The Parliamentary Committee on Defense stated that outsourcing is a standard position of the ministry, with virtually no consideration of internal services.
The Defense Ministry was not always ready to intervene and ensure compliance with expected standards, the committee said, adding that the “absurd state of affairs” was that the military department was not allowed to look at the contractor’s preliminary performance when evaluating the application. matters that need to be “fixed immediately”.
The Defense Fire and Rescue Service was cited as an example of an outsourcing service that would benefit from a Ministry of Defense review, with the potential reduction in crew numbers in the future and more volunteer outings.
Capita, the contractor, is beginning to abandon its standards, the committee said in a report.
He added that contractors were “dropping standards and pressuring employees to boost profits”.
Committee member Marc Francois, a former Portsmouth minister, said: “The performance of some subcontractors is well known in both industry and the defense community.
“Given the determination of the Ministry of Defense to go ahead with the outsourcing of ancillary services, the absurd state is that it is impossible to take into account the past performance of the bidder.
“Ministers must use the procurement bill announced in the Queen’s speech to change the rules for concluding new contracts.”
The report regrets that employees working on subcontracts often feel excluded from the “broad family of protection,” even if their roles are an integral part of the service.
Concerns were also expressed by key union bodies representing thousands of defense officials.
In particular, the working conditions of outsourcing employees are worse than those of their directly employed colleagues, with lower wages and benefits, the report said.
The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Defense ensure that contract staff receive employment contracts comparable to those working directly.
A Capita spokesman said: “We are proud to be working with Defense Fire and Rescue to modernize and transform the Ministry of Defense’s fire and rescue capabilities. Evidence shows that our supplies under this contract are strong.
“We have invested £ 85 million in new firefighting machines, digital technology, personal protective equipment and improved training tools that improve firefighting capabilities while reducing risk to our firefighters, Ministry of Defense staff and critical military equipment.
“Our joint recommendations on the level of resources at any facility of the Ministry of Defense must be approved by the Ministry of Defense and ultimately approved by the military leadership team of a particular facility. Any such decision will be the result of a careful fire risk review. “
A Defense Department spokesman added: “We use a range of staff and contract staff to provide defense findings with maximum cost to taxpayers but without compromising service or security.
“Our contracts ensure that staff are paid fairly – in accordance with government regulations – and contract support staff often have higher education and career prospects than domestic services.”
