Board minutes: 20 January 2026
Published 21 April 2026
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Minutes of the 61st Board Meeting
held at 100 Parliament St and video-conference 20 January 2026 10:00-12:00
| Board members present: | Others present: |
|---|---|
| Hannah Nixon (Chair) | Alan Brennan |
| Roy Barker | Colin Hill |
| Hugh Kelly | Ben Johnson (for part) |
| John Russell | Siobhan O’Donoghue |
| Joanne Watts | Colin Sharples (for part) |
| Claire Williams | Amar Vara (for part) |
1. Welcome, apologies, announcements, and declarations of interest
The Chair welcomed Board members and attendees to the meeting.
There were no apologies for absence.
The meeting was solely to consider two items of sensitive / commercial statutory business. As such, the MOD Observer was not in attendance.
Further to the meeting papers, a number of documents had been circulated to the Board to support its discussions, including draft Terms of Reference for the forthcoming Arm’s Length Body (ALB) Review of the SSRO, and a draft Ministerial briefing on the role of the SSRO.
Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
2. OSC 2026-27 Rates Assessment (SSRO 01-0126)
The Board considered the proposed 2026-27 rates (the Baseline Profit Rate (BPR), Capital Servicing Rates (CSRs), and Government Owned Contractor Rate (GOCR) for approval prior to submission to the Secretary of State by 31 January 2026. Members noted the supporting evidence, external assurance work, and adjustments made since their consideration of the provisional rates in December 2025, following further due diligence. The Board also received a suite of supplementary analysis that would be provided to the Secretary of State to support the rates recommendation, and materials to be published once the rates had been confirmed. The rates remained under strict embargo until the Secretary of State’s announcement, expected by 15 March 2026.
The Board:
- APPROVED the rates as set out in the report as the SSRO’s assessment of the appropriate rates for 2026-27;
- APPROVED the supporting analysis that the SSRO would provide to the Secretary of State to assist in their determination, and the materials for publication after the Secretary of State had announced the 2026-27 rates, subject to any revisions;
- AGREED that the SSRO Chair should write to the Secretary of State with the SSRO’s recommendation and supporting materials; and
- DELEGATED AUTHORITY to the Chief Executive to make any required revisions to the analysis, and to approve the final documents for provision to the Secretary of State by 31 January 2026, and for publication after the Secretary of State’s announcement, expected in March 2026.
3.OSC Single Source Contract Regulations review (SSRO 02-0126)
To support the Board’s discussion, the Chief Executive briefed the Board on the 13 January 2026 meeting with the Minister for Defence Readiness & Industry. The Board also received an update on the ALB review of the SSRO, following an introductory meeting between the Chief Executive and the lead reviewer (from UKGI) on 14 January 2026, covering the expected scope, timescales, and inter-dependencies with the SSCR review.
The Board discussed the SSRO’s draft recommendations under section 39(2) of the Defence Reform Act 2014, to be submitted to the Secretary of State as part of the MOD’s review of the Single Source Contract Regulations (SSCRs). In its discussion, the Board considered the distinction between near-term legislative changes and longer-term ‘wider thinking’ options for more fundamental reform. The Board emphasised the importance of complementary and consistent messaging across the recommendations.
The Board supported the s39(2) recommendations, and the planned approach to continued engagement with MOD and industry ahead of submission.
The Board:
- APPROVED the SSRO’s s39(2) recommendations for submission to the Secretary of State in support of the MOD’s review of the SSCRs;
- AGREED the sequencing approach;
- NOTED next steps and dependencies; and
- DELEGATED AUTHORITY to the Chair and Chief Executive to make necessary editorial or factual updates (without changing substance) so that the document could be finalised and issued without returning to the Board, if this was required.
4. Any other business
There was no further business.
The next meeting of the Board would take place on 31 March 2026.