British army told to stop non-essential training exercises to save money

The Army has been told to stop "non-essential" training exercises to save money, according to a defence source.

It will continue to train soldiers preparing to be deployed or on deployments - such as units sent to Estonia, the Falklands or Cyprus.

But units back in the UK and who are not preparing for a specific deployment have been told to cut back on collective training exercises due to financial pressures.

It comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces pressure to increase spending on defence.

The government is increasing defence spending to 2.5% of national income by next year, but is under growing pressure to reach a target of 3% by the end of the decade.

A defence source said the plans mean not doing what he called "nice to have training" - like large live fire exercises and rehearsing platoon attacks in UK training areas like Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire and Sennybridge in Wales.

It is understood planned exercises that were due to take place that are now cancelled include one involving the Royal Tank Regiment conducting live fire drills in Wales and a separate exercise involving tanks and Apace helicopters.

This was not the choice of the army, the source said. The pause is expected to continue for most of this year.

Other specific training aimed at modernising the Army – such as practising drone and counter-drone warfare is expected to continue.

The Army says it is prioritising the training that has been informed by lessons learnt from the war in Ukraine, and is reviewing each request for training on a case-by-case basis.

Though the government is increasing defence spending, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is still struggling to fund all its investment plans.

Much of the new money has been earmarked for specific capital projects, including new weapons programmes. The part of the MoD's budget for training is still under significant pressure.

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 £2bn to transform training for the British Army over the next 15 years."

On Wednesday during Prime Minister's Questions, the chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, Labour's Tan Singh Dhesi, warned it was imperative to invest in the armed forces and urged Burnham to commit to reaching 3% of GDP spend on defence by 2030.

The prime minister replied: "I've made that commitment very clear, and I have done for a considerable period of time."

The government's wavering over defence spending was part of the downfall of Burnham's predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer - with former Defence Secretary John Healey resigning his position in response to Sir Keir's plans on funding the armed forces.

Plans set out in the Defence Investment Plan (Dip) will see defence spending rise to 2.7% of GDP by 2027/28, but there are no firm details 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% and 3.5% at the spending review, due to take place next year.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged the prime minister to "cut welfare spending and invest that money in our defence". The party says it would spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030.

"Faced with a choice between spending on military training and spending on benefits... Labour chooses more benefits," Tory shadow secretary of state for work and pensions Helen Whately said.

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