The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a slight reduction in funding for Royal Marines training over the past year, while Army training budgets have remained unchanged.
In response to a Parliamentary Question from James Cartlidge MP (Conservative – South Suffolk), Defence Minister Luke Pollard outlined the adjustments made to manage financial pressures.
“In the last 12 months planned expenditure on Royal Marines training was reduced by 1.8% as part of wider Departmental action to manage pressure on in-year budgets, with limited impact on Royal Marines training outputs overall,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Pollard confirmed that “expenditure for the same period for Army training during this period, defined as direct training exercises including Phase 1 (basic training) and Phase 2 (initial training), has not changed.”
Phase 1 training refers to the initial instruction given to new recruits, focusing on military skills, discipline, and basic fitness. Phase 2 covers specialist training, equipping personnel with the specific skills required for their chosen roles within the Army or Royal Marines.
The modest 1.8% reduction to Royal Marines training funding is described as part of broader cost management efforts across the Ministry of Defence. Officials maintain that this adjustment has been carefully implemented to ensure that core training activities, operational readiness, and future capability development have not been adversely affected.
No further cuts to military training budgets have been announced. However, wider departmental savings measures are ongoing as the Ministry continues to balance operational needs with financial pressures.
Why do we keep getting cuts in defence before the ‘Defence Review’??? I think this review is a delaying tactic regarding defence spending – maybe the government hopes Putin will become a nice guy and stop killing people, invading countries and threatening the UK with nuclear attack.
I noticed there is no mention of Labour’s statement that they won’t disapply the EHCR if our troops our sent out to Ukraine. The troubles legal processes are still ongoing with our troops going back 50 years (even though it is illegal to have retrospect laws applied). Phil Shiner was spared jail for committing fraud against the MoD and our troops. It does make you wonder who the hell would want to be a squaddie these days with tank chasing lawyers around…all eager to make a quick buck out of troops misery for doing their jobs.
Starmer being a Human rights barrister, will like he has done in the past 9 months take more pity with those claiming rather than the Brits , he’ll even help their lawyers with the ECHR
Absolutely crazy blunting the sharp end of the spear….
Combine this with the drone development article that says MoD funding was run on and funding stalled.
Madness how on earth do MoD expect SME’s to carry out R&D with the cash flow taps set to an unknown variable….
That’s odd, you’d think that if the government has stated that it’s increasing the defence budget, it would not decrease it.
“increasing ” it to 2.5 per cent by 2027/28 by which time inflation will take most of the increase and the economy may have bombed.
This is in-year spending not capital investment (defence review stuff). Not at all uncommon. Cost management is moving the funding from one budget line to another rather than decreasing or ‘cutting’ it. Someone, somewhere petitioned the strategic management that this money needed to be reallocated. It was either approved by Nick Donlevy as Finance Director (if within his authority) or signed off by the Navy Board. The allocation will remain within the Navy Top Level Budget.
Another lie by greasy snake Starmer, raise defence spend in one hand but take it in another! That money will be used to house and keep illigal immigrants reather than improve defence housing or investment.