Tories pledge to forces families

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Armed forces personnel and their families should be better looked after, the Conservatives have said.

The party plans to launch an armed forces families manifesto before the next general election, looking at housing, schooling and healthcare.

It accused the government of failing in its duty towards service personnel who put their lives at risk for the nation.

Defence minister Derek Twigg said the government was committed to improving housing and medical care for staff.

However, shadow defence spokesman Mark Harper said the government "has its priorities wrong" when it came to spending defence money.

'Debt of gratitude'

He said money spent refurbishing the Ministry of Defence would have been better spent on the forces.

"We can do more to repay the debt of gratitude we owe our armed forces and their families."

Mr Harper did not say if the Conservatives would spend more on the armed forces, but added: "Even within the existing defence budget we think there are better choices and smarter choices that could be made about the deployment of existing resources, aside from the question of how big the cake is."

Conservative leader David Cameron praised the armed forces, saying they were a "great source of pride for everyone who lives in Britain".

He has appointed a dedicated armed forces families minister who will look at all aspects of families' lives.

"I want to make sure that as leader of the Conservative party that we do everything to help their families back at home," Mr Cameron said.

"We're looking at the houses they live in, we're looking at the schools they send their children to, we're looking at the health services they receive and problems getting dental care.

"We'll be drawing all of that in an armed forces manifesto for their families. I think it is absolutely vital that we do this as a country."

'Inadequate' support

The party described the current level of support as "inadequate" despite forces being at their busiest since the Korean War.

Problems faced by service personnel and their families included high mobility, living in poor quality accommodation and a low level of home ownership.

Staff also found that being unable to plan their careers and their lives outside of work were the key factors in deciding to leave the armed forces.

"Mobility is a factor of forces life and serving personnel and their families accept this with good grace.

"But this does not mean that we should not do more to address the challenges and difficulties that they face in this," the party said.

Investment

"It is unfair to expect service personnel and their families to put up with the problems they face in housing, medical care and children's education when they give so much to this country."

But Mr Twigg highlighted that the government was spending £5b on accommodation over the next decade, "making up for decades of underinvestment, including two decades under the Tories".

He criticised the Conservatives' lack of detail on spending, saying: "Why won't the Tories say how much more, if any, they are prepared to spend - and where they will get the money from? These are just empty promises."

He also said that forces received "world-class treatment" at Selly Oak Hospital.