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Compassionate Leave (Service Personnel)

If the hon. Gentleman thinks that Ministers draft every letter, he should get into the real world. Clearly, the system exists to help Ministers, who have ultimate responsibility for what goes out in their name. The Government and the services recognise that welfare is an important and integral element of operational efficiency. The Ministry of Defence has a duty of care to ensure that wherever personnel are required to serve, welfare measures are in place which provide the timely and effective assistance necessary to maintain operational effectiveness. Welfare is therefore MOD core business. Before turning to compassionate and other forms of leave, I must emphasise that the granting and timing of all forms of absence is subject at all times to operational requirements and the general exigencies of each service. Compassionate leave is just one of the many types of leave available to our service personnel. In addition to annual leave, which is for the purpose of allowing service personnel time away from duty so that they return to work refreshed, other types of leave and absence such as post- operational leave, maternity leave and time off for dependants are all available when required. Before I deal with compassionate leave, I must explain that there is a difference between compassionate leave and time off for dependants, although they may appear similar. Primarily, time off for dependants is unpaid leave to allow individuals to deal with emergencies that affect them or their dependants. Commanding officers may grant time off when there are insufficient grounds to grant paid compassionate leave. Service personnel who are required to be away for more than a few days should apply for compassionate leave, annual leave or a combination of the two according to service regulations. With regard to the purposes for which compassionate leave is available, compassionate leave is additional to an individual’s normal leave entitlement and it is available to allow service personnel an authorised period of absence to enable them to attend to a personal crisis. However, given the myriad of potential difficulties individuals can encounter, I hope that the hon. Gentleman understands why hard and fast rules cannot be laid down for granting compassionate leave. We are talking about real people’s lives, and each case requires individual, objective, sensitive and timely assessment. The amount of compassionate leave that may be awarded rests with the commanding officer, and it is, as it always must be, a balance between the needs of the individual, the current operational situation and the exigencies of the service. Although the rules governing compassionate leave need to be as flexible as possible, general guidance is provided to commanding officers. The overriding principle of the guidance emphasises that commanding officers should, where possible, grant compassionate leave, unless the criteria laid down in the guidelines are not met or the needs of the service take priority. Compassionate leave may be granted for periods of up to four weeks, but it may be extended in exceptional circumstances for longer periods following a review of each individual case. Compassionate leave is not the solution to recurring problems, which should be dealt with by addressing them by some other form of resolution through single service welfare channels. Various other forms of leave are available to service personnel, and they may be more appropriate to meet the needs of both the individual and the service—for example, special paid or unpaid leave can be offered where practicable, and commanding officers may grant specific short periods of authorised absence in addition to compassionate and normal leave. The hon. Gentleman has raised the case of his constituent, Mrs. Miles, whose daughter, Corporal Bronwen Pickup, was refused compassionate leave to look after Mrs. Miles following Mrs. Miles’s discharge from hospital. The facts, as the hon. Gentleman has indicated, are that Mrs. Miles was taken into hospital with severe back pain shortly before Corporal Pickup returned home on leave from Iraq in August. Corporal Pickup asked to be allowed to remain in the UK on compassionate grounds because of her mother’s illness. Her unit referred the matter to the Army Welfare Service, which investigated and recommended that Corporal Pickup should return to her unit as planned because her mother was receiving sufficient care in hospital and a hospital care plan would be put in place following her mother’s discharge. Corporal Pickup returned to Iraq at the end of her leave. On 15 September, Corporal Pickup again requested compassionate leave as she was concerned that her mother, who had been discharged from hospital, was not receiving adequate after-care. The Army Welfare Service then contacted the occupational therapist dealing with Mrs. Miles, from whom it was understood that Mrs. Miles had friends and family, including her husband, who were able to care for her as well as health professionals. It was therefore decided again not to grant Corporal Pickup compassionate leave. I understand the hon. Gentleman’s unhappiness, and that of the family, at that decision. I assure him that the chain of command is very alert to the difficulties that personnel can face when they are separated from their families, and it is not vindictive. While taking into account operational requirements, it is sensitive and responsive to individual needs, and it will often release personnel on compassionate leave. However, where it considers that an individual cannot be released because operational requirements are paramount, it will, where appropriate, refer such cases to the respective welfare organisations for advice, which ensures that each case is treated on its merits fairly and sensitively. Each service has developed its own welfare organisation tailored to meet the different needs of the respective personnel. The Royal Navy has the Naval Personnel and Family Service, the Army has the Army Welfare Service, and the Royal Air Force has contracted welfare support to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association. Each welfare organisation is professionally qualified and trained and, most importantly, independent of the chain of command. They are therefore well placed to balance individual personal circumstances against operational requirements. Clearly, there will be some cases in which they rule in favour of an individual and some in which they do not. The important point is that such a decision is made only after thorough consideration of all the circumstances and merits of each individual case. In addition, each case is kept under constant review as regards any changing circumstances to ensure that our service personnel receive the best support possible. In support of the chain of command and the formal welfare organisations, personnel may, depending on the issue, seek help and advice from other sources such as padres and doctors. There are therefore many opportunities for service personnel to seek and obtain help on any welfare issue. We are committed to providing a welfare structure that, wherever practicable and manageable, supports the needs of the service community. For personnel to be fully effective in their duties, it is essential that their well-being and that of their dependants is properly cared for. The same welfare structures that are normally provided in the United Kingdom by local authorities, or by other external agencies, should be available to our serving personnel while serving overseas. Our aim is to deliver comprehensive community support to our servicemen and women and their dependants. The welfare provision provided by each service and other professional agencies is equally accessible to the dependants of serving personnel, whose morale and well-being have a direct bearing on the effectiveness of service personnel. During peacetime deployments, or while on operations, our aim is to provide the same level of support that would be provided back at an individual’s home base. I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this subject and for allowing me the opportunity to describe our compassionate leave arrangements and how they fit into the broader welfare package. I hope that he will accept that we do our best to provide comprehensive welfare for all our people. We genuinely try hard to strike the right balance between the necessary demands of operations and the need to react sensitively and with compassion to the personal and family needs of servicemen and women. It is right that he, and other hon. Members who raise similar cases, should continue to press on behalf of their constituents where they feel that we have not got the balance right. As ever, I undertake always carefully to consider any case that is raised with me or with my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary, who has direct responsibility for such matters. I have tried to set out the way in which this important issue is dealt with. I hope that the hon. Gentleman understands that a chain of command is involved and that if Ministers try to interfere too closely we may be trying to countermand operational issues such as why a person is needed in an operational theatre as opposed to being granted compassionate leave. That would not be a helpful step. Our military personnel are best treated within the military family. We try to give them all possible opportunities and independent support. Ministers do get engaged, but there is a balance to be struck at all times. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will consider his Territorial Army experience, as he should understand only too well the importance of the chain of command and of not having cross-interference from Ministers. Question put and agreed to. Adjourned accordingly at twenty-nine minutes past Seven o’clock. Corrections Official Report, 24 October 2006: In column 1491, under the petition by Barbara Keeley, after ““Mrs. Sandra””, insert ““Warburton””. Official Report, 24 October 2006: In column 1432, under Noes, insert ““Sir John Butterfill””