19 The Department should encourage better performance from Ascent by more effectively incentivising it to work as a partner to achieve the aims of the new core training. The Department needs to develop contract incentives that better encourage Ascent to improve quality, and reduce time and cost. For example, once it has set a credible baseline, it could explore how it might share with Ascent the benefits of any performance improvements and cost efficiencies achieved.
20 The Department should assess the cost and time implications of increasing training capacity. Any extra flying training needed (for example, increases in military needs or international defence training) will affect capacity in the new core training. The Department should work out how much it will cost, and how long it would take, to increase training capacity in response to small, medium and large scale changes in need.
21 The Department should agree formal contingency plans for covering gaps in training during the move to the new core training. The Department needs to be able to respond quickly to any gaps in training that affect its ability to train aircrew. The Department is developing contingency plans but these need to be agreed formally across the services. The Department must set out what actions it will take, and criteria for triggering them.
22 The Department should set out and communicate clearly roles and responsibilities across the whole training system. Ascent will run the new core training but the Department is still responsible for many factors that will affect its ability to get benefits. For example, student selection affects time, cost and quality in core training. The Department must ensure that roles and responsibilities are understood by all who can have an affect on training and that it is managed as a single system from aptitude testing to combat ready.
23 The Department should establish a robust baseline to measure, monitor and evaluate performance across the whole training system. Without robust data on training cost, time and quality - from aptitude testing to combat ready - the Department cannot set an accurate baseline to track and challenge performance. It will also be unable to tell if it is achieving its aims for the new core training.
24 The Department should establish a clear process to get benefits across the whole training system and between services. The Department needs to ensure it is clear who is responsible for getting all the benefits, including those outside core training. For example, reducing the number of training flights needed in operational training due to increased aircrew ability following completion of core training. It must ensure there is an agreed approach to getting benefits, and a mechanism which incentivises the services to actively seek time and cost savings that can be released for use between services or elsewhere in defence.