The cost of living crisis opened the British military to charities

According to Fars International Economic Group, Sky News revealed in a report that some British military personnel and their families have been forced to use food banks because high inflation and increased costs have caused a crisis for the members of the armed forces of this country.

There is even an unofficial food bank at a major Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Lincolnshire, a military source said.

According to the report, a charity fundraiser at Royal Air Force Base Cunningham (home of the Typhoon fast jet squadrons) was set up by an airman to collect food donations from servicemen and women, which the source said is now staffed by Air Force personnel. Royal air is used.

Internal Royal Air Force (RAF) documents seen by Sky News, as well as interviews with military sources and charities, reveal the wider impact of the cost of living crisis on the military.

It is stated in these documents: Some personnel need to choose between “food or fuel” so that some are not able to drive home to see their families.

Another example is a female pilot who has a small child and had to go without hot food for 4 days because she spent the last of her money on formula.

According to these documents, the volume of requests to a major charity by or on behalf of military personnel has more than doubled. These people are looking for financial support.

Meanwhile, there are people who are not even able to pay the price of a subsidized meal.

According to these documents, while the armed forces are not allowed to protest and strike themselves, they are forced to cover the strike of public sector workers to receive better wages, and this has created a feeling of dissatisfaction among them.

While the documents deal with the situation within the Royal Air Force, a source in the Royal Navy and an Army source said personnel in their respective services were also experiencing problems.

“The Ministry of Defense has tried to offer more help, such as paying for childcare, but I think more needs to be done,” a source familiar with the Royal Navy said.

He added, I hear stories that some sailors can’t go home on weekends or during the vacation period because of travel expenses; Staff also use food banks or contact service charities to help pay their debts.

Overall, cost-of-living pressures as well as inadequacies in military housing — such as inadequate heating and vermin — were the biggest factors that had an “adverse effect” on military morale, according to the report.

A source familiar with the food bank at Royal Air Force Cunningham said personnel use the food bank “extensively”.

Asked how they feel about it, he said, “(Staff) are incredibly angry and frustrated that they’ve gotten to the point where they have to rely solely on charitable agencies to survive.”

According to this report, a low-ranking officer established this food bank a few years ago to help the needy in Cunningsby and surrounding villages.

The food bank’s page reads: “As the cost of living rises, please look out for each other. If you need a food package, please contact us.”

A spokesperson for the Royal Air Force said about this food bank, this food bank was not established for the personnel of this base, but did not comment on the use of this food bank by airmen.

The MoD is said to treat any use of food banks by military personnel as a “personal life matter” and has no statistics to support those who are said to be using them.

However, Royal Air Force Cunningham officials raised concerns with air command last July about an “alarming increase in requests for help among personnel in all welfare sectors as a direct result of the cost of living crisis”.

This report was prepared based on the information collected from the experiences of 4 groups consisting of 150 personnel and their families in a one-week period and based on several topics; Among other things, personnel are challenged to get fuel to drive to work. Staff who cannot travel home every week and have to stay in the unit which reduces morale and happiness (among them) and a real concern for the winter months when the cost of electricity and gas will exacerbate the current situation.

According to the documents and according to military sources, due to the sharp increase in inflation, wages are another factor that puts pressure on the army.

Another recent research has shown that almost 2 million British citizens skip a full day’s meals 3 times a month due to the rising cost of living.

On the other hand, another research shows that one in 10 adults did not pay their energy bills in April due to the cost of living crisis, and the number of British people unable to pay bills reached 5.5 million.

At the same time, the Guardian newspaper wrote a while ago that economists have warned British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that due to the high inflation rate, which causes the central bank to raise interest rates to curb inflation, England will probably enter recession next year.

These economists predicted that the Central Bank of England will have to push the country’s economy into recession in order to curb inflation. The bank has set the stage for further increases in borrowing costs in mortgages and loans to millions of households.

Following the spread of the Corona virus and then the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which resulted in Western sanctions against the country’s oil and gas, with the increase in energy costs in Europe, the inflation rate in the countries of this union increased sharply, and the increase in the cost of living became a crisis. which puts more pressure on European families day by day, so that in many countries, families cannot afford their daily expenses; England is also not far away from this situation and according to this report, this situation has also been extended to the army of this country.

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