England Rethinking Privatizing Training

(MoneyWatch)  Last June the English government moved to completely privatize aircrew training with a contract award to a consortium of VT and Lockheed Martin. This contract is part of a movement to using civilian companies running all training for the UK armed forces. A massive, almost $20 billion contract was signed with Metrix to conduct this overall program, the defence training review. This consortium of Qinetiq and Land Securities Trillium was supposed to borrow funds to finance the program and run it. Now The Guardian reports that due to difficulties with the credit market and concern with the savings from the program may not be what is expected that the plan may flounder. The government had also hoped to be able to sell off excess property with the deal and with the inability of people to get loans may not receive the value they had hoped from these sales.