News story

New Defence infrastructure organisation launches

A new organisation to manage Defence property and associated infrastructure begins life today, Friday 1 April 2011.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation, set up to deliver better strategic management of the defence estate, brings together the majority of military and civilian personnel working on estate and infrastructure activity across the MOD into one single organisation.

Acting Chief Executive Defence Infrastructure Organisation Andrew Manley said:

The creation of the DIO will over time bring a radical new approach to the way we manage infrastructure and estates services across the MOD. All staff have an important role to play in bringing about that change.

The creation of the DIO marks the first major milestone delivered under the Transforming Defence programme, led by Lord Levene.

Air Member for Personnel & Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel, and member of the Defence Infrastructure Board (DIB), Air Marshal Andy Pulford said:

The formation of the DIO is an essential first step in the Defence Reform agenda, and an important one. Infrastructure plays a vital role in the generation and delivery of Air Power. This requires targeted investment to optimise and deliver an affordable and sustainable estate which will not only allow us to do the job but, critically, to support our Service personnel and their families, both now, and into the future.

The new organisation provides the Armed Forces with a “one stop shop” which will manage most infrastructure services across Defence and has been established to:

• Reduce estate running costs;

• Ensure more efficient use of the Defence estate;

• Deliver a better service to infrastructure users;

• Establish quicker and more responsive ways of working; and

• Ensure more efficient use of Defence resources.

Speaking about the formation of the DIO, Adjutant General and member of the DIB, Lieutenant General Mark Mans CBE said:

Our operational capability depends on our Infrastructure. It plays a critical role in supporting the Army’s preparations for operations in Afghanistan, and in delivering a better life for our soldiers and their families at home. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation presents us with an opportunity to improve this support and to deliver it more efficiently. I am confident that we have the right people and skills in place to rise to the challenge.

DIO will oversee the physical maintenance of buildings and equipment as well as the support services, such as cleaning and catering along with energy and water for the estate. It also supports vital military tasks on an overseas estate that spans Germany, Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and operational theatres such as Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the management of infrastructure Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts.

Second Sea Lord, and also a member of the DIB, Vice Admiral Charles Montgomery CBE ADC, said:

Trust, transparency and a close working relationship between the DIO, Industry and the end user TLBs (including the Single Services) will be essential to enable us to focus our investment on where it is most needed and ensure that Service personnel, and their families, continue to feel valued. It is at the training establishment, the base and the barrack that we generate our military capability, for the present and the future.

The formation of DIO will bring together around 7,000 staff, the vast majority of whom are civilian, working on construction, maintenance and disposal of land and buildings across the MOD. Most staff are from the former Defence Estates organisation, with infrastructure staff from across the MOD also joining the organisation.

Published 1 April 2011