The British Army has been instructed to pause non-essential training exercises as part of a cost-saving effort. According to The Times and the BBC, troops preparing for deployment, those currently deployed, and units on standby or in quick-reaction roles will continue training as normal.
However, collective training exercises for UK-based units are being suspended for most of this year amid budget pressures. The now-cancelled exercises included those involving tanks and Apache helicopters, the reports said.
Army response to training suspension
The Army did not deny the cuts, stating that a training regime informed by lessons from the Ukraine conflict – including on drone warfare and modernisation – is being prioritised.
An Army spokesperson said: “Our training continues and we are prioritising activity that contributes most directly to readiness, deployability and operational effectiveness. We are also investing £2 billion to transform training for the British Army over the next 15 years.”
Pressure on defence spending
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is under pressure to increase defence spending to 3 percent of national income by 2030, rising to 3.5 percent by 2035. This week, the chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, Labour MP Tan Singh Dhesi, urged him to “urgently commit to charting a pathway to reaching 3 percent of GDP spend on defence by 2030 which, as his Chancellor rightly noted, is critical to keeping our country safe”.
Plans set out in the Defence Investment Plan (Dip) will see defence spending rise to 2.7 percent of GDP by 2027/28, but no firm details have been provided on how further increases will be achieved beyond that date. The Treasury has consistently said the Government will set out plans for reaching both 3 percent and 3.5 percent at the spending review, due to take place next year.
