Defence spending increase
Discussion
So we had a budget ten minutes ago, and they forgot to mention this. What's being cut to pay for it do we know?
Not saying it's a bad thing given the state of the world right now, but, local elections you're going to get spanked in aside, seems odd to announce it.... Right now..?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68880171
Not saying it's a bad thing given the state of the world right now, but, local elections you're going to get spanked in aside, seems odd to announce it.... Right now..?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68880171
macron said:
So we had a budget ten minutes ago, and they forgot to mention this. What's being cut to pay for it do we know?
Not saying it's a bad thing given the state of the world right now, but, local elections you're going to get spanked in aside, seems odd to announce it.... Right now..?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68880171
They announced it (to the media) over a year ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D4uriF4eOsNot saying it's a bad thing given the state of the world right now, but, local elections you're going to get spanked in aside, seems odd to announce it.... Right now..?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68880171
It was also in the budget speech but with a vaguer timeline https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-03-06/d...
Jeremy Hunt said:
Our armed forces remain the most professional and best-funded in Europe, with defence spending already more than 2% of GDP. We are providing more military support to Ukraine than nearly any other country, and our spending will rise to 2.5% as soon as economic conditions allow.
I think it is too little and we will be forced into spending quite a lot more than 2.5% within a couple of years, but hopefully I'm wrong on that.
CoolHands said:
I would ask why it’s going to be 2030 before we manage it. Get on it now
Mainly because there's little that can be bought quickly that UK forces need, it's all long lead time stuff or things to fix recruitment and retention which lack sexiness, no Secretary of State for Defence dreams of cutting the ribbon to open a Single Living Accommodation block, despite people leaving early because heating doesn't work or there's no hot water out of the taps. Retention bonus payments are also not sexy, nor are pay increases.hidetheelephants said:
CoolHands said:
I would ask why it’s going to be 2030 before we manage it. Get on it now
Mainly because there's little that can be bought quickly that UK forces need, it's all long lead time stuff or things to fix recruitment and retention which lack sexiness, no Secretary of State for Defence dreams of cutting the ribbon to open a Single Living Accommodation block, despite people leaving early because heating doesn't work or there's no hot water out of the taps. Retention bonus payments are also not sexy, nor are pay increases.Cultural changes in acquisition required for that though....
CoolHands said:
isaldiri said:
CoolHands said:
Less support for Israel?
You want to check how much that actually is and whether it’s being paid for rather than given? Do you have an example of this ‘giving’?
Previous said:
Cultural changes in acquisition required for that though....
Good luck with that! 
MoD seem to have much the same chronic procurement problems that they had 30 years ago, UOR "hair on fire order the whizzo shiny things now" aside it's still s
t. UOR is useful but no substitute for properly managed procurement.The procurement process is a joke but then so is recruitment and retention.
Giving Capita the job of recruiting folks has been an abysmal failure.
There are huge pressures on those in (for example) the army. Yet, I’m not sure one infantry battalion is actually at full strength.
The Ranger battalions are a fudge, with soldiers with lots of Gucci kit and yet no real remit and are just draining people from other units.
Unless we reverse the downward trend, in a land battle war we really are borked at present.
Giving Capita the job of recruiting folks has been an abysmal failure.
There are huge pressures on those in (for example) the army. Yet, I’m not sure one infantry battalion is actually at full strength.
The Ranger battalions are a fudge, with soldiers with lots of Gucci kit and yet no real remit and are just draining people from other units.
Unless we reverse the downward trend, in a land battle war we really are borked at present.
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