Armed forces cadets to get 30% boost in strategic defence review

The number of armed forces cadets will grow by 30% under new plans, the Mirror can reveal.

Writing for this newspaper, Defence Minister Alistair Carns promised an expansion of opportunities for young people to get involved in the forces.

"At a time when so many forces and voices work to pull us apart, the Armed Forces can represent our finest school for citizenship," he wrote.

"So we will expand opportunities for young people to experience the depth and breadth of a career in the Armed Forces, helping grow cadet numbers by 30%."

It comes as the government prepares to publish the long awaited Strategic Defence Review this week.

It will commit £1.5 billion to building six new weapons factories - and an "always on" munitions production capacity.

And it's expected to warn of the "immediate and pressing" danger posed by Russia as well as a "sophisticated and persistent challenge" from China.

The strategic defence review was launched by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last year, as the Government looks to overhaul Britain's military in the face of rising global tensions.

Ahead of the review, the UK has already committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product - a measure of the size of the economy - on defence from April 2027, rising to 3% during the next Parliament.

The review will also include £1.5bn in extra funding for military homes.

Cash will be used on urgent repairs such as fixing boilers and roofs, and other issues including tackling damp, the MoD said.

Speaking on a visit to some military homes in Cambridgeshire, Defence Secretary John Healey said: "I'm announcing through the strategic defence review a record increase - £1.5 billion in the next five years - to upgrade military family homes.

Last month, the Government launched a consumer charter aimed at improving the living conditions for service personnel and their families.

It commits to higher move-in standards, more reliable repairs and a named housing officer for every family.

It also pledges a shorter complaints process and more freedom for families to be able to make improvements to their service homes.

By ALISTAIR CARNS, Defence Minister

THE war in Ukraine has taught us many valuable lessons about modern weapons and 21st century battlefield tactics. But it has also demonstrated that even in this age of cyber and autonomous warfare, people remain our most important asset.

That’s a message Britain forgot over the past decade and a half, as under the Tories our Armed Forces became increasingly hollowed out, and morale slumped among serving men and women.

As we prepare to announce our Strategic Defence Review tomorrow - a landmark plan to make Britain secure at home and strong abroad - we are determined to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve.

We have already delivered the largest pay hike for serving personnel in more than two decades, and last week, we announced a second inflation-busting pay rise.

We’ve overhauled military recruitment.

And we’ve bought back 36,000 Armed Forces homes from the private sector to reverse the disastrous sell-off of military housing by the Tories in 1996.

Now, as part of the Strategic Defence Review, we are committing a record £1.5 billion to rapidly improve armed forces housing. This new money means we’ll be investing £7 billion in this Parliament to give our heroes the homes they deserve and boost recruitment, retention and morale.

But it’s not just serving personnel who will benefit from the Review. Just a few weeks ago, we announced VALOUR, a new nationwide programme to give veterans better access to care and support, recognising the sacrifices they have made to keep us safe. New networks will better connect veterans with housing, employment and health services across the UK.

As we move to warfighting readiness, we will fast-track the best technology into the hands of frontline troops, giving them an edge over our adversaries.

But Ukraine also shows us our forces are only as strong as the industry that stands behind them. So today we are announcing we will build at least six new munitions and energetics factories and 7,000 long-range weapons here in the UK, which will mean more than 1,800 skilled jobs in every nation and region.

To further strengthen homeland defence, we will widen participation in national resilience. That means breaking down barriers between civilians and the military, developing a ‘whole of society’ approach to deterrence.

At a time when so many forces and voices work to pull us apart, the Armed Forces can represent our finest school for citizenship.

So we will expand opportunities for young people to experience the depth and breadth of a career in the Armed Forces, helping grow cadet numbers by 30%.

And we will develop a new UK Strategic Reserve by 2030.

All of this made possible by the Prime Minister’s commitment to the largest increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, rising to 2.5% of GDP by 2027.

In a more dangerous world, we are delivering on our government’s first duty – keeping the British people safe – the foundation of our Plan for Change.

But never forgetting that at the heart of this Strategic Defence Review are the men and women who give so much to protect our nation and defend our freedoms.