[UAH] Up to 5,300 soldiers set to lose their jobs in British Army redundancies

Up to 5,300 soldiers set to lose their jobs in British Army redundancies

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The Independent

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 6:28 AM GMT

Thousands of soldiers will learn today whether they have lost their jobs in the latest round of Army redundancies.

A fresh tranche of up to 5,300 Army personnel are to be handed redundancy notices as the Government tries to reduce the number of regulars from 102,000 to 82,000 by 2018.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the move was necessary to help balance the books but insisted operational capability would not be affected.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has confirmed there will be no further reductions in manpower in the next round of spending cuts.

But shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said the redundancy notices being issued today "represent not just broken promises but a failing strategy" to reform the British Army.

The MoD said it had attempted to maximise the number of voluntary redundancies, but acknowledged in some cases it had been necessary for some soldiers who had not applied to lose their jobs in order to maintain the Army's balance and structure.

A spokeswoman said: "Tough decisions needed to be made to address the multibillion-pound deficit and bring the defence budget back into balance.

"This unfortunately included making some redundancies across the armed forces. However we can be clear that these reductions will not affect our operational capability.

"The end of combat operations in Afghanistan and the restructuring of our armed forces means they will be more reflective of the complex global situation and more adaptable to future challenges and threats."

But Mr Murphy said: "The Government has a flawed plan for reforming the British Army. There is a huge effort going into sacking soldiers but nowhere near as much is being done to plug the gap by recruiting new reservists.

"These redundancies represent not just broken promises but a failing strategy, and the level of voluntary applicants will be a signal of morale."

Mr Murphy seized on comments by Chief of the General Staff General Sir Peter Wall, who said any gap between military resources and planned capabilities caused by spending cuts "could become quite dangerous, quite quickly".

The head of the Army suggested that imposing further efficiencies while the impact of previous deep spending cuts on the armed forces are still being absorbed would be "very disruptive".

Mr Murphy said: "Senior Army figures are right to warn that ministers' decisions could lead to a mismatch between capability and ambition.

"Labour knows that difficult decisions need to be made, and accepts this means smaller services than in 2010. Far from having balanced the defence budget, however, ministers' failed economic plan means long-term decisions in defence will be required. Despite their claims, ministers have failed to put defence on a stable footing."

Answering questions in the Commons, Mr Hammond said savings demanded of his department in this month's spending review would not require further cuts to the size of the armed forces.

Mr Hammond said the MoD would meet its share of the £11.5 billion in cuts across Government demanded by Chancellor George Osborne through efficiency savings.

The Defence Secretary told the Commons the MoD was "not looking at changes that will reduce military manpower".

PA