§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the title, the principal author, or the name of the committee involved and the subject area of those reports and inquiries made into the organisation, structure and administration of the Ministry of Defence since 1970; and how many of these reports were published or otherwise made available to the House.
§ Mr. PattieThe three major inquiries into the organisation, structure and administration of the Ministry of Defence since 1970 have been: 315W
Headquarters organisation committee (HOC), 1969–71: to review the organisation and methods of working of the Ministry of Defence headquarters and its relationship with military command headquarters and other major establishments. The committee's report was not published, but the major recommendations were discussed in the statements on the Defence Estimates 1970 and 1971 (Cmnd. 4290 and 4592, respectively).Rayner project team, 1970–71: to examine inter alia how best to organise the integration of all defence research, development and procurement activities under the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Defence—leading to the creation of the procurement executive. The report was published as a White Paper (Cmnd. 4641).Management review, 1975–76: to examine the efficiency and effectiveness of the Ministry of Defence's organisation and management, including the planning and control of resources. The steering committee report was not published, but submitted in evidence to, and considered by, the Expenditure Committee (Defence and External Affairs Sub-Committee) in July 1977.Different aspects of the Ministry's organisation and structure have been under more detailed review since the unified Ministry of Defence was created in 1964 most recently under the Rayner scrutiny programme; and since 1970 headquarters numbers have been reduced by some 22 per cent.