Let’s start treating our armed forces with dignity and respect TO CHOOSE to enter public service is a noble and honourable career choice.

MP says pay, pensions and housing for those in the military must improve if we are serious about attracting recruits to keep our country safe

Whether it’s in the classroom, the hospital ward or as a member of the armed forces, those who choose to contribute to the betterment of public life – both in and out of uniform – are to be commended and encouraged.

You could be forgiven for thinking the Tory Government want to discourage people from entering the forces.

I have always believed that those who choose to do so deserve the same dignity and respect as any other public sector worker in uniform.

Sadly, members of the armed forces are getting the worst deal possible – and it’s the SNP who are taking on the Tories and offering the alternatives. Let’s start with housing. In the House of Commons, I raised the issue of extremely poor service military families said they were getting from Carillion/ AMEY, the partnership responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of many MoD accommodation sites.

Research shows that fewer than half of regular personnel are satisfied with the overall standard of their accommodation. That’s a 10 per cent drop in the last two years alone.

This is becoming a major issue in retaining service personnel.

It was estimated that Carillion received about 1500 calls per day complaining about substandard housing and poor-quality repairs.

When I put this to Government ministers last week, they flippantly suggested that people were only complaining about broken lightbulbs.

The truth is, they are calling about consistently broken boilers, lack of cooking appliances, chronic dampness and, in one case, a kitchen with no units.

The accommodation wouldn’t meet the housing standards of the 70s.

On pay, the armed forces – like other UK Government public sector workers – are subject to the one per cent pay cap. This, in reality, is a cut to their wages because of inflation. So an Army private on £21,000, is, in effect, losing about £400 a year from their wages, thanks to the Tories.

Not only have the Holyrood administration lifted the one per cent pay cap for Scottish Government public sector workers, but our new tax proposals will see frontline squaddies in Scotland – the lowest paid in our armed forces – pay less tax than their counterparts in the rest of the UK.

So while the Conservative Government in London cut the wages of the lowest paid, the SNP Government in Edinburgh are putting money in their pockets.

The shameful deal our armed forces receive from the Tories is just one reason why there is such an appalling crisis in recruitment.

On pay, housing, pensions and much more, a career in the military looks less and less attractive. Is it any wonder that the forces are at their lowest ever since the Napoleonic wars?

It’s also worth noting that the armed forces are not allowed to form a trade union, or any kind of body that can bargain on their behalf to get better terms at work. I believe that’s wrong. In countries like the Netherlands and Denmark, the armed forces have a right to a trade union who work to improve their lot.

In fact, so good is a career in the military viewed in the Netherlands that they have a problem trying to get people to retire. The problem we have is getting people to join in the first place and then to stay.

The SNP manifesto committed us to working to establish a representative body for members of the armed forces – similar to that of the police federation.

Men and women who choose to protect us and put themselves in harm’s way deserve a better deal. They deserve more than hollow words in the aftermath of terrorist attacks or at Memorial Day events.

The SNP have established an Armed Forces and Veterans Commission, tasked with engaging as widely as possible with those who have served in uniform, their families and the charities who support veterans.

The commission will report this year on the deal that we believe members of our forces community deserve – an offer that treats them with dignity and provides them with security of employment.

At Westminster, the SNP are leading a bold, progressive and new way of thinking on how we look after those who choose to defend our safety and security.

At Holyrood, the Scottish Government are widely acknowledged to be streets ahead in the support we offer veterans.

I believe there is a consensus among the public that military personnel, our veterans and their families deserve better than what they get just now.

I hope other parties will join us as we seek to improve their lot.

Military personnel, our veterans and their families deserve better McDONALD