Armed forces recruitment crisis could worsen over VAT on private school fees, insiders say

Published

6 months ago

November 10, 2024

admin

A recruitment and retention crisis in the armed forces will grow unless the government exempts military families from paying VAT on private school fees, insiders have warned.

Sky News understands that more and more families are raising concerns internally about the “damaging” policy after the chancellor failed to offer sufficient protections in her budget.

They say a promise to increase an allowance funded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) that helps to cover the cost of school fees does not go far enough, and that highly experienced personnel – officers and other ranks – will quit if Rachel Reeves does not perform a U-turn.

Such a loss in skills would weaken UK defences at a time of rising threats, the insiders say.

A soldier with a child at boarding school, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I will have to leave military service, as I will not inflict another school move on my child.”

He said: “On one side, the chancellor wore a poppy during her budget announcement, and then proceeded to deal a damaging blow to members of His Majesty’s Armed Forces by not including a simple exemption.”

An army spouse, who asked for her identity to be protected because her husband is serving, said: “This is people’s children. This is people’s money in their pocket.”

She told Sky News: “If there is a nice job offer outside the military… that is going to look way, way more attractive than it did a few months ago. The army is in a recruitment and retention crisis, so why would you do something like this?”

Offering a sense of the scale of the potential impact, the Army Families Federation, an independent charity, said nearly 70% of families that shared evidence with it about the policy said without protection from the full cost of the VAT they would consider quitting the service.

The mobile nature of military life – with postings around the UK and overseas – often requires service personnel to move every few years, with any children they have forced to relocate with them, transiting in and out of different schools.

To protect against this disruption some parents decide to send their kids to private school – often to board.

More than 2,000 of these personnel – the majority of them in the army – claim money from the MoD to help cover the cost of private school fees.

The Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) funds up to 90% of tuition fees but families must pay a minimum of 10%.

Many of those who take this option will have agonised over the affordability of the portion they will still pay, which can amount to tens of thousands of pounds per year.

They will now have to pay more to cover the VAT on this portion of the bill – or else pull their children out of school, a nightmare option, especially for those serving abroad.

In addition, some other military families that do not qualify for the education allowance – which is only allocated under a very strict criteria – still opt to put their children into boarding school to ensure the continuity of their education at a single location.

They will have no protection from any of the VAT burden.

James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said he has received a lot of messages from impacted families and is urging the government to give them an exemption.

“The emails I’ve had are saying: I’ve got to choose between my child and serving my country,” said Mr Cartlidge, who previously served as a Conservative defence minister.

“The government really needs to respond to this quickly.”

An MoD spokesperson said: “We greatly value the contribution of our serving personnel and we provide the Continuity of Education Allowance to ensure that the need for the mobility of service personnel does not interfere with the education of their children.

“In line with how the allowance normally operates, the MoD will continue to pay up to 90% of private school fees following the VAT changes on 1 January by uprating the current cap rates to take into account any increases in private school fees.”

Politics

Hong Kong police busts $15M laundering ring that used crypto, 500 bank accounts

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2025

admin

Hong Kong police busts M laundering ring that used crypto, 500 bank accounts

Hong Kong police arrested 12 people involved in a cross-border money laundering scheme that relied on crypto and over 500 stooge bank accounts to launder HK$118 million ($15 million), local news outlets reported.

The syndicate was dismantled on May 15, resulting in the arrest of nine men and three women in mainland China and Hong Kong.

The suspects allegedly recruited others to open bank accounts to receive proceeds from fraud cases, which were then converted into crypto at crypto exchange shops to launder the illicit funds, Hong Kong Commercial Daily reported on May 17.

The criminal organization rented a residential unit in the Hong Kong neighborhood of Mong Kok to plan and carry out its money laundering activities. Of the $15 million laundered, more than $1.2 million was linked to 58 reported fraud cases.

