Defence

Mersey Money Managers

Defence is big business, and like all businesses, someone has to do the paperwork. The Defence Bills Agency (DBA), based in Liverpool, is responsible for spending two-thirds of the defence budget – a whopping £20bn a year. Payments are made to providers of services and equipment:

"It's everything from Typhoon to individual nuts and bolts," says Rob Willis, the DBA's deputy chief executive. "And we have about 20,000 contracts with suppliers."

The 570 staff are mainly clerical administrative staff, and mostly women. Most are involved in checking that invoices are submitted properly, that prices paid are correct, and payments made on time.
If the very low turn-over of staff is anything to go by, these civil servants appreciate the benefits of both their work and their life in the latest European Capital of Culture.

Timely payment is particularly important when contracts can run into millions of pounds, because under the terms of the Late Payment Act, fines can be imposed if payment is not made within 30 days. That could potentially leave the taxpayer heavily out of pocket, but Rob Willis says the DBA is good at paying on time:

"Our target is 99.9 per cent and we rarely miss it."

Defence is an international business, and that can sometimes provide its own challenges:

"We charge other countries for services like fuel uplifts," said Rob Willis. "Sometimes, if you don't get the invoice absolutely correct – if you spell a name wrong, for instance – they use that as an excuse not to pay. You've got to be absolutely spot on about these things."

Fraud is not a major problem, but any suspicions that someone is double-billing or trying to cheat the system are reported to the MOD Police Fraud Unit after DBA has run its own checks.

MOD's financial records are currently stored in paper format for a quarter of a century, in an off-site facility. But new scanning technology means all of DBA's records will eventually be digitised, and accessible at the click of a mouse. That means DBA staff will spend less time trawling through dusty paper files to find ancient invoices. But printed or virtual, the numbers will still add up.

Learning the ropes

Alongside Brunswick dock, situated very comfortably among newly developed luxury waterside apartments, stands the Naval Regional HQ. It is home for Commodore John Madgwick the Naval Regional officer NW, and he shares his billet with the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Marine Reserve, making it a fully integrated HQ:

"It's a-one-stop-shop for the Navy," said its commanding officer, Commander Simon Ryan. "We are the only show in town, and from this year we have taken on responsibility for all Navy matters above the high water mark."

Parked at the back in the dock are two Archer Class turbo-charged fast patrol craft, each with a crew of regular naval personnel. These small ships are part of the university Naval Unit attached to the Regional HQ. Every year the students spend 20 days at sea. Lieutenant Hugo Parkinson, commanding officer aboard HMS Charger said:

"This is about teaching students about the Royal Navy. We tend to get very motivated students joining us, usually from the more aggressively demanding degrees, like engineering and medicine."

The training is not just about seamanship; it includes social skills, such as how to write a thank-you letter properly. Liverpool has a lot to celebrate these days, so that might just come in handy.

Coastguards looking out

Looking out of the window of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency MCA), Headquarters Northwest and North Wales area, and gazing across the Crosby sands, one sees one of the 100 life-sized statues installed by artist Antony Gormley. They seem to stand guard as the sea approaches:

"It can come in faster than a galloping horse," confided Area operations Manager Davy Thompson.

He does not need to explain the dangers of this. Although not part of the MOD, the MCA often works in close harmony with a variety of defence organisations, and many of those working for the MCA are reservists or have a Service background, usually Royal Navy or RAF.

Davy claims that he may be unique in having served for all three of the Armed Services in his varied career. Search and Rescue support is provided by RAF Valley, and there is often a need to call in the bomb disposal teams to deal with unexploded ordnance. Only last year a Second World War 500lb bomb was discovered, leading to the closure of the Port of Liverpool.

Talking with the territorials

Major Jeremy Scott is the training officer at 156 unit TA centre in Liverpool. He says Iraq and Afghanistan have changed the role of reservists. Since Telic 1, his unit has deployed 150 reservists on ops. Here, three TA soldiers recall some of their experiences:

"I've been in for 18 months," said Private Victoria Ray. "I wanted a challenge after finishing my degree. I've done loads of adventure training. I'm quite looking forward to deployment as it will be a life changing experience."

"I've been in the TA for ten years," said Corporal Barry Vint. "I wasn't able to join the regulars as I was underweight. But I deployed to Iraq in 2003 and my next one will be Afghanistan. It's scary at first but you soon get used to it."

"I've done 16 years in the TA and eight years in the Navy before that," said Staff Sergeant Neil Law. "I went to Iraq as a medic and was kept very busy. The regulars can't get their heads round how we can work at our jobs full-time and fit in our duties with the TA."