Summary
There has been widespread media coverage this weekend of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan report which shows a sharp rise in the number of Afghan civilian deaths in the country for the fifth year in a row. | Various media report that the situation in Syria is worsening, with reports claiming that nearly 350 people have been killed by government forces in the city of Homs and failure by the UN to reach a consensus on sanctions. | Various media report that Prince William has started work as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot in the Falkland Islands. | Various papers reported on Saturday on President Obama's decision to begin the pull-out of combat troops from Afghanistan, with the Financial Times saying it was a political gamble designed to help the President's re-election chances. | The Times highlights comments from Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO, who is urging Britain and other member nations to train together more frequently to help maintain unity after troops withdraw from Afghanistan. | The Telegraph reports that there has been a spate of equipment thefts from defence establishments around the country. | The Mail on Sunday and various news websites reported that Britain and France are expected to sign a deal to develop a high-tech unmanned aircraft based on the Mantis project developed by BAE Systems. | The Sunday Mirror reported that the morale of British soldiers is at rock bottom. | This morning the BBC had live coverage of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery leaving St John's Wood Barracks in London for the last time prior to their move to Woolwich. | The Telegraph reports that Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has pledged his armed forces would fight alongside Argentina in any conflict with Britain. | The Daily Star reports on the start of Apprenticeship Week, with a focus on military apprenticeships, saying the Army has the largest National Employer Apprenticeship Scheme in the UK, taking on about 8,000 apprentices per year. | The Daily Mail reports that taxpayers face a bill of up to £600m if defence firm BAE Systems closes its historic dockyard in Portsmouth. | The Sun reports that Royal Navy sailors have captured a notorious pirate who has six toes on each foot. The Somali gangster - dubbed 'Six Toe Joe' in defence circles - also has 10 fingers plus two thumbs due to a rare condition.
Top military personnel redundancies
The Daily Telegraph has claimed that military top brass have managed to dodge redundancies compared to 6,000 lower ranks that have lost their jobs under the Armed Forces Redundancy Programme.
The MOD is making reductions in the numbers of civilian and military personnel, including senior officers. Work already undertaken by the Single Services has included the reduction of some two-star roles and individuals. Importantly, in line with Lord Levene's recommendation, the Department is currently conducting a review of all senior posts to determine where those reductions can sensibly be made.
Two-stars and above are not included in the Armed Forces Redundancy Programme as they serve under different terms and conditions of service than those of one-star rank and below - they are employed on a post-by-post basis and can be released without any redundancy compensation at the end of their existing posting. Where an individual's post is cut during their expected posting length they are considered for equivalent redundancy compensation.
Officers' household staff
The Sunday People reported that the five top-ranking officers in the Army, Royal Navy and RAF cost the taxpayer £600,000 in household staff.
Senior officers in certain posts are required to undertake official hospitality for defence purposes, and were allocated properties for this purpose. As some of these buildings are listed, they are expensive to maintain. In December 2011, a new official hospitality and domestic assistance policy was implemented which will save a minimum of £3m a year.
Soldiers' personal insurance
Various papers report that Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy has claimed that troops are not taking out PAX insurance as they are unable to afford the policy.
PAX is just one of several insurance schemes available to Service personnel all of which are heavily publicised to members of the Armed Forces, especially those deploying on operations. These schemes have existed for a number of years under this and previous governments and criticisms of PAX affordability ought to be seen in context.
The Government has doubled the Operational Allowance which sees servicemen and women receive on average an extra £5,400 in their pay packets for a typical six-month operational tour in Afghanistan. This equates to about £900 per month out of which they would have to pay £74.10 for the highest level of personal accident and life insurance cover (15 PAX units).
Insurance cover is voluntary but the obvious benefits of take-up are made clear to personnel, particularly those who are undertaking high risk roles. Media reports that up to 50 personnel have been killed in Afghanistan without PAX doesn't take into account that these servicemen may have had other insurance policies in place.
Furthermore, personal accident and life insurance cover is separate from the increased amounts of money already provided by the MOD under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme to Service personnel injured as a result of service. We continue to work with insurers to make sure that PAX insurance premiums remain affordable and that PAX continues to provide the right amount of cover for servicemen and women serving in Afghanistan.
Wind farms
The Daily Telegraph reports that Britain's nuclear submarines risk running aground or colliding with other vessels if plans for a series of offshore wind farms near Faslane go ahead.
The MOD has been in dialogue with the Scottish Government during the production of the report identifying potential areas for future offshore wind farm development in Scottish waters. We have identified areas that may affect defence naval interests. We will continue to engage with the Scottish Government in the preparation of plans for potential offshore wind farm development zones.
We do not routinely discuss the specifics of submarine movements. However, any areas that could be classed as obstacles would be taken into account when deploying naval assets.
