Defence Logistics move to South West given green light

29 Sep 2006 01:15 PM

Approval for the Ministry of Defence to focus the majority of its logistics support staff in the Bristol/Bath area has today been granted by Armed Forces Minister, Adam Ingram.

It means the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) will 'collocate' a number of its key activities alongside the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA), particularly in the North Bristol area around the existing Abbey Wood site. Confirmation of this decision means the DLO will withdraw from a number of other sites around the country over the next five years.

By collocating in the Bristol/Bath area, where there are already 7,000 acquisition related jobs, MOD expects to be able to facilitate better decision-making in the early stages of acquisition and to improve through-life management of defence equipment. Collocation is expected to release around £200m for the front line over a 25 year period.

Adam Ingram, Armed Forces Minister, said:

"The collocation project has always been, at heart, about improving the management of Defence equipment and the support we provide to military operations. I am confident that today's confirmation of my earlier decision in principle will help improve that support whilst generating significant savings compared with how we currently do business.

"The decision I have taken is in the best interests of Defence as a whole. I appreciate, however, the impact it will have in some areas and the effect on MOD employees and their families. Those affected by these changes will be treated in a fair and equitable way by the MOD, and will be given appropriate support to minimise any disruption."

Collocation is part of a number of improvements to change the processes and organisational structures that support Defence, that together will lead to better support of the UK's Armed Forces. These improvements include the merger of the DLO and DPA into Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) by 1 April 2007.

Notes to Editors

1. Today's announcement follows the Armed Forces Minister's initial decision on 3 July 2006 to proceed with collocation proposals, subject to Trades Union consultation. The consultation period ran over the summer until earlier this month; the MOD will continue to keep the Trades Unions, its staff and other key stakeholders informed as the project progresses. MOD will now begin the next stage of the project, an assessment phase and a tendering process for the development of one of the Bristol sites. Further work will also be carried out to plan the withdrawals from Caversfield and RAF Wyton/Brampton. It is currently anticipated that the project will go to Main Gate in early 2008.

2. Around 19,000 staff (military and civilian) currently work for the DLO at 80 sites across the UK and abroad. It is expected that over 2000 posts will be moved to the South West by 2011. In addition, approximately 1000 Supply Chain staff will be collocated in Andover North site. Those sites affected are:

Site Approx No. of Posts due to Timeline for moves move to Bath/Bristol area
Andover 1000 2007-09
Caversfield 300 2009-10
RAF Wyton/ 500 2009-11
Brampton
Telford 400 2008-09

Footnote: A number of the posts identified as due to move in this table will be cut due to ongoing restructuring activity or because they support sites that will be vacated. This means that overall numbers moving may be slightly reduced compared to what is shown here.

3. The Secretary of State for Defence, Des Browne, announced on 3 July 2006 a number of improvements aimed at bettering the way in which the MoD manages Defence. They included that Ministers had accepted, subject to consultation, a series of recommendations made in the Enabling Acquisition Change report that were intended to improve the MOD's ability to undertake Through Life Capability Management. Consultation on the recommendations of the report has now concluded. One of the recommendations in the report was to merge the DPA and DLO from 1 April 2007. It has been decided that the merged organisation will be called Defence Equipment & Support. On formation it will be led by General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue as the first Chief of Defence Materiel. Further details are available on the MoD's website at www.mod.uk.

4. The DLO, a key element of the UK Ministry of Defence, is responsible for supporting the armed forces throughout the various stages of an operation or exercise; from training, deployment, in-theatre training and conduct of operations, through to recovery and recuperation ready for redeployment. Led by the Chief of Defence Logistics, currently a Four Star Army General, the DLO maintains and upgrades military equipment and coordinates its storage and distribution. It has an annual spend of almost £9billion, representing over 20 per cent of the Defence budget.