THE GOVERNMENT has cut funding for Armed Forces cadet training in school – as the country marks Remembrance Day.
Furious politicians and military figures slammed the move – which will save the Treasury only around £1 million.
Neil O Brien uncovered cuts to the Army cadet training programme as the country marks Remembrance DayUK PARLIAMENT
Kids at hundreds of state schools across the country face losing out under the cut.
Tory MP Neil O’Brien, shadow education minister, fumed: “This is a really depressing piece of news in remembrance week when cadets will be out on parade across the whole whole country.
“The government can find money for all kinds of loony left wing projects, but choose not to find it for cadets.”
There are five branches of the cadets – including the Army, Air Training and Sea Cadets.
They teach kids across hundreds of state schools skills like first aid, camping, handling weapons, and our proud military tradition.
Some 226 schools, academies and free schools received cadet School Staff Instructor grants worth £3,814.80 in the past academic year to help with cadet training.
But Schools Minister Catherine McKinnell said they are cutting the grant – worth £1.1m.
Lt Col John Flexman, Contingent Commander, Reading School CCF, said cadets have “reduced truancy, improved social mobility and improved their exam results” and urged the government to “reconsider”.
The shock admission about the cut was slipped out by the Department for Education in a written answer to Mr O Brien.
Ms McKinnell said: “The department has had to take the difficult decision to not extend the additional SSI grant into this academic year.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “Our commitment to the cadet expansion programme and school-based cadet contingents is unwavering, with the cadet expansion programme receiving £3.6m of funding from MoD per year.
“The cadets helps to break down barriers for young people, supporting their skills, aspirations, confidence, and engagement with education.
“We are aiming to sustainably grow to 60,000 cadets in 500 school units across the UK.”
The government, through the Ministry of Defence, provides in the region of £180 million to support cadets schemes.
Meanwhile, alarming research has revealed veterans are twice as likely to have run out of food in the past year.
Research by the Trussell Trust found that 27 per cent of adults who have served in the UK’s Armed Forces have run out of food.
This compares to just 14 per cent of non military families.
Over 5,000 people were polled for the research.
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