Armed Forces Bill part one

[The Patriot]

Armed Forces Bill part one

01-11-2011 04:26 AM

ShareThis Published:
Tue, 2011-01-11 12:25


Armed Forces Bill part one


Armed Forces Bill part one

Source: BBC NEWS

Government changes to armed forces pensions are "heartless" and "devastating", Labour has said.
Under coalition proposals, servicemen and women - along with war widows - will potentially lose hundreds of thousands of pounds in payouts as the government brings their pensions into line with other public sector workers.
As MPs debated the Armed Forces Bill at second reading, shadow defense secretary Jim Murphy said the plans would mean a 27-year-old corporal who has lost both his legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan would miss out on £500,000 in pension and benefit payments.
He told the Commons: "We are in no doubt that there is in the current climate a need for restraint in public sector pay and pensions.
"But this year-on-year change would disproportionately affect members of the armed forces and their dependants who rely on the pensions at earlier ages than almost anyone else.
"The impact of these proposed changes will be devastating."
Opening debate on the bill, Defense Secretary Liam Fox said the UK's armed forces were "among the best, if not the best, in the world".
The bill renews legislation that provides for the existence of the UK's armed forces, a task Parliament undertakes every five years.
It also contains measures relating to the military police, and the punishment of service personnel.
Dr Fox said the legislation would "ensure that our armed forces continue to have a fair and modern system of service justice that underpins the operational effectiveness of which we are all in the House rightly proud".








More...