Manchester and Salford Universities’ Officers’ Training Corps (MSUOTC) 
members will not be paid for their training this year. The budget has been cut drastically and now all ranks will receive nothing until April.
The Commanding Officer, Lt Col Suzanne Anderson, remarked: “It is disappointing. These budget cuts apply to all OTCs. We must recognise that we are facing difficult times and the MOD is required to produce major cost savings. The main focus must be to support our troops on operations in Afghanistan.”
Land forces have been told instead to save £54 million this year after originally planning to halt Territorial Amy (TA) training for six months. Following protests that the TA provides up to 10 per cent of the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan, the Prime Minister abandoned the planned budget cuts and reinstated training.
The RAF and Navy versions of the Officers’ Training Corps, the University Air Squadron and University Royal Naval Units respectively, are also being paid.
However, students wishing to join MSUOTC this year were told that the selection process would be harder than usual with only half of last year’s places available.
Joe Cullen, a first year University of Manchester student who had planned to join said: “Spending my weekends away had a big impact on the student lifestyle. I needed money to fuel ‘studenty’ things as well as time for my studies. I met some really fantastic people there though.”
In previous years, MSUOTC recruits could expect to earn £70-£120 for a weekend away and roughly £30 for a Wednesday afternoon’s training.
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