MPs warn over armed forces' morale
The huge strains on Britain's armed services are driving out experienced personnel and undermining morale, an influential group of MPs has warned.
The performance of the forces is "deteriorating" after five years of running at full stretch in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the Defence Select Committee.
It is "unacceptable" that troops are still not getting enough rest time, and budgets are being put under even more pressure by spiralling costs for major equipment projects, the select committee said.
The damning picture is painted in the MPs' annual report on the Ministry of Defence. They say: "We are deeply concerned that the Armed Forces have been operating at or above the level of concurrent operations they are resourced and structured to deliver for seven of the last eight years, and for every year since 2002."
The committee warns that recruitment continues to be a problem for the military, and neither the Army nor the RAF are likely to meet their target strengths this year. "Shortages remain within many specialist trades in all three Armed Services and, in particular, within the Army Medical Service."
The Army and RAF are breaking so-called "harmony" guidelines for how long troops should spend on active duty in any given year, the MPs say, adding: "This is another clear indicator of the pressure on our Armed Forces from the continuing high level of operations."
The committee also expresses dismay that troops are regularly being underpaid or overpaid by the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system, and calls on the MoD to resolve the problems "as quickly as possible". As a result of such issues, people seem to be quitting the forces in larger numbers than before, the report adds.
The committee highlights that projected costs for the Astute submarine and Type 45 destroyer projects have risen by some £500 million since March 2006, and the bill for the new Nimrod MRA4 is also going up. "Such cost increases put further pressure on the future defence budget which is already heavily committed," they warn.
Meanwhile, the dates when the destroyers and "desperately needed" new transport aircraft are due in to service have slipped back. Despite the Government promising an extra £7.7bn for the defence budget by 2011, cuts in the MoD's activities are "likely" because of major commitments to new equipment.
Defence minister Bob Ainsworth insisted the armed forces and the MoD were "delivering on our highest priority - success on operations".
