Speeches by Scrogham.

“Does anybody else want to comment on whether there is a particular sector that is affected more than others?”

“On the investment plan, which is much talked about and very delayed, you talk about some of the contracts, but industry needs to know exactly where that money will be spent before they prioritise. We are already hearing from some businesses that they are shedding staff. This is a time when we need to be taking on more …”

“We have already heard that it is with the MoD. So the Treasury has passed it to you, it is with you, and it seems that it is stuck in the system somewhere. What is causing the delay?”

““As soon as we can” does not help those businesses that are having to make tough choices right now. We have planned for future wars in 2029, 2035—whenever it is going to be—but we are now looking at having to be warfighting ready and need stockpiles of munitions. We need these decisions to be made now. If this is just …”

“I have a really quick question. How quickly can you shift your policies when it comes to prioritising? We recently visited Plymouth, where we have very little space for graving docks for maintenance, yet we have a problem with the number of Astutes at sea. How quickly would you shift a decision to, say, take apart one …”

“I have one final question and I will leave it there. Would you agree that although the DIP is in the process of being delivered, and however well you want to deliver it, the delay is damaging small businesses and our supply chain?”

“You talked about the pace of change, which does not sound very fast; I do not think the MoD could be accused of moving swiftly at the moment. At NATO headquarters earlier this year, Elbridge Colby discussed that pace and told European allies that they needed to prioritise warfighting effectiveness over bureaucratic and…”

“Yes, we only have to look at the Dreadnought programme to see how that happens.”

“That was a really simple question. When are you going to produce it? And would you agree that the longer the DIP is delayed, the more expensive these programmes become?”

“With all the delays that happen within MoD, that makes procurement much more expensive. Although we are looking at the DIP and making sure that you get it right, would you agree that ultimately the longer it is delayed, the more expensive all of these programmes become?”

“We get that. What I am saying is—”

“We have heard that so many times—“flat out”. Could you tell us a time?”

“I realise that; we go back to the same answer. But what I am trying to get across—”

“Okay. When these are all sliding to the right and going into the red, and you were talking about damage to the supply chain and issues that slow other things down, would you agree that every day that the DIP is not produced matters? We have got a saying in BAE: every day counts. What do you think the cost of delaying t…”

“Would you agree that past delays in decision making within Government and the MoD slowed that down?”

“That would be useful. Going back to the delays and where we are with Dreadnought, would you agree that when we make decisions slowly in the MoD or in Government, that delays these programmes?”

“I have a quick question that relates to the criteria change that we have been discussing. Some of the lines have been amber, red or green for years. What has changed in the criteria that means that you have suddenly decided that they are too sensitive to be discussed? We have reported on them for a long time—Dreadnough…”

“I will leave it there, because we are clearly not getting any further on this.”

“These are all really welcome additions, but what we need is the full plan. The one business that got that contract will understand exactly what they need, but all the other defence businesses out there do not have that until you produce the plan.”

“But can you understand why we are so frustrated with the delays? Imagine, in any other business, if somebody was saying to their team that this has to be done by autumn, and it was now spring, and all they were getting back from the team was, “We are working flat out.” We have no idea of a timescale, all we hear is, “W…”