6.12 Our proposal for a Head Office that no longer delves into the tactical detail of delivery, and that has delegated some of its detailed planning functions to the Commands, suggests there is some scope to rationalise the number of senior posts within Head Office. We wish to create a Head Office where accountabilities are more clearly defined, effort is focused on the strategic, and with affordability at its heart, while retaining the capacity to both think at senior levels and to deal with tactical issues when the need arises.
6.13 We recommend that the Head Office should be structured around four critical posts. The paragraphs above have identified a clear requirement for 3 star / DG leads for the policy, military strategy and finance functions. In addition to these there is a need for a post at the same level to lead the core remaining functions currently discharged by the DG Strategy and DCDS Capability. The Department should consider how best to arrange these responsibilities including links or mergers with policy, finance and personnel leads. There are a number of options. DCDS Capability could merge with either DCDS Personnel or DG Strategy for example, depending on what outcome was sought. Ultimately this should lead to the deletion of one or two 3 star / DG posts. In the short term, however, the DG Strategy post should be maintained to implement Defence Reform and drive the broader Transformation agenda.
6.14 Around these critical posts, the Head Office should also include a number of senior posts and supporting staffs to set processes and provide specialist advice. We consider there to be some scope for rationalisation here also. Specifically, we recommend that:
• the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) should become a DG (rather than 4 star). This would be in line with practice in Other Government Departments (OGDs). It is enabled by the fact that responsibility for approvals will transfer to DG Finance and for some nuclear issues to DG Security Policy;
• the Department should consider whether the senior civilian HR post should be held at Director level (2 star) rather than DG given the transfer of the People Pay and Pensions Agency to Defence Business Services, as set out in Part 12, the reduced workload once the Cabinet Office's Next Generation HR programme is implemented and the planned reduction in scale of the Business Resilience Directorate;
• the Department should consider whether the Chief of Defence Intelligence post continues to require a 3 star as intelligence delivery assets are transferred to a Joint Force Command (see Part 9);
• the Surgeon General post and some of the training functions of DCDS Personnel & Training should transfer out of Head Office to JFC (see Part 9 and 13). However, we judge that Personnel policy, including Terms and Conditions of Service and remuneration policy, should continue to be controlled from the Head Office; and,
• as recommended in Part 7, the Service Chiefs' principal supporting staff should be based at their Command headquarters, with a much reduced staff, headed at two star level, based in Head Office.
6.15 In addition, we support the transfer of the commercial function to DE&S and note that as a result the DG Commercial post in Head Office will lapse.
6.16 The changes set out in this chapter will make the Head Office considerably smaller, and force the strategic focus that we are seeking. We would envisage that some staff will transfer from Head Office to the Commands to reflect the changes in their respective functions proposed in this model.