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Armed Forces Personnel

I welcome this wide-ranging debate, which focuses on the men and women serving in our armed forces. Like many hon. Members on both sides of the House, I am filled with admiration for those who serve our country in the most difficult and dangerous places. As we have seen in recent days, some pay the ultimate price for their service to our country and to freedom. I take the view that we should do everything possible to demonstrate how much we value our servicemen and women. I was delighted, therefore, that on 16 May the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson), demonstrated the Government’s continued commitment to the welfare of our servicemen and women during their service and beyond. We have a continuing duty of care to our ex-servicemen and women as much as we do to those still serving. My hon. Friend’s statement gave details of the research programme carried out by King’s College on the health and wellbeing of personnel who served in the Gulf war and in Operation Telic. I am also pleased that the comprehensive physical and mental health care service already offered to mobilised reservists will be extended and enhanced to provide post-operational mental health care for recently demobilised reservists. As a result of the initiative, any reservist demobilised since January 2003 who has concerns about mental health will be able to get assessment and support. That is to be welcomed, and I pay particular tribute to the work of Defence Medical Services in that regard. I hope that the MOD will continue to look at the possibility of providing the same ongoing care to recently demobilised regulars as well as reservists. We have already heard in this debate about many of the issues affecting the armed forces, and I am sure that other hon. Members will add to the list in their contributions. However, I want to concentrate on one or two key areas, and especially on matters relating to veterans. Last year’s veterans awareness week was a great success, and led to us holding veterans day on 27 June this year, with events all over the country. I hope that the process will continue and that each year the British people will find new and innovative ways to celebrate the contribution that veterans make to our society. The veterans badge has proved immensely popular, and is now being awarded to those who served in the Suez conflict. Only the other day, I presented veterans badges to members of the south Wales branch of the Royal British Legion, and I saw the great pride that they and their families displayed on receiving and wearing them. The badge was not my initiative, but as a Minister I shared in the glory. I received a great many letters that said that the badge was a wonderful idea. People appreciate and value it greatly, and more than 250,000 have been awarded. It is a unique way for the country to show its appreciation for our veterans, and to thank them. It is important that we celebrate and raise awareness of the achievements and contributions of our veterans, both at home and abroad, but we can do more. I want to refer to one matter in particular this afternoon. It was heartening to see that the contribution of our veterans is being recognised abroad, with the award of the Pinjat Jasa medal by the Malaysian Government. I welcome the decision by Her Majesty the Queen to grant permission for the 35,000 veterans who took part in operations in Malaya to receive the PJM medal, but I am concerned that they have not been granted permission to wear it. In a written statement on 31 January, the then Minister for Trade, my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, South (Ian Pearson), who is now Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, said:"““The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals…has recommended that an exception to two of the ""long-established rules governing the accepting and wearing of foreign...awards to enable the Malaysian Government to present the PJM.””" However, the statement went on to say that permission to wear the PJM was not given because:"““It is long standing Government policy that non-British medals will not be approved for events or service:""that took place more than five years before initial consideration, or in connection with events that took place in the distant past””," or"““if the recipient has received a British award for the same service””.—[Official Report, 31 January 2006; Vol. 442, c. 10-11WS.]" The decision to forgo the ““double-medalling”” and five-year rules so that the PJM could be awarded in the first place, but then to use the same rules to deny veterans the opportunity to wear it, is both confusing and mystifying. Most people would think that fairness and common sense dictate that our veterans, having been given permission to accept the PJM, should be allowed to wear it. However, my mother used to say to me when I was growing up, ““Son, you will find out in life that sense is not that common.”” I think that that is true in respect of the PJM. Further complicating the decision is the fact that the Commonwealth Governments in Australia and New Zealand have advised Her Majesty the Queen to grant unrestricted use of the PJM and allow their veterans to accept and wear the medal on all occasions. The ethos behind the first veterans day was to thank all the veterans who had served in our armed forces. In presenting the PJM, the Malaysian Government are thanking the 35,000 veterans who served in operations in that country. It seems decidedly odd that, although we in this country thank our veterans for their service and celebrate their achievements, veterans of the Malaysian operations are unable to wear the PJM. It is for that reason that I fully support the campaign to enable those who served in Malaya to wear the medal. I know that the veterans have petitioned Her Majesty the Queen on the matter, although she is not to be blamed for the decision. In our constitutional monarchy, the sovereign acts on the advice of Ministers and others—in this case the honours committee. I hope that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, who has responsibility for veterans, will be their champion. I know that he is determined to be, but I hope that he will press those who advise the Queen to review the situation. I should be grateful if he said that he is prepared to do so. Veterans day is a time for celebration, but it also highlights the support and advice available to veterans from official and voluntary sources, in particular the role played by the ex-service organisations. I am pleased that the MOD has completed its review of its veterans strategy, which was launched in March 2003. The strategy seeks to provide excellent preparation for the transition of service personnel back into civilian life. It offers advice and support to veterans who need that, and ensures that we as a nation recognise and understand the contributions to our society that our veterans have made. It also gives the MOD the opportunity to work more closely with a host of veterans organisations, such as the Royal British Legion and Combat Stress. All the organisations involved have a fine record of serving our veterans, but the MOD could do more to help. In March, when I was still a Minister, I launched a pilot advertising campaign to promote the Veterans Agency freephone helpline—0800 169 2277. I believe that the agency does a fantastic job in advising veterans on many matters, but I was told that day that veterans are often unaware of the excellent service offered by the helpline. I hope that the MOD will take heed of that, and roll out an advertising campaign across the country, so that the Veterans Agency becomes as well known as the BBC, ITV or any of this country’s great institutions and organisations. It has often been said that our treatment of veterans has a major impact on our ability to recruit in the future, and that has been touched on in the debate already. To maintain operational capability, the British armed forces need to attract new recruits each year. There are fewer military establishments now, and families have little or no experience of national service. That makes it difficult for young people to identify the armed forces as a career option. The cadet forces give young people an excellent introduction to service life and help them to build confidence and self-esteem, providing an excellent fit and support for our country’s wider respect agenda. I pay tribute to the cadets, and their instructors, for the fantastic job that they do. On 27 June, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State announced that funding will be provided for a pilot scheme that introduces new combined cadet forces in six state schools. The scheme lasts for three years, and I hope that it will be such a success that more secondary schools across the country will want to participate. When I was a Minister, I had the honour to meet the entire service family—from cadets to reservists, and from serving personnel and their families to veterans. I never ceased to be amazed at their fortitude, resilience and, above all, their humour in the most difficult circumstances. I well remember 7/7. As part of veterans awareness week, I was due to go to St. James’s park to meet RAF prisoners of war. I wondered how many would get there, but my God lots of them certainly managed it. I talked to one couple: the man was in a wheelchair, and his wife had pushed him from a hotel in west London. There was no public transport, but they were determined to be present. Another chap in his 80s said that he had got to Victoria station that morning to find that there were no buses or taxis. He said, ““They locked me up in Germany for four years but that didn’t stop me, so the terrorists won’t either.”” That shows the determination of a generation to whom we owe a tremendous debt. This country does well when it comes to recognising and supporting our veterans, but we can do much more. I am sure that the aspiration and determination to continue to honour this country’s veterans is shared on both sides of the House. As I said to some school children recently, ““If you value freedom, thank a veteran.”” We owe them a huge debt.