I was rather dumbfounded with this statement regarding the expectations of the MOD to meet its harmony guidelines. We have mayhem in Kenya trouble brewing in the Balkans and Pakistan on the verge of anarchy. I would think they are being rather optimistic!
41. We pressed Mr Jeffrey further and asked how the MoD planned to improve its performance and meet the harmony guidelines, as the current performance was not acceptable. He said that the "best prospect" for improving the position was "some reduction in the pressure that we face" and that "as one looks forward there are signs of the scale of the current operational commitment reducing". He added that:
The Prime Minister has made it clear that he expects us to go down to about 2,500 in Iraq by the Spring
. The ending of the major operation in Northern Ireland has helped the army in particular. We are scaling down and have scaled down in the Balkans. There are some signs that the operational pressure will ease over the next year or so. We certainly hope so.[55]
42. The Autumn Performance Report shows that the overall performance against the Individual Separated Service and Unit Tour Interval Harmony Guidelines was broadly the same as that reported in the Quarter 1 2007-08 Report. However, for the Individual Separated Service Harmony Guidelines, 9.2% of RAF personnel exceeded the harmony guidelines (compared to 6.7% in the Quarter 1 2007-08 Report).
43. We note that the Army and the RAF are failing to meet both individual and unit harmony guidelines, and that the percentage of RAF personnel exceeding the individual harmony guidelines has risen sharply during 2007. We find the reported performance against Unit Tour Interval harmony guidelines for the RAF much less precise than for the other two Services, with some RAF squadrons just reported as "heavily tasked". We look to the MoD to identify how the setting and measuring of Unit Tour Interval harmony guidelines for the RAF can be improved.
44. We are very disappointed with the failure to meet harmony guidelines in the Army and RAF. This is another clear indicator of the pressure on our Armed Forces from the continuing high level of operations. The MoD expects the position to improve with a reduction in the current operational pressure. We certainly hope so, as we find the continuing failure to meet harmony guidelines unacceptable. In its response to our report, we expect the MoD to set out what impact the failure to meet harmony guidelines is having, such as the impact on the retention of Service personnel.
Amen