MoD told to tighten belt
The Ministry of Defence has been urged to reconsider accounting arrangements for major exercises and operations after claiming it cost £83m to deploy more than 22,500 men and women in Oman last year.
The National Audit Office said it was longstanding MoD policy that additional costs directly attributable to the operation should qualify for additional funding. Other costs, such as salaries, did not qualify on the basis that the personnel would otherwise be deployed elsewhere and paid from existing budgets.