The Ministry of Defence is committed to automating at least twenty per cent of its Human Resources, Finance and Commercial functions by July 2028 and to moving Regular personnel out of administrative work and into front-line roles, according to a written answer in the House of Lords.
Lord Sarfraz, the Conservative peer, asked how many military personnel have been released from back-office roles to front-line roles as a result of automation since the publication of the Strategic Defence Review in 2025.
Lord Coaker, Minister of State for Defence, said: “The Department remains committed to maximising the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces and ensuring that Defence personnel are focused on activity that best supports front-line outcomes. As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, Defence is taking forward work to move Regular personnel from administrative activity into front-line roles and to automate at least 20% of Human Resources, Finance and Commercial functions by July 2028.
“This commitment is being delivered through the Defence Reform and Efficiency Plan, including the Corporate Services Modernisation programme, which is redesigning and modernising Defence’s People, Finance and Commercial services. The programme is simplifying policy and processes, standardising activity, consolidating services where appropriate and introducing modern digital tools to reduce manual work, strengthen access to reliable management information and improve the user experience. This will reduce the back-office burden, improve productivity and release capacity for front-line activity while maintaining effective support to all personnel.”
July 2028 gives the department a little under two years from now to hit the target.
Will this translate to a reduction of 20% to the MOD headcount??
Ai will be even more efficient at trawling for prosecutions of our armed forces personnel.