HC Deb 06 March 2000 vol 345 cc491-2W
Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list(a) those targets of the Army Base Repair Organisation for 1998–99 which (i) were and (ii) were not achieved, giving the factors affecting the outcome in each case and (b) action taken by the agency to improve target achievement performance in 1999–2000; and if he will make a statement. [111766]

Dr. Moonie

This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Army Base Repair Organisation. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the right hon. and learned Member.

Letter from J. R. Drew to Mr. Menzie Campbell, dated 6 March 2000: I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about (a) those targets of the Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO) for 1998/99 which (i) were and (ii) were not achieved, giving factors affecting the outcome in each case and (b) the action taken by the agency to improve target achievement performance in 1999/00. This falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive. The performance of the Agency against its Key Targets is published each in the ABRO Report and Accounts; a document that receives wide distribution to those within ABRO's sector of the defence community. In 1998/99 ABRO was set the five key targets listed at the Annex to this letter and achieved the required level of performance against all but one of them. In 1999/2000 ABRO has continued to focus on the delivery of service to the Armed Forces. At the same time, following the announcement in the Strategic Defence Review that ABRO should become a Trading Fund, a challenging change programme is being pursued to get the Agency to where it needs to be in order to vest as a Trading Fund. The Agency is on target to commence shadow trading with the Ministry of Defence on a progressive basis from April 2001. Formal Trading Fund Vesting is planned for April 2002. A full record of Agency activities and progress, including performance against its targets, will be included in the Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2000, which will be available later in the year. I will ensure that you receive a copy.

ABRO Performance against its key targets for 1998/99:

Key target 1—Throughput Target To deliver a responsive service which matches the needs of the customer in peace and for operations to the agreed timeliness, quantity and quality criteria, to the maximum extent possible with available resources. Result—achieved

Key target 2—Financial Performance Target To remain within ABRO's allocated budget Result—not achieved The allocated cash budget for the Agency was £141.6M, while spend amounted to £144.8M, which was 2.3% over allocation. This exceeds the +/-1.5% tolerance set as the performance indicator for this target. However ABRO deliberately brought forward planned capital expenditure from 1999/00 to 1998/99 and this action contributed to higher budgetary level requirements. Consequently, it had an unfortunately effect upon the ABRO key target.

Key target 3—Efficiency Target To reduce the ratio of labour costs to hours of production by 2% from those of the averaged last three years. Result—achieved

Key target 4—Quality Target To deliver objective measures of customer satisfaction Result—achieved

Key target 5—Milestone Target To deliver an Implementation plan embracing the endorsed recommendations from the Agency and ES Next Steps Reviews. Result—achieved.