In order to gain a comprehensive view of how the EP has developed and what has driven the changes between planning rounds the data held in the PB&F38 accounting system has been interrogated by the Review team with the assistance of the CapEP team. PB&F is used, in part, to support the planning round process. It gives those involved the ability to cost and re-cost plans and submit these costings through budgetary hierarchies in a consistent and controlled process.
Within PB&F there are three planning models:
• the Short Term Plan ("STP") model which is used to cost TLB plans, including DE&S operating costs, and the non-equipment investment plan ("NEIP");
• the EPP model used to cost the Equipment Procurement Plan; and
• the ESP model used to cost the equipment support resources.
Within the PB&F structure, individual cost lines for projects or parts of projects are given unique accounting codes, these are referred to within the MoD as "P9 lines". This allows linkage of the same activities across planning rounds or aggregation of expenditure into projects, programmes, DE&S clusters or the Capability Sponsor's Capability Areas.
The Review team has conducted an analysis of the historical EP using data from old planning rounds. It should be noted that four years of historical data were considered for the EPP, but only two years for the ESP because it was not prepared in a comparable format prior to 2007/08.
Due to delays in the latest Planning Round process, the final EPP was not available to the Review team at the time of writing39. Work has been based on the latest version available which incorporates the impact of the Equipment Exam, the options taken during the planning round, and a number of "manual adjustments" reflecting further planning decisions not otherwise incorporated in the plan.
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38 Planning Budgeting and Forecasting
39 Analysis and reporting finalised during May/June 2009