§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the target is for efficiency savings in 2003–04 expressed(a) in money terms and (b) as a percentage of the Departments expenditure limit. [114128]
§ Mr. IngramThe efficiency target set for the Department in its 2002 Public Service Agreement is to increase value for money by making improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of the key processes supporting the delivery of military capability, such as training, equipment acquisition, and logistics. In percentage terms, the Department aims to achieve output efficiency averaging 2.5 per cent. per annum over the period from 2002–03 to 2005–06.
Because this target is set in terms of output efficiency, and because it applies to the processes supporting the delivery of military capability, and not to the overall Defence budget, it cannot be meaningfully expressed as savings in money terms or as a percentage of the Departments expenditure limit.