Rules for buying new military equipment need to be rewritten to benefit British workers, a union warned today.
A 60-page report, ‘Design, build and maintain: Effective defence procurement’, from the Prospect union calls on ministers to give more weight to the “social value” of contract bids.
It comes after a string of armed forces’ equipment deals were handed to foreign firms, including the £1.6billion contract for three Fleet Solid Support ships - sparking claims the Government was “betraying” UK companies.
Prospect’s senior deputy general secretary Sue Ferns said: “The British defence procurement process is broken and does virtually nothing to promote and sustain domestic business, unlike other countries.
“We need a complete overhaul of the system so we can put UK jobs and the economy at the heart of the bidding process.
“Only by changing the way we do things will we secure sovereign capacity and support the defence jobs of the future.
“We call on all political parties to adopt these proposals and demonstrate their commitment to those communities who rely on defence jobs.”
The union, which represents 11,000 scientists, engineers and managers across the industry, in the public and private sector, accuses the Government of doing “far less to boost its own defence industry when deciding contracts than other countries”.
It says: “This means we are not getting value for money and the economy is losing out.
“While the UK says it gives more weight to the ‘social value’ of contract bids, there is no evidence that it actually does so, instead giving too much weight to baseline cost.”
It wants a shake-up so a wider range of reasons for excluding foreign bidders from contract competitions can be used, with a system that automatically favours British companies.
The report recommends “amending the regulations and guidance” to send “an important signal that culture change is necessary by changing the legislation and guidance to achieve a UK by default approach”.
“There is an opportunity to reframe the procurement rules in a way that makes a real difference to outcomes while retaining a rigorous process of independent auditing of major projects,” says the study.
“Currently the playing field is not level. The UK Government does not provide the same support for UK companies that other countries provide for their defence industries.
“Prospect feels that a more fundamental review of procurement regulations is required.
“Government should still strive to achieve value for money, but this needs to be balanced by a stronger commitment to a wider industrial strategic goal of developing UK industry.”
Labour has pledged to design, build and buy more military equipment in Britain if it gets into power.
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “It is inaccurate to say that we don’t do enough to support British industry.
“We have a strong relationship with the UK’s defence industry and in 2021/22 invested nearly £21.1 billion in contracts with UK defence companies, both large and small.
“We always strive to balance the needs of our Armed Forces whilst driving prosperity for the UK and have a strong pipeline of work with British industry that will support our military capability for decades to come.”
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