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  annual report and accounts 2002-03

Reputation

Objective:

To enhance our reputation among the UK public and within the MOD and Armed Forces.

Performance Measures:
  1. Public opinion of MOD and Armed Forces.
     
  2. Opinion of MOD and Armed Forces among Service and civilian personnel.
Performance Assessment:
  1. The MOD and Armed Forces continued to enjoy a mainly positive profile with the public.
     
  2. Within the Department, there continued to be support for the work of the MOD and the Armed Forces.

On-going PSA targets are in italics. See Annex B for a complete table.

Summary

115.  The Department worked hard to maintain and improve the public's understanding of the work of the Armed Forces and the MOD. This is of increasing importance as the proportion of British citizens with personal experience of military service or direct contact with the Armed Forces continues to decline. The public continued to have a high view of the capability and professionalism of the Armed Forces.

Communicating the Work of the Department to the Public

116.  As well as the Press Office, the Department used a wide variety of mechanisms to get our messages across. More people than ever learnt about Defence on-line, for example, and by March 2003 there were over twenty million page views per month on the MOD websites. We also continued to take our messages directly to the public and the Defence Tourer exhibition, which travelled around the UK raising the public's awareness of the MOD and Armed Forces, was visited by over 100,000 people.

117.  The Department successfully launched the Defence Schools Initiative, with the pilot Defence Schools Presentation Team visiting over 35 schools across the country using the National Curriculum to help raise the profile of the Armed Forces and the MOD amongst young people. Funding has been identified to enable the team to expand and visit more than 500 schools in the next academic year.

MOD and Armed Forces Reputation

118.  In 2002/03 the MOD and Armed Forces were once again at the heart of public debate, with the conflict in Iraq dominating the year. Opinion polls consistently showed very high levels of public support for the capability and professionalism of the Armed Forces (see Table 14 below). 85% of people agreed that the work of the Armed Forces is important and around 76% said they believed the Armed Forces make the world safer. A less favourable response was recorded on the numbers who believed the Armed Forces are well-equipped (44%). Opinion among Service personnel and MOD Civil Servants was broadly consistent with public opinion. Separately, in a survey conducted by Mori, the MOD was found to be the second most highly regarded Government department, after the Department of Health.

Table 14: External Opinion Survey Results
Question Percentage of Positive Replies
As at end
2002/031		 Change since
end 2001/02
UK needs strong Armed Forces 85% -3%
Confidence in the ability of UK Armed Forces to defend UK 80% -1%
UK Armed Forces make the world a safer place 76% -8%
Confidence in the ability of UK Armed Forces to defend overseas territories 78% 0%
UK Armed Forces have the highest professional standards 74% +1%
Confidence in the ability of UK Armed Forces to protect UK citizens overseas 60% -2%
MOD and UK Armed Forces look after their people 59% -10%
Confidence in the ability of UK Armed Forces to protect UK overseas economic interests 55% +4%
MOD is as open as it can be about its activities 47% -2%
UK Armed Forces are well equipped 44% -3%
MOD and UK Armed Forces promote their best people regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation 54% 0%
UK Armed Forces make a positive contribution to local communities 42% +6%
MOD should support British industry's efforts to export military equipment 39% -5%
MOD and UK Armed Forces carry out their activities with due regard to the environment 36% -7%
MOD spends taxpayers money wisely 24% -5%
Average 57% -4%
Note:
(1) Survey conducted in May 2003 of 1,872 adults aged fifteen and over in 185 sample points across Great Britain.

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Last Updated: 3 Dec 03