THE Armed Forces, which are being cut by more than 10,000, may be facing further redundancies, the Ministry of Defence indicated yesterday.
Don Touhig, the Under- Secretary of State for Defence, announced enhanced redundancy payments for Services personnel. The MoD said that the new terms were not aimed at the present round of cutbacks but at future restructuring. “where reductions cannot be achieved other than through redundancy”.
Under cuts announced last year, the Army and the Royal Navy are each losing about 1,500 personnel and the RAF more than 7,500.The RAF, the hardest hit of the three Services, is being reduced from about 49,000 to 41,000. RAF sources said that there were no plans at present to go below 41,000.
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The cutbacks in the RAF will be in three phases. The first is already over and volunteers for the second had until last month to offer their names. The third tranche will be organised in April next year.
Under plans for the Army, which include a total restructuring of the infantry regiments, the eventual size of the force has been set at 102,000. General Sir Mike Jackson, the Chief of Staff, is unlikely to look favourably on moves to cut his Service any further.
The Royal Navy is having its manpower reduced to 36,000, and is losing 12 warships. Although some cuts will be made possible by the introduction of ships that require smaller crews, there is bound to be resistance to any significant additional reductions.
The redundancy terms announced yesterday are “better related to an individual’s length of service”, the MoD said. The terms have remained largely unchanged since the early 1970s. The new package, which will consist of an increased one-off tax-free lump sum and an immediate pension, will apply to all men and women who joined the Services from April this year.
Hinting at the possibile scale of further cuts, Mr Touhig said that the new scheme would provide “cost-effective arrangements for managing any major drawdown in the level of Service manpower”. Mr Touhig added: “We owe a great deal to our military and it is right the Armed Forces’ redundancy package should continue to reflect the debt of honour we owe Service people and the sacrifices we ask them to make.”
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The MoD also announced a reduction in troop numbers in Northern Ireland. The King’s Own Scottish Borderers, based at Lisanelly Barracks in Omagh, Co Tyrone, will not be replaced when it completes its tour of duty in August next year.
The MoD said that the reductiobn resulted from an assessment of security carried out by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and army chiefs.
The reduction of one battalion will bring troop numbers in the province down to about 10,500.