Armed Forces Chiefs each given one priority to fix before MoD can ask for more money, says Defence secretary

Malcolm Chalmers, Deputy Director of the Royal United Services Institute, said: “The strategic significance of the Cummings intervention is a signal to the MoD: ‘we don’t think you’re very efficient, so if you ask for more money you’ll have to find more savings yourself’. Historically one of the strongest weapons No. 10 and the Cabinet Office have with the MoD in budgetary discussions is to say ‘you guys don’t really have your [stuff] together so you’re not going to get any more money until you do get it together. Once they accept the MoD is running things as well as they can, then they address the capability requirements and the threat. On that terrain No. 10 and the Treasury are on weaker ground politically, but not the inefficiency ground. It puts the MoD on the defensive and does play into the spending round dialogue.”