By Philippa Silverman - 13th August 2010
Defence secretary Liam Fox has said the Ministry of Defence faces cuts to its backroom operations to ensure frontline troops get everything they need.
It comes as part of efforts to "decentralise" the MoD to make it more efficient and effective.
In a speech in London this morning, Fox outlined plans for significant reductions in the number of civilian personnel, in addition to large cuts already planned for the armed forces.
The defence secretary made no specific commitments on cuts in his speech at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, but stressed the need for "healthy finances".
He said it was a "ghastly truth" that Labour had left the department with an "unfunded liability" of £37bn over 10 years, accusing the previous government of irresponsibly ordering goods without the necessary funds.
Fox, who has just returned from his second visit to Afghanistan as defence secretary, said the MoD would be reorganised into three pillars, of Policy and Strategy, the Armed Forces, and Procurement and Estates.
"The price of this irresponsibility will ultimately be paid for by short-term reductions as we try to return defence to a sound footing," he said.
Fox said the visit this week reminded him that supporting British forces on operations had to take priority over spending on staff in Whitehall.
He said: "It brought home to me once again that the prime purpose of what we are doing is to make sure that our Armed Forces on the frontline have everything they need, and all the support they require, to carry out their mission successfully and safely.
"That means that the backroom sometimes has to do without to make sure that the frontline gets what it wants."
The defence secretary announced City financier Lord Levene has been recruited to lead an efficiency drive in the MoD, where he served with Lord Heseltine.
His remit is to look for ways to decentralise department operations, as well as to give the service chiefs more management freedom in running the army, navy and air force.
The review due to report by September 2011, will look at the current structure of senior ranks and practices such as tour lengths and intervals.
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