16.1 |
The welfare of Service Personnel
by evidence
“for example to demonstrate the link between retention and
improved
accommodation
… The process had to be placed on a more scientific
basis.”
79.
In advance of
the 26 November meeting of the SPB, Lt Gen Palmer circulated
a
personal
“think-piece” on STP04.62
It
described STP03 as “relatively good for personnel”,
although
“recruiting and retaining Service Personnel is becoming
increasingly difficult
and
expensive as demographics change, expectations rise and technology
evolves”.
80.
Looking ahead
to STP04, Lt Gen Palmer assessed that, while the Services
had
made
significant progress towards achieving manning balance targets and
premature
voluntary
retirement (PVR) rates remained relatively low, “the current level
of operational
commitments
… is threatening to undermine or reverse the progress
made”.
81.
Emerging
problems were:
•
The Army
reported that Op TELIC was having a “marked impact” on
tour
intervals,
rendering it unable to meet Harmony/Separated Service
Guidelines.
•
The RAF
reported a significant worsening in their figures for Separated
Service.
•
Across all
three Services, pressure on pinch point trades was
increasing.
Medical
services continued to be a specific concern.
•
The number
of Reservists available for mobilisation was falling.
82.
Lt Gen Palmer
concluded that the MOD’s forthcoming planning round was
likely
to be
particularly challenging; the SPB would need to give direction on
which personnel
priorities
should be “reprieved”.
83.
Mr Ingram
visited Basra in December 2003.63
He reported to
Mr Geoff Hoon, the
Defence
Secretary, that, while UK Armed Forces were in “excellent shape”,
he had
concerns
for the future:
“Some units
in Iraq have had exceptionally busy operational and training
cycles
before
deployment … I detected signs that the pressures of repeated
long
separations
may be building in some areas. We will need to manage this
carefully
in the
New Year …”
84.
There are two
key types of Reserve Forces:
•
members of
the Volunteer Reserve Forces (VRF) who serve within VRF
units
and usually
train in the evenings, at weekends and for at least two weeks
each
year;
and
62
Paper
DCDS(Pers), 17 November 2003, ‘STP 04 – A Paper by
DCDS(Pers)’.
63
Letter
Ingram to Secretary of State [MOD], 30 December 2003, ‘Visit to UK
Forces in Basra
17‑19 December
2003’.
17