Asked by: Caroline Flint (Labour - Don Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department's invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between his Department and private companies are held by SMEs.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) aims to pay 80% of its invoices within five working days and payment performance is published on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence/about/procurement#ministry-of-defence-payment-performance. This shows that during the first three quarters of 2015-16, the MOD paid around 97% of its invoices within five days and 99.9% within 30 days. A comprehensive breakdown of the proportion of invoice payments made to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to private companies is not held.
Information on MOD contracting with SMEs is also published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015. This shows that in 2014-15, the MOD placed around 440 new contracts directly with SMEs, with a collective value of around £320 million.
Asked by: Caroline Flint (Labour - Don Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to introduce greater speed and efficiency in the handling of complaints made to the armed forces by injured veterans.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Serving or former members of the UK Armed Forces can make a complaint if they feel that they have been wronged on a matter that arises when they are, or were, subject to Service law.
The Ministry of Defence worked closely with the first Service Complaints Commissioner, to see how the Service complaints process could be made more efficient whilst maintaining fairness, and strengthening the Commissioner role. This was the basis of the Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill which received Royal Assent on 26 March 2015.
This Act shortens the complaints process, and replaces the Commissioner with a new Service Complaints Ombudsman. Implementation is expected early in 2016. The Ombudsman will have significant new powers through which we will be held to account for the fairness, effectiveness and efficiency of how the system operates.