Defence Reform Act 2014
The Defence Reform Act 2014 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has 51 sections and seven schedules, and is concerned with defence procurement and the UK Reserve Forces, particularly the Territorial Army.
Long title
The long title of an Act is of significance because it forms part of the Act, and is the 'first of the elements of an Act... that can be used to find the meaning of the Act, and generally its scope.' in future legal decisions.Territorial extent
The Bill extends to the whole of the United Kingdom. Amendments to, and repeals of, other legislation made by Part 3 have the same extent as the provisions amended or repealed. Amendments made by this Act to the Reserve Forces Act 1980, the Reserve Forces Act 1996 and the Armed Forces Act 2006 can be extended to the Channel Islands and/or the Isle of Man by provisions that already exist in those Acts.Background
The Queen's Speech on the opening of the 2013-14 session of Parliament included a reference to 'Measures...to improve the way this country procures defence equipment, as well as strengthening the Reserve Forces.' In the background note to the speech, the Government saidThe Bill would enable the Ministry of Defence to fundamentally change the way it procures and supports defence equipment by reforming the Defence Equipment and Support organisation and strengthening the arrangements for single source procurement. The Bill would increase the size and role of our Reserve Forces.
Policy contents
Procurement
A White Paper, "Better Defence Acquisition" covering the procurement provisions referred to in the speech was published in June 2013. Chapter 1 of the paper addresses procurement carried out by the MOD's 'Defence Equipment and Support' function, and identifies three long standing significant problems within procurement which the Government believes has contributed to poor performance:- An overheated equipment programme, resulting in constant changes to the MOD's procurement schedule, and resultant cost increases and delays;
- An unstable interface between the requester and deliverer, meaning that division of responsibility between DE&S and the ultimate customers for the equipment was not always clear, and;
- Insufficient Skills and management freedoms within DE&S, resulting in DE&S being unable to recruit and retain personnel who were able to consistently negotiate on equal terms with industry.
Description
The Act has four parts:Part One: Defence Procurement
This Part has 12 sections, and invokes schedule 1 schedule 2 and schedule 3.Part 3: Reserve Forces
This part contains 5 sections 44-47. Schedule 6 is invoked by section 45 and schedule 7 by section 46.Part 4: Final Provisions
This Part contains sections 48-51, but has no actual provisions, and only contains sections that relate to the short title of the Act, procedures for commencement, and the Act's territorial extent.Parliamentary history
First Reading
The Act had its first reading in the House of Commons on 3 July 2013. Its backers were the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, Business Secretary Vince Cable, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, Dominic Grieve and the Bill Minister, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Philip Dunne.Second Reading
Commons Second Reading took place on 16 July 2013.After the debate, formal motions covering the programme resolution and the money resolutions for the Bill were also passed.
Subsequent stages
Subsequent Parliamentary stages were as follows:| House | Stage | Date | Notes |
| Commons | Committee | 3 September 2013 - 22 October 2013 | |
| Commons | Report | 20 November 2013 | |
| Commons | 3rd Reading | 20 November 2013 | |
| Lords | 1st Reading | 21 November 2013 | |
| Lords | 2nd Reading | 10 December 2013 | |
| Lords | Committee | 3 February 2014 - 25 February 2014 | |
| Lords | Report | 24 March 2014 - 26 March 2014 | |
| Lords | 3rd Reading | 2 Apr 2014 | - |
The Bill returned to the House of Commons on 29 April 2014, where a programme motion was passed, and Commons Consideration of Lords' Amendments took place.