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Defence in the UK

I was just about to mention my hon. Friend. She made a strong case for Plymouth, as she has done for several months, and her comments have been noted and taken on board. She also raised issues about the defence estate and medical services. My hon. Friend mentioned DML and the defence supply chain. We obviously support the company’s meeting local MPs and civic leaders, which is an important aspect of the process, and I shall bring my hon. Friend’s comments to the attention of my noble Friend Lord Drayson. The right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire (Mr. Arbuthnot) made important points. He spoke of the Select Committee’s visit to Afghanistan and of the Committee’s important work, not least on accommodation and medical services. He mentioned the care pathways and the objectives in Afghanistan. My hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones) made a powerful speech. He referred to the visit to Afghanistan and noted the particular strength of the tri-service approach there, which struck me during my visit, too. The Army, Navy and RAF are working closely together in Afghanistan. My hon. Friend mentioned welfare and accommodation issues, and made a strong point about the Annington Homes deal and super-garrisons. Like other Members, he referred to the care pathways for medical treatment for service leavers. The hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames) paid due tribute to our people in the Falklands. He made an important point about training and discipline, as he has done before. I am sure that the House recognises the tremendous work on training undertaken by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State in relation to Deepcut to ensure that attention is paid to the welfare of trainees. Given the work that our armed forces undertake, the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex was right to say that training has to be robust, professional and challenging. As he made clear, it is because of their training and discipline that they are the best in the world. There has been much discussion of the need for the right tactics and discipline to deliver the results we want. The hon. Gentleman made an extremely important point. My right hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, South (Mr. George) made a number of points about the previous Government’s defence expenditure cuts. The hon. Member for Congleton (Ann Winterton) made an interesting speech. She asked what equipment we should supply for our service personnel, and referred to the funding for projects and the speed with which equipment was put into theatre. She spoke consensually of the great strides that have been made on force protection for our bases—although clearly more needs to be done. She also mentioned improved equipment, such as body armour, the new armoured vehicles—Bulldogs and Mastiffs—and communication equipment. She made some important points. The hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) made the case for Portsmouth’s position in the naval base review. He was generous to my right hon. Friend the Minister about his work on training in the armed forces. He made an important point about the impact of the defence training review on the Portsmouth area. Our armed forces are a success story— It being Six o’clock, the motion for the Adjournment of the House lapsed, without Question put.