by Atul Hatwal
Shocking new figures uncovered by Uncut reveal how the Ministry of Defence has slashed payments to injured troops by 9% over the past year.
Between 2010/11 and 2011/12, claims to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme – the support fund for servicemen and women who are injured in the line of duty– rose by 20% from 7335 to 8830. But at the same time, the number of claims where compensation was awarded remained virtually static, rising slightly from 3,890 to 3925
This means that the proportion of injured soldiers, sailors and aircrew who received compensation fell from 53% in 2010/11 to 44% in 2011/12, a drop of 9%.
The size of the fall will prompt speculation that money and not troops’ welfare is dictating compensation policy.
The latest figures were buried in an obscure statistical release that was issued by the MoD without a press release or any detail about the striking fall in awards in the summary.
News of the plunging levels of compensation comes weeks after the independent Armed Forces Pay Review Body warned that impending pay cuts would be “damaging for…motivation”.
The combined impact of lower pay and reduced support if injured will likely hit the forces’ already fragile morale.
Worse still, as the cuts bite for frontline troops, the litany of bungled spending and wasted resources keeps mounting up for the MoD.
A damning report earlier this year from the Public Accounts Committee found the cost of Britain’s biggest military programmes had soared by £500million in a year because “wasteful” defence chiefs failed to “live within their means”.
And just last month it emerged that the MoD’s decision to change the planes to be used on the new aircraft carriers, reverting back to the original choice made by the last Labour government, will cost £250 million.
Despite these disasters, and the impact of cuts on forces’ morale, the government has pressed ahead with its ever deeper programme of cuts to the military.
The secretary of state for defence, Phillip Hammond, proudly boasted to parliament that the government would be able to balance the defence budget as a result of their efficiencies.
But with the drop in forces’ compensation now evident, the extent of the cuts seems to be even deeper than previously admitted.
Atul Hatwal is editor at Uncut
