CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL DEFENCE ESTABLISHMENT (Hansard, 30 March 1994)

§ Lord Annaly

The Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down is responsible for research to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the threat that chemical and biological weapons may be used against them. He has been set the following challenging key performance targets for 1994–95:

1. To deliver to time 90 per cent. of the programme milestones agreed with the customers and have the work rated by the customer as meeting or exceeding the agreed objectives.
2. To respond to 85 per cent. of requests accepted for unplanned urgent advice within the timescales negotiated at the outset.
3. To deliver the agreed work programme within the aggregate of the programme costs agreed with each customer (including individual package customers within the applied research programme).
4. To increase the overall efficiency of CBDE by reducing net expenditure, as shown in the net expenditure account, by 1 per cent.
5. To develop, in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence, an appropriate system of trading to provide greater empowerment of the customer by April 1995.
6. To continue the agreed market testing programme with the objective of placing the service level agreement contract by 31 March 1995.
7. To survey customers to identify appropriate measures of the quality of service provided by CBDE to the Ministry of Defence, and conduct a full customer satisfaction survey on the basis of these measures by March 1995.
8. To develop a strategy for a formal quality plan for the conduct of all research carried out at CBDE. This will include: standards of planning, management, execution and reporting of the work to the customer; measures of customer satisfaction; and peer review of scientific rigour, novelty and innovation.