Assistance from the armed forces: Supporting civil authorities
The Court of Audit is auditing the third main task of the armed forces: supporting civil authorities during emergencies and crises, for example by building temporary bridges, assisting in the evacuation of flooded areas, maintaining public order, firefighting and responding to pandemics such as COVID-19.
It is important that the Ministry of Defence supports citizens when they are in danger. The Court of Audit is investigating whether the minister supports civil authorities effectively and whether policy on the third main task is effective.
Why are we carrying out this investigation?
The armed forces are increasingly being called upon to perform their third main task. This demands a lot from the defence organisation, especially now that the war in Ukraine has raised the urgency of protecting national and NATO territory. What impact does this have on performance of the third main task?
What are our audit questions?
Our key audit questions are:
- What is the quality of the Minister of Defence’s policy preparations for the third main task?
- How effective is the Minster of Defence’s support of civil authorities in practice?
- What is the quality of the Minister of Defence’s policy evaluations of the third main task?
- What insight does the Minister of Defence have into revenue and expenditure for the third main task?
Do you want to take part in this investigation?
The Court of Audit invites you to share any information you may have that would benefit our investigation. We appreciate all contributions, knowledge and experience you may care to share with us on this topic. Simply send an email to bijdrage@rekenkamer.nl.
We read all emails carefully and treat them in confidence. However, we are not able to reply to every contribution we receive.