• The Defence Technology Exploitation Programme will help keep the UK at the forefront of defence technology
• Joining innovations and up to 50% of government funding with large suppliers
• Grants of up to £500,000 available per project

A £16 million programme to boost small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) defence innovation has been launched today.

With the innovation of SMEs, the resources of big suppliers and initial funding from government, the Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP) is designed to bring the key components together to allow pioneering projects to flourish.

The aim is to keep the United Kingdom at the forefront of defence technology, improving the capabilities available to our Armed Forces, the competitiveness of UK industry and growing potential exports benefits.

Individual grants of up to 50% of a project’s value – to a maximum of £500,000 per grant – will be available through DTEP for collaborative projects between SMEs and larger suppliers, supporting the integration of novel technologies, materials and processes into MOD’s supply chains.

DTEP will be open for proposals year-round, with cycles closing at 3-month intervals for assessment of submissions.

Defence Minister Jeremy Quin said:

Innovation within defence is crucial to maintaining competitive advantage for our Armed Forces.

The Defence Technology Exploitation Programme is a positive step in how we support SMEs and larger suppliers to work together to improve the resilience and competitiveness of the MOD’s supply chain.

Today’s launch builds upon the successful BEIS-funded National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP) and a pilot of DTEP conducted with Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI). An example of work supported by this pilot is CCP Gransden, based near Ballygowan, collaborating with Thales and Ulster University on a project to replace the Starstreak surface-to-air missile system’s metallic canister with a composite version – reducing reliance on global supply chains for the over 50 components currently needed.

Head of the Defence and Security Accelerator, Anita Friend said:

DTEP has been designed to help SMEs join defence supply chains and offers SMEs and larger suppliers the opportunity to come together to solve defence problems.

For an SME, DTEP offers not only funding but also the opportunity to deliver new innovations into the UK defence supply chain and a way to develop and scale up their business. DTEP is also beneficial for larger companies, offering early access to new technologies or processes that they may be able to help commercialise.

Applications to DTEP can be made by UK-based SMEs looking to form a collaboration with a UK-based higher-tier supplier to help integrate and take the novel solution to market. The key areas of interest for proposals are set out in detail on the DTEP portal and are aligned with the recently published Defence Capability Framework.

DASA DTEP Business Relationship Managers will be available at all steps of the process, from project formation until after project completion. They will support SMEs through signposting, mentoring and offering other support services.

DTEP will be delivered by the MOD’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), in partnership with the Innovate UK group, and it is a core commitment in the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy and SME Action Plan.

DTEP guidance can be accessed here.

• Keeping the UK at the forefront of defence technology
• Joining innovations and up to 50% of government funding with large suppliers
• Grants of up to £500,000 available per project

With the innovation of SMEs, the resources of big suppliers and initial funding from government, the Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP) is designed to bring the key components together to allow pioneering projects to flourish.

The aim is to keep the United Kingdom at the forefront of defence technology, improving the capabilities available to our Armed Forces, the competitiveness of UK industry and growing potential exports benefits.

Individual grants of up to 50% of a project’s value – to a maximum of £500,000 per grant – will be available through DTEP for collaborative projects between SMEs and larger suppliers, supporting the integration of novel technologies, materials and processes into MOD’s supply chains.

DTEP will be open for proposals year-round, with cycles closing at 3-month intervals for assessment of submissions.

Defence Minister Jeremy Quin said:

Innovation within defence is crucial to maintaining competitive advantage for our Armed Forces.

The Defence Technology Exploitation Programme is a positive step in how we support SMEs and larger suppliers to work together to improve the resilience and competitiveness of the MOD’s supply chain.

Today’s launch builds upon the successful BEIS-funded National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP) and a pilot of DTEP conducted with Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI). An example of work supported by this pilot is CCP Gransden, based near Ballygowan, collaborating with Thales and Ulster University on a project to replace the Starstreak surface-to-air missile system’s metallic canister with a composite version – reducing reliance on global supply chains for the over 50 components currently needed.

Head of the Defence and Security Accelerator, Anita Friend said:

DTEP has been designed to help SMEs join defence supply chains and offers SMEs and larger suppliers the opportunity to come together to solve defence problems.

For an SME, DTEP offers not only funding but also the opportunity to deliver new innovations into the UK defence supply chain and a way to develop and scale up their business. DTEP is also beneficial for larger companies, offering early access to new technologies or processes that they may be able to help commercialise.

Applications to DTEP can be made by UK-based SMEs looking to form a collaboration with a UK-based higher-tier supplier to help integrate and take the novel solution to market. The key areas of interest for proposals are set out in detail on the DTEP portal and are aligned with the recently published Defence Capability Framework.

DASA DTEP Business Relationship Managers will be available at all steps of the process, from project formation until after project completion. They will support SMEs through signposting, mentoring and offering other support services.

DTEP will be delivered by the MOD’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), in partnership with the Innovate UK group, and it is a core commitment in the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy and SME Action Plan.

Background

• The DTEP page can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-technology-exploitation-programme

• The specific areas of interest follow the MOD’s Enduring Capability Challenges. More information can be found in the Defence Capability Framework here.

• More details on the CCP Gransden, Thales and Ulster University programme can be found here.

• Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. The Innovate UK group is an ecosystem of expertise, funding, and powerful connections driving value through innovation. Innovate UK and Innovate UK KTN are working in close partnership with the MOD and DASA on the delivery of the DTEP programme.

Rupinder Kaur Thaker (42), from Chadwell Heath, Essex, was appointed director of TKML Limited in April 2016 at the same time the company was incorporated.

Five years later TKML Limited entered into creditors’ voluntary liquidation and the company’s insolvency triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators first uncovered several inconsistencies in the explanations provided by Rupinder Thaker when asked about the company.

The entry for TKML Limited on the company register stated the nature of business as take-away food shops and mobile food stands, and Rupinder Thaker’s occupation as a publicist. But in the report to creditors the company was described as providing catering services and décor supplies for wedding ceremonies.

Further enquiries found that between May 2019 and when the company went into insolvency in June 2021, Rupinder Thaker had failed to preserve and/or maintain adequate accounting records or failed to deliver them to the liquidator. This meant investigators could not verify several substantial transactions.

More than £250,000 paid out of the company bank account remains unexplained, questions persist around what TKML Limited did with a £45,000 bounce back loan and whether the company was entitled to a loan of that size, and whether £11,000 stated by Rupinder Thaker as being owed to her and a connected company were accurate.

On 12 July 2022, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a 7-year disqualification undertaking from Rupinder Thaker after she did not dispute that she failed to ensure that TKML Limited preserved and/or maintained adequate accounting records, or in the alternative, failed to deliver up adequate accounting records to the Liquidator.

Effective from 2 August 2022, Rupinder Thaker is banned from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

TKML Limited’s Liquidator is considering the bounce back loans and recovery of funds.

Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Head of Insolvent Investigations, said:

Despite repeated requests for books and records, Rupinder Thaker failed to provide the liquidator with any evidence that could have helped explain the legitimacy of the company’s financial affairs. Especially the £45,000 bounce back loan intended to support viable businesses during the pandemic.

Rupinder Thaker has been removed from the business environment for 7 years and her lengthy disqualification provides a stark warning that failing to maintain company books and records is a serious offence.

Rupinder Kaur Thaker is from Chadwell Heath, Essex, and her date of birth is January 1980.

TKML Limited (Company Reg no.10126155).

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

A new independent review will be launched today (Wednesday 27 July) into the wiring of Whitehall, looking at the efficiency and effectiveness of how government works and decisions are enacted.

The Governance and Accountability review will be led by former Cabinet Office Minister Lord Maude, who will chair the work and recommend ways to make government more efficient in autumn.

The review delivers on commitments in the Declaration on Government Reform to look at how the Civil Service functions and will evaluate how well the current system delivers on government commitments.

It will examine the duties of Ministers and top officials in governing the Civil Service, including the balance of their respective responsibilities and whether civil servants are sufficiently empowered to deliver against expectations, as well as the effectiveness of Cabinet and its Committees.

The way in which Cabinet decisions are implemented will be considered as part of this, such as how Cabinet Secretariat teams inform, record and monitor actions.

The role of Departmental Boards and Non-Executive Directors in the smooth running of departments will also be reviewed, along with the work of Civil Service wide boards in driving efficiency across Whitehall.

Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg said:

The public rightly expects the government to be a well-oiled machine, with clear lines of accountability ensuring government is making the best decisions possible and extracting maximum value from taxpayers’ money.

Lord Maude is uniquely qualified to lead this review. Leveraging his vast experience of public sector reform will help us learn lessons from the pandemic and better deliver on the British public’s priorities.

Former Cabinet Office minister and review Chair, Lord Maude said:

I was delighted that last year’s Declaration on Government Reform included the commitment to commission this review.  The commitment was made in the joint names of the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Head of the Civil Service, who both clearly recognised the need for it.  I am happy to accept the Government’s invitation to conduct this review.

The way government makes decisions, how they are implemented, and how Ministers and officials are held to account, are all essential to delivering good outcomes for  our citizens.

I will seek views from current and former Ministers and civil servants, and  will draw on lessons from other governments.

Departmental experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic will be evaluated as part of the review, with evidence being gathered from across government, experts in the private sector and other administrations around the world.

As a former Minister with significant experience in government and the private sector, including extensive experience of managing public sector efficiency and reform, Lord Maude is uniquely qualified to lead the review.

He will be supported by a Secretariat based in the Cabinet Office and will deliver his recommendations to the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency.

The review is being sponsored by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Antonia Romeo.

Notes to editors

You can read the review’s terms of reference here.

The review Chair is an unpaid role.

The Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency has commissioned an independent Review to deliver on Actions 29 and 30 from the 2021 Declaration on Government Reform:

• Action 29: Complete a review of Civil Service governance, including consideration of the appropriate roles for senior officials, Non-Executive Directors and Ministers.
• Action 30: Complete a review of models of accountability for decisions, drawing on international best practice and experiences during the pandemic and taking account of the role and design of ministerial directions.

The existing rights of and accountabilities to Parliament will be respected. The review will not consider any issues relating to taxation or the public spending accountability framework or governance processes, which are the responsibility of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and continue to be reviewed and updated as required through existing processes.