HC Deb 19 May 1994 vol 243 c575W
Dr. David Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 10 May,Official Report, column 131, if he will make a statement on the senior levels of the chain of command that are involved in making central assessments of operational capability and to what extent those elements of the chain of command involved in making central assessments of operational capability include (a) civilians and (b) Ministers.

Mr. Hanley

Central assessments of operational capability in MOD are informed by reports rendered up the chain of command; including reports by senior officers who hold higher level and top level budgets—TLBs. Service TLB holders, including the front-line commanders in chief, sit on the predominantly military service executive committees whose own performance reports from the major contributions on operational capability, to the periodic central assessments reported to Ministers.