Post by Editor on Aug 4, 2013 5:53:35 GMT
MoD spends £500 million on 'advisers' using money diverted from buying equipment in Afghanistan
Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request
Amount spent on ‘External Assistance’ has doubled in the past two years
By SEAN RAYMENT
PUBLISHED: 23:07, 3 August 2013 | UPDATED: 01:10, 4 August 2013
Defence chiefs have spent more than £500 million on lawyers and consultants while making thousands of troops redundant.
Most of the money has been siphoned off a budget that should have been used to pay for equipment in Afghanistan.
Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request reveal that the amount spent by the Ministry of Defence on ‘External Assistance’ – lawyers, management consultants, accountants and IT experts – has doubled in the past two years.
The Ministry of Defence's Main Building in London's Whitehall. Defence chiefs have spent over £500¿million on lawyers and consultants while making thousands of troops redundant
Spending concerns: The Ministry of Defence's Main Building in London's Whitehall. Defence chiefs have spent over £500¿million on lawyers and consultants while making thousands of troops redundant
Sources said that some consultants are now being paid as much as £4,000 a day for work previously done by civil servants.
The cost of External Assistance rose from £19 million in 2011/12 to £44.6 million in 2012/13.
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But by far the biggest expenditure was on Framework Agreements for Technical Support (FATS) – the cost of which comes from the MoD’s equipment budget. As much as £455 million has been spent on FATS since 2011.
FATS were introduced in 2009 by the Labour Government to speed up large-scale projects by making it easier to hire ‘highly technical’ experts.
Most of the money has been siphoned off a budget that should have been used to pay for equipment in Afghanistan (file picture)
Most of the money has been siphoned off a budget that should have been used to pay for equipment in Afghanistan (file picture)
There are now 331 approved firms providing a wide range of services to the MoD. Details of the cost can be revealed as the MoD slashes manpower by 30,000 troops and 29,000 civilian officials.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former Commander in Afghanistan, said: ‘It is incredible that the MOD, so bloated with its own civil servants, lawyers and military staff, many of whom are doing jobs that do not need to be done, should be spending such huge amounts of taxpayers’ money on bringing in even more help from outside.’
Steve Jary, national secretary for trade union Prospect, called the MoD situation a ‘sorry mess’.
An MoD spokesman said: ‘Spend on external assistance has risen because of specific short-term programmes that require particular skills for short periods of time.’
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2384178/MoD-spends-500-million-advisers-using-money-diverted-buying-equipment-Afghanistan.html#ixzz2ayd0tAaA
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Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request
Amount spent on ‘External Assistance’ has doubled in the past two years
By SEAN RAYMENT
PUBLISHED: 23:07, 3 August 2013 | UPDATED: 01:10, 4 August 2013
Defence chiefs have spent more than £500 million on lawyers and consultants while making thousands of troops redundant.
Most of the money has been siphoned off a budget that should have been used to pay for equipment in Afghanistan.
Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request reveal that the amount spent by the Ministry of Defence on ‘External Assistance’ – lawyers, management consultants, accountants and IT experts – has doubled in the past two years.
The Ministry of Defence's Main Building in London's Whitehall. Defence chiefs have spent over £500¿million on lawyers and consultants while making thousands of troops redundant
Spending concerns: The Ministry of Defence's Main Building in London's Whitehall. Defence chiefs have spent over £500¿million on lawyers and consultants while making thousands of troops redundant
Sources said that some consultants are now being paid as much as £4,000 a day for work previously done by civil servants.
The cost of External Assistance rose from £19 million in 2011/12 to £44.6 million in 2012/13.
More...
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From acid tabs to illegal raves: Former soldier lifts the lid on the hedonistic exploits of young servicemen seeking escape from the horrors of the Troubles
But by far the biggest expenditure was on Framework Agreements for Technical Support (FATS) – the cost of which comes from the MoD’s equipment budget. As much as £455 million has been spent on FATS since 2011.
FATS were introduced in 2009 by the Labour Government to speed up large-scale projects by making it easier to hire ‘highly technical’ experts.
Most of the money has been siphoned off a budget that should have been used to pay for equipment in Afghanistan (file picture)
Most of the money has been siphoned off a budget that should have been used to pay for equipment in Afghanistan (file picture)
There are now 331 approved firms providing a wide range of services to the MoD. Details of the cost can be revealed as the MoD slashes manpower by 30,000 troops and 29,000 civilian officials.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former Commander in Afghanistan, said: ‘It is incredible that the MOD, so bloated with its own civil servants, lawyers and military staff, many of whom are doing jobs that do not need to be done, should be spending such huge amounts of taxpayers’ money on bringing in even more help from outside.’
Steve Jary, national secretary for trade union Prospect, called the MoD situation a ‘sorry mess’.
An MoD spokesman said: ‘Spend on external assistance has risen because of specific short-term programmes that require particular skills for short periods of time.’
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2384178/MoD-spends-500-million-advisers-using-money-diverted-buying-equipment-Afghanistan.html#ixzz2ayd0tAaA
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