Manning control

A soldier from the Parachute Regiment, Corporal Paul Biddiss, was told in November 1999 by his Commanding Officer Lt Col Kennett that he would be manning controlled.[8] He refused to sign off his old contract as it was alleged he should never have been subject to the system; it is believed he was the first soldier to refuse. He won his fight against the system and is still a serving soldier.[9] This was the turning point for Manning Control due mainly to the treatment Cpl Biddiss and his family were alleged to have endured during the Manning Control process. This generated media attention to what was until then an unknown system of mass discharging of soldiers, allegedly for their pension rights.[10]

On 29 Apr 2002, Michael Smith, defence correspondent of The Daily Telegraph, Tom Newton Dunn, defence editor of the Daily Mirror and Andrew Gilligan from the Radio 4 Today programme, publicized the case of Cpl Paul Biddiss, in a combined effort and with the campaigning solicitor Thomas Reah, who later went on to help establish the British Armed Forces Federation under the leadership of Douglas Young.[11]

Tom Reah campaigned for the change in pension rights for the partner of an SAS soldier who was killed rescuing British hostages in Sierra Leone.[12] The Liberal Democrats defence spokesman Paul Keetch called for the immediate suspension of the scheme, known as "manning control" and an inquiry into its administration. Mr Breed from the Liberal Democrats defence team stated that

There is a danger of seeing such measures in purely fiscal terms—as an extra figure in the MOD budget—but the effect that such measures can have on members of the armed forces and their loved ones cannot be underestimated. To that end, I would like to raise a subject on which I have exchanged many letters and parliamentary questions with the Minster [sic] with responsibility for the armed forces: manning control points. In principle, a mechanism that prevents soldiers who are struggling from blocking promotion paths is reasonable, but in practice we have seen considerable evidence from former soldiers that the system has been misused, or at worst abused. Such a system should never be used simply to try to move decent, hard-working soldiers on to short-term contracts, under which they enjoy fewer rights and their service can be terminated without the pension entitlement that they richly deserve.[13]

During the next few months more and more stories were being reported about alleged abuse of the system by former soldiers. During Parliamentary questions the Ministry of Defence admitted that hundreds of medically unfit soldiers were thrown out of the Army rather than being given medical discharges, in an apparent contravention of its own rules.[14] The Army admitted it had used Manning Control to throw out soldiers who should have been Medically Discharged. The admission came in a written answer from Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces minister, who said 259 soldiers, who were medically downgraded to a point where they could no longer carry out their roles, had been sacked since 1997.[15]

A number of the medically unfit soldiers were sacked under the "manning control" system that allowed the Army to discharge soldiers it did not want. Medically Discharged. It was used to discharge hundreds of soldiers who had done nothing wrong, in an apparent attempt to ensure they did not qualify for an immediate pension. An unnamed serving soldier told Channel 4 News he believed the Army was forcing servicemen to “jump before they are pushed” in a bid to save money".

The Army was facing a class action by hundreds of former soldiers alleging that they were sacked or forced out under the manning control system to stop them attaining the length of service that would have entitled them to an immediate pension. Soon after, Manning Control was suspended but it is expected to be reintroduced, raising questions as to whether soldiers wounded in Afghanistan will find themselves "brown-enveloped".[16]

In December 2007, BAFF discovered a plan to sack Gurkhas early to reduce their pension rights using Manning Control. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is facing legal action over plans to cut the pensions of Gurkhas by sacking them three years before they are due to leave the army. The move, which means the MoD will avoid having to pay an ordinary Gurkha soldier more than £200,000, is to be challenged in the courts by the British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF).[17]

When Bill Rammell, the Secretary of State for Defence, was asked in parliament how many soldiers subject to manning control are (a) awaiting discharge and (b) have been discharged since 2007, he responded "No soldiers have been discharged under Manning Control Points since 2002, and no soldiers are awaiting discharge".[18][19][20]

Prime Minister David Cameron, answering MPs' questions following his Statement on the SDSR, gave the assurance that the resulting reductions in the numbers of service personnel would not involve the use of manning control instead of "proper redundancy payments". Against a historic background of injustice to some individuals during earlier times of financial stringency and forces downsizing, BAFF welcomes this important confirmation by the PM and looks to the MoD and service authorities to ensure that it is not overlooked in practice.