25/01/2012

Military Theft Increasing

A parliamentary committee has reported that theft within the military is steadily increasing, while also reporting that the MoD's accounts were "unsatisfactory".

The Defence Committee said it was concerned that the level of theft and fraud in the MoD appear generally to be increasing year on year, and that the level of value recovered from theft and fraud is low.

The committee said the MoD needed to clarify the roles of the various police and security forces dealing with fraud and theft; provide further information on how the problems of prevention, detection and recovery are being managed and, in general, tackle the issue with a "greater degree of vigour".

Meanwhile, the Defence Committee also said that for the fifth successive year, the MoD did not comply with international financial reporting as laid down by the Treasury and had "no plans to do so for the foreseeable future".

The Committee added that the MoD could also not provide adequate audit evidence for over £5.2 billion worth of certain inventory and capital spares.

Chair of the Defence Committee, Rt Hon James Arbuthnot, said: "The repeated qualification of the MoD accounts reflects badly on the MoD's financial management. The situation is unsatisfactory and the MoD and the Treasury need a clear plan to address the shortcomings in the MoD’s accounting systems."

(DW)

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