plot a course to reach the target.

Baroness Hayter, chair of the Industry and Regulators Committee said: “Last year the Strategic Defence Review called for a new relationship between government and the defence industry to reflect the urgency of rebuilding the UK’s defence strength to meet the challenges and changing nature of warfare demonstrated so clearly by the war in Ukraine.

“Whilst we welcome recognition of the need for change within the Ministry of Defence, it must accelerate, embrace new technologies and enhance the role of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), whilst ensuring the skilled workforce needed to deliver this change.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting previously warned that Britain must be ready for war in 1,000 days as Russia ramps up its hybrid warfare against Nato.

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“With ongoing threats from Russia and other malign actors, the Government must show the necessary leadership and move at pace to achieve the Defence Secretary’s target of being ready for action within 1,000 days and use the December 1 Defence Investment Summit to provide certainty to business to drive the new partnership forward.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “This Government is delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, investing almost £300 billion to transform our Armed Forces to warfighting readiness to keep Britain safe.

“We are driving reforms to deliver capability faster, secure better value for money, and strengthen the UK defence industrial base.

“This includes increasing spending with SMEs by £2.5 billion and our Office for Small Business Growth is reducing barriers to entry, helping more SMEs win defence contracts and backing British firms.”