Gibraltar

The changing future of forces services in Gibraltar

As part of an ongoing effort to minimise the cost of the military presence on the rock, some services in Gibraltar, currently run by the MoD have been transferred to the Gibraltar Government.

The outgoing Commander there has been working towards making the military presence more affordable. He’s negotiated the transfer of some services currently run by the Ministry of Defence, to the Government, which should save money and cut costs.

The military medical centre, which serves the MoD community in Gibraltar, is state of the art. Finished just eighteen months ago, it replaced a crumbling much older building, and now boasts facilities including GP type practice, pharmacy, dentists, and fully working operating theatres.

Serving just 1500 people, the centre is expensive to run and maintain. The changes mean from now, secondary healthcare facilities - things which usually require people to attend a hospital for, are being closed down. MoD staff will instead use the locally run facilities - which means going to St Bernard’s hospital instead.

The military centre is just part of a wider plan to transfer services, which are expensive for the MoD to run, to the Government of Gibraltar. Another service being transferred is the primary school, St Christopher’s. It’s controversial, because parents won’t want to disturb their children’s education, to move them into local schools. This will a phased transition over the next two years.

Other services, which will be moved to Government control, include the power station, utilities like water, and the laundry service.

The airport is a commercial venture as well as a military airfield, vital to the local economy. A £100million project is under way, to build a new terminal building, and a tunnel underneath the runway, so the traffic can keep moving. Currently, whenever a flight comes in, the road, which runs straight across the runway, is closed. The old MoD buildings were in the way of the project, so as part of the deal, the Government has built brand new ones.

The money saved by transferring a whole range of services could help Gibraltar survive the looming defence review.

Change on this scale takes adjustment, and the inevitable reduction in the numbers of MoD staff has led some to question whether defence has a future on the Rock. Whatever the long-term future here, for the time being, measures have been taken to give defence the best chance of staying put.

To see a full interview with the Commander British Forces Gibraltar. click here