Caught in action

The bust followed police surveillance on May 15, when two recruits left the syndicate’s Mong Kok base — one visiting a bank, the other an ATM — before both went to convert the cash into crypto at a crypto exchange shop in the neighborhood of Tsim Sha Tsui.

Police arrested both individuals on the spot, seizing around HK$770,000 ($98,540) in cash before the funds could be laundered. The other 10 individuals, aged between 20 and 41, were arrested soon after.

Police seized approximately HK$1.05 million ($134,370) in cash, over 560 ATM cards, multiple mobile phones, bank documents and records related to crypto transactions.

Senior Inspector Tse Ka-lun of Hong Kong’s Commercial Crime Bureau claimed that the individuals often used bank accounts from their friends and family to launder the stolen funds.

Hong Kong reported a 12% year-on-year increase in fraud reports in 2024, with authorities making more than 10,000 fraud-related arrests. Of those arrests, around 73% involved individuals who held stooge bank accounts.

The crackdown comes as Hong Kong continues to roll out its crypto regulatory framework to support local innovation, protect consumers and establish itself as a crypto hub.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission introduced new rules for crypto exchanges offering staking services in April. Two months earlier, the securities regulator rolled out a roadmap to improve market access, optimize compliance, expand product offerings, strengthen crypto infrastructure and foster relationships with industry players.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Politics

Keir Starmer says closer EU ties will be good for UK jobs, bills and borders ahead of key talks

Published

8 hours ago

May 17, 2025

admin

Keir Starmer says closer EU ties will be good for UK jobs, bills and borders ahead of key talks

Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.

The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.

A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.

The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.

His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.

Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.

If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.

Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.

“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.

“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”

👉 Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts 👈

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.

Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.

“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”

Politics

Moody’s downgrades US credit rating due to rising debt

Published

8 hours ago

May 17, 2025

admin

<div>Moody's downgrades US credit rating due to rising debt</div>

Moody’s credit rating agency downgraded the credit rating of the United States government from Aaa to Aa1, citing the rising national debt as the primary driver behind the reduction in creditworthiness.

According to the May 16 announcement from the rating agency, US lawmakers have failed to stem annual deficits or reduce spending over the years, leading to a growing national debt. The rating agency wrote:

“We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from the current fiscal proposals under consideration. Over the next decade, we expect larger deficits as entitlement spending rises while government revenue remains broadly flat.”

The credit downgrade is only one degree out of the 21-notch rating scale used by the company to assess the credit health of an entity.

Economy, US Government, United States, National Debt — *An overview of the US national debt. Source:* *US National Debt Clock*

Despite the negative short to medium-term credit outlook, Moody’s maintained a positive outlook on the long-term health of the United States, citing its robust economy and the status of the US dollar as the global reserve currency as strengths, reflecting “balanced” lending risks.

Investors react to Moody’s US credit revision

Moody’s announcement drew mixed reactions from investors and market participants, leaving many unconvinced by the agency’s revised outlook.

Gabor Gurbacs, CEO and founder of crypto loyalty rewards company Pointsville, cited the rating agency’s previous credit assessments during times of financial stress as unreliable, signaling that the outlook was too optimistic.

“This is the same Moody’s that gave Aaa ratings to sub-prime mortgage-backed securities that led to the 2007-2008 financial crisis,” the executive wrote in a May 17 X post.

However, macroeconomic investor Jim Bianco argued that the recent Moody’s credit outlook does not reflect a real downgrade in the perception of US government creditworthiness and characterized the announcement as a “nothing burger.”

US government debt surpassed $36 trillion in January 2025 and shows no signs of slowing, despite recent efforts by Elon Musk and others to reduce federal spending and curtail the national debt.

As the debt climbs and investors lose faith in US government securities, bond yields will spike, causing the debt service payments to go up, further inflating the national debt.

This creates a vicious cycle as the government will have to entice investors with ever-greater yields to incentivize them to purchase government debt.

Magazine: Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle