MOD: Public sector organisation responsible for nation's security.
BBC: Public sector organisation responsible for nation's information and entertainment.
Defence Budget: £36.9bn from tax payers.
BBC Budget: £3.5bn from license fee payers.
Headcount of Armed Forces: 190,000 regular + 39,000 reserves = 229,000
Headcount of BBC: c.20,000
CDS salary: £250k (Bargain!)
BBC DG salary: £834k.
Combined pay of top five MOD civil servants: £860k (Bargain!)
Combined pay of top five BBC executives: £2.7m.
However, industry would pay millions to people with similar budgets and responsibilities.
There is a pattern to the current events:
Step 1. Replace vast numbers of uniformed personnel performing non-frontline jobs with CS or civilian contractors to save money (lower pay, smaller or no Employer's Tax & NI contributions, smaller or no pension contributions, smaller or no accommodation costs, fewer days off, less need for training, sports facilities, food subsidies, etc) and release more service personnel for core tasks and operations. Retain senior officers to oversee all areas, from nuclear reactors to supplies of boots and rations, to MOD's benefit wherever possible.
Step 2. Increase commitments for uniformed personnel and requirement for resources by engaging in two protracted conflicts on a peacetime budget with unplanned expenditure of stores, ammo, POL, etc and increased wear and tear on ships, aircraft, vehicles and other kit resulting in larger maintenance costs, faster consumption of spares and earlier need for replacements.
Step 3. Start running out of money. Reduce numbers of platforms and systems ordered and delay procurement programmes thus increasing unit costs and pushing up overall prices.
Step 4. Run out of money. Register shock and arouse public outrage at the numbers of senior officers in critical management positions and 'shiny-arsed' CS and civilian contractors compared to uniformed personnel, even though most of them are performing mundane low-paid jobs in vital support roles (security, training, logistics, ship, submarine, aircraft & vehicle maintenance, transport, budgets & contracts, clerical & administration, CIS & IT, catering, estate management, cleaning, painting, etc.).
Step 5. Sack swaths of senior officers and CS and civilian contractors to balance the books.
Step 6. Backfill gapped CS and civilian contractor positions with uniformed personnel thus reducing numbers available for front line duties and increasing strain on the system.
Step 7. See Step 1.