Corporate Plan 2020-2023 March 2021 Contents Foreword – Secretary of State 3 Introduction – Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) Chair and Chief Executive Officer 4 The Role of the SDA – Who We Are 5 Our Key Activities – What We Do 6 Our Vision and Purpose 6 Our Values 6 Our Strategy – Developing How We Deliver for Defence 7 Our Plans – Delivering Our Purpose 10 Maintaining the Continuous at Sea Deterrent 10 Construction of New Submarines 10 Nuclear Infrastructure 11 Safely Disposing of the UK’s Submarines 12 The SDA’s Sustainable Approach 12 Submarine Technology and Capability Development 13 International Partnerships 14 Submarine Enterprise Industrial Base Development 14 Enabling SDA Delivery 14 How We Deliver 15 Our Customers 15 Our People 15 Working with Industry 16 Our Resources 16 Measuring Our Performance 16 How We Are Governed 17 Our Sponsor 17 Our Board 17 Our Executive Team 18 SDA Corporate Plan 2 Foreword – Secretary of State for Defence of the procurement, in-service support and disposal of the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet, can only be achieved if the very best of the public and private sectors work together. By continuing to work closely with its industry partners and customers, the SDA can ensure operational priorities and programmes are sustained, both today and tomorrow. Our Continuous at Sea Deterrent (known as CASD) reached the milestone of 50 years’ service during 2019. Since 1969 there has always been a Royal Navy submarine at sea, providing the nation’s deterrent and ensuring that the UK remains safe. In recognition that this is a national endeavour, events were held to pay tribute to the efforts made by thousands of submariners, past and present, their families, MOD civilians, industry partners and the numerous businesses which have supported and those that continue to support the delivery of CASD, thereby keeping our Nation safe. This Corporate Plan reflects the enduring nature of the I am delighted to introduce the 2020 – 2023 Corporate submarine programme and the capabilities that will be Plan for the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) which sets around for the next fifty years and beyond. It sets out out the delivery intent for providing crucial capability for the SDA’s intent, objectives and areas of focus over the our Armed Forces, in particular the Royal Navy. next three years, together with how its performance will be assessed. As this Plan goes to publication, we are The SDA was established as an Executive Agency in dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic, at home and April 2018, with the intent to strengthen the procurement abroad, and working hard to ensure the UK’s defence and in-service support of the UK’s nuclear submarine capabilities are sustained as well as keeping our nation programmes. It is a crucial part of the UK’s Nuclear and our people safe and well. With continuing and Enterprise, which together with the Defence Nuclear changing threats across the Globe, the role of the SDA Organisation and Navy Command, provides the UK’s and its skilled, dedicated professionals remains a key strategic deterrent. priority for Defence. I am pleased to see the progress the agency is making I welcome the SDA’s commitment and ambition and fully as it continues to increase its focus on collaboration with endorse this Corporate Plan. industry to deliver its challenging priorities. This approach is welcomed, as a work programme with the complexity The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP SDA Corporate Plan 3 Introduction – By the SDA Chair and Chief Executive Officer We are now in our third year as an agency and continue adjusted the existing Submarine Support Directorate and to gain momentum as we strive to deliver the UK’s created a new lead for Submarine Readiness. Further submarine capability. information regarding these roles is provided later in this Plan. The Nuclear Enterprise is a major national endeavour and the construction of new submarines is among the At the start of financial year 2020-21, we joined the rest largest and most complex procurement undertaken by of the UK in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. the Ministry of Defence (MOD) or UK Industry. We have While our key outputs have not changed, we swiftly continued to focus on the needs of our customers, adapted our working approach in line with government primarily the Royal Navy and the Defence Nuclear guidelines to provide a safe and secure environment for Organisation, working closely with them to maintain the our people and industrial colleagues. Whether working at Continuous At Sea Deterrent, the cornerstone of our home or on site to progress critical programme activities, nation’s security. ensuring our people are protected and supported remains as important as ever. We have also reviewed Our workforce is our biggest asset and we continue our plans to incrementally improve the efficiency and to be proud of their dedication and