Exclusive:Iraq veteran and wheelchair-bound wife to be made homeless by MoD cuts
Mr Harraughty and his veteran wife Tina are set to be evicted from their home due to MoD job cuts.
An Iraq veteran and his wheelchair-bound wife are set to be made homeless due to Ministry of Defence (MoD) job cuts.
Kevin Harraughty, 58, is a military base caretaker at the Army Reserve Centre in Dunfermline. He and his fellow veteran wife Tina, 54, live on site.
Mr Harraughty is set to lose his job and the couple are facing eviction because the MoD is consulting on scrapping more than 100 caretaker posts across the UK and ending tied housing arrangements.
He said the prospect of losing his job and home was “unimaginable”.
Mr Harraughty, originally from Edinburgh, served in the first Gulf war and did multiple tours of Northern Ireland. The couple have lived at the base for 13 years.
He said: “It's tied accommodation, so you have the accommodation as as long as you have the job.
“But they're making us homeless prior to us losing a job.
“So we lose the accommodation, and then three months later, we're actually made redundant.”
He continued: “The official timing is that on the March 31, all accommodations are to be vacated.
“And then on the 31st of July, the employment ceases.”
Mr Harraughty served in the army for 16 years, while his wife was in the reserve Territorial Army.
He is an unpaid carer for is wife, who has had mobility issues.
Mr Harraughty said: “She's disabled. I've been a carer for her for quite some time.
“But about four months ago, we got up one morning. She was completely paralysed from the chest down.
“She was in hospital for over two months, and she was discharged back home with a rehab team coming in every day.
“Then obviously getting this news is not good. It’s unimaginable.”
He said: “It's been a tough time as it is for both of us. And now we have this.”
Dunfermline MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The Labour Government invests three times more into defence in the South West of England than here in Scotland and this latest round of MoD cuts once again falls on Scottish staff.
“The loss of not only their jobs, but their homes too will put many MoD caretakers, like my constituent Kevin, into a particularly vulnerable situation.
“This is a real kick in the teeth to loyal military staff who work behind the scenes to support our armed forces and Andy Burnham’s Labour government must urgently set out how it can justify these job losses.”
SNP Westminster leader Dave Doogan said the UK Government was using a new £8 billion trident renewal contract to cover over the cuts happening in other areas of defence.
Mr Doogan said: “It is becoming increasingly clear that these Prime Ministerial announcements are a cover for cuts to conventional forces.
"The Labour Party government must urgently set out how it will ensure Scotland gets it fair share of investment in conventional defence after decades of Westminster cuts, which has seen Scotland deprived of cash and forces while other parts of the UK have benefitted from higher levels of investment.
“Successive Tory and Labour Party government’s have slashed investment in Scotland, hollowed out our armed forces, dismantled our navy, slashed Scottish regiments, and left our troops without the equipment, housing and support they need.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “The £298 billion committed across this Parliament through the DefenceInvestmentPlan will see the highest levels of defence spending for a generation. That includes £74 billion for the MOD next year alone - £20 billion more than the last year under the previous government - ensuring no return to the hollowed out Armed Forces of the past.
“Separately, the Army is conducting a comprehensive review of caretaking arrangements at Reserve Centres and University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) sites to ensure we provide the most effective and efficient support for our Reserve and UOTC locations whilst fulfilling our duty of care to employees. The welfare of our caretakers, many of whom have given dedicated service to the Army, remains our priority. We will explore all options for supporting employees, including redeployment opportunities, and will ensure full consideration of accommodation arrangements.”
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