§ Lord BachMy right honourable friend the Minister of State for Defence (Mr Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
Six key targets have been set for the chief executive of the Defence Procurement Agency for the financial year 2004–05.
In a change to previous years, the first three key targets now apply to all projects over £20 million which have passed their main gate approval but not yet achieved in service date (ISD). Key targets 2 and 3 are consistent with the goals set in the department's public service agreement (PSA) for major equipment projects, although for the key targets, all movement in most likely ISD and cost forecasts will be measured, rather than only that which is in excess of the approval. The fourth key target relates to improvements in DPA customer satisfaction. A revised key target 5, comprising a basket of measures, replaces the previous straight measure in order to provide a better indication of DPA efficiency. There is a new sixth key target reflecting the importance which the department attaches to delivery of assets to the front-line. The key targets are:
Key Target 1: Key requirements compliance
Predicted achievement of customers' core requirements1 for projects: 97 per cent.
102WSKey Target 2: Average in-year in service date slippage
Average in-year slippage of in service dates not to exceed 0.9 months.
Key Target 3: Average in-year cost growth
Average in-year cost variation not to exceed 0.5 per cent.
Key Target 4: Customer survey satisfaction rating
Customer satisfaction rating of 72 per cent.
Key Target 5: Achievement of planned efficiency measures2
(i) Measures asset turnover in months by comparing assets delivered to total assets less current liabilities 69.6 (ii) Measures value of assets delivered as a multiple of operating cost 10.7 (iii) Measures value of assets added to the balance sheet as a multiple of operating cost. 16.2 Key Target 6: Asset deliveries
Variance between planned and actual in-year asset deliveries not to exceed 15 per cent.
1 Around 10 core requirements per projects are agreed between the DPA and MoD headquarters, defining the essential characteristics of the equipment/capability.
2 Target levels differ from those in the published Corporate Business Plan as they reflect start of year forecast data.