unwavering focus effectiveness of our operation within the UK Nuclear on delivery. Owing to the specialist nature of our work, Enterprise. While our improvement activity will hold firm, we do face challenges in securing the numbers of we will evolve our approach in response to our national highly-talented people required to deliver our forward efforts against COVID-19. In doing so, we will continue programme of activity. This is a challenge we face to ensure that the SDA delivers its vital role in protecting throughout the Nuclear Enterprise. As such, within the people of the UK. the SDA, we aim to ensure that we are a diverse and inclusive organisation, providing the best possible work environment to attract and retain the most talented and committed professionals. In support of our drive to operate consistently as a high-performing delivery Rob Holden, agency, we recognise that our people need to feel empowered, working in an agile organisation that SDA Chair focuses on what really matters. This will ensure they can perform at their highest level and know the value they bring to our business. It is also essential that we remain innovative and able to adapt to the needs of the Enterprise and advancements in technology. Our work is technically challenging and this is especially true for our in-service submarines area. We have seen an increase in complexity as technologies have developed and we progress our approach for managing the full life cycle - from concept to disposal - of submarines and their supporting equipments. We Ian Booth, face significant infrastructure challenges in delivering our future maintenance and defuelling projects. So, SDA Chief as part of our evolution as an agency and to help us Executive Officer better manage our growth and output, we have made changes to our structure. The introduction of a new Technical Directorate will provide a dedicated focus on the engineering excellence that underpins the delivery of safe and capable submarines to the Royal Navy. Our Technical Director will also oversee and drive our work on submarine infrastructure and disposals. We have also SDA Corporate Plan 4 The Role of the SDA - Who We Are The SDA is an Executive Agency of the MOD. We were Bristol, which supports the key work undertaken at established in April 2018 to manage the procurement, in- other defence and industry sites. In the US we work service support and disposal of UK nuclear submarines, collaboratively with Department of Defense colleagues. which are some of the most complex in the world. We deliver assured capabilities to the Royal Navy that are Our Annual Report and Accounts reports on our essential to the delivery and maintenance of our nation’s performance in the previous financial year. Notable Continuous at Sea Deterrent. achievements in financial year 2019-20 include: • continuing to build on the dynamic and responsive The SDA has some of the nation’s most experienced work addressing a range of emergent challenges, defence nuclear experts in our workforce, as well as as is to be expected with operational deployment of highly professional and experienced project managers the Royal Navy’s submarines. Our targeted initiatives and procurement specialists. At the start of the financial to optimise submarine availability in line with the year (April 2020) we had around 1700 employees. This is operational programme are further enhancing made up of civilian and military personnel across a range performance across the maintenance programmes; of functions such as engineering, project management, • ensuring that the Dreadnought submarine project controls, finance and commercial. Our people are programme remains within budget and on track for at the heart of our success and we focus on creating the the First of Class, Dreadnought, to enter service in environment and conditions to enable them to deliver the the early 2030s. Staged investments have allowed best outcomes for Defence. good progress to continue the whole boat design and the construction process; and We continue to grow our capability by improving and • taking forward our programme of work to manage developing our skills in key areas such as project and and dispose of the twenty submarines now programme management and commercial control. As a decommissioned from Royal Navy Service and joint Enterprise and in recognition that we only succeed commence planning for a further seven submarines together, we work closely with the Defence Nuclear as part of future decommissioning activity. A major Organisation and Navy Command. This will ensure that, achievement has been our work on the second by delivering our common goals, we meet the nation’s submarine, named Resolution, as part of the defence and security requirements. We also work maturing technical solution for submarine disposal. alongside Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), which provides some of the equipment on which submarines Throughout the three-year period, 2020-2023, we will depend.