Has Keir Starmer left a £5bn defense funding hole for Andy Burnham?

He said this would be delivered through plans to automate 20% of the MoD’s HR and Finance departments by 2028 and reduce spending on consultants, among other things.

It expects savings from accelerating the use of artificial intelligence with “digital” efficiency of nearly £50m a year.

The biggest efficiency savings — about $1 billion a year — are expected to come from “procurement” improvements, meaning the purchase of new defense equipment.

Defense procurement has historically been a major source of budget overhang for the Modi government.

Government finance experts have warned that these savings will not be guaranteed.

Carl Emerson, a partner at London-based Economics Consultancy, said the government has efficiency targets baked into the 2025 spending review settlements that will set its budget for the coming years.

“This makes that challenge more difficult,” he said.

“Sometimes efficiency savings mean cutting back and doing less and delivering less,” says IFG’s Thomas Bishop.