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Armed Forces Personnel

I welcome the opportunity to take part in this debate. I express my condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives in the service of our country, and to those who have been injured. I shall return to that later, when I focus on the issue of mental health services and health services for the armed forces in general. It is a pity that the Minister of State has just left the Chamber, because I was about to compliment him on his dedication to the job. Although we often disagree, I do have respect for him, despite the fact that he can start a fight in an empty room. I agree with him that it is unfortunate that the Scottish National party Members are absent again today. Their leader, the right hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond), who claims to want Scotland to be an independent nation, is not sufficiently interested in the armed forces to be present in the Chamber today. While we are on the issue of Scotland, I was disappointed that the Educational Institute of Scotland teachers conference criticised the Ministry of Defence’s efforts to recruit from our schools and to educate young people about the value of the armed forces. We should encourage as many people as possible to join the armed forces because it is an honourable and significant profession. I wish to focus primarily on overstretch, which has been mentioned several times this afternoon. I am pleased that the Minister has admitted that there are problems to do with what he would describe as ““stretch””, some would describe as ““very stretched””, and others would describe as ““overstretch.”” It might be pedantic to make such distinctions, but at least the Minister has accepted that there is an issue. To me, this is about what we do about the problem now that we have recognised that there is one. How far does it have to go before we say, ““Enough is enough”” and take some remedial action to solve it? The chiefs of staff say that they can cope with current commitments with the current numbers, but how long will it be before we cannot cope, and how will we know when that has happened? The National Audit Office says that our armed forces are about 5,000, or 2.8 per cent., below strength. That has been the case for the past five years as they have been operating above protected deployment levels. During that period, some 14.5 per cent. of soldiers have been sent on missions more frequently than recommended by harmony guidelines. Medical services have been hit the worst, with reservists filling 66 per cent. of vacant accident and emergency department and intensive therapy nursing posts. The Defence Committee has said that personnel shortages are creating a ““clear danger”” and that the military will be unable to maintain its commitments in the near future. With major deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans, and forces working in a total of 28 different countries, the Committee found that services were operating"““in insufficient numbers and without the equipment they need””." We have heard much about General Sir Richard Dannatt, but it is worth considering that in saying that relations between the armed forces and the Government could be undermined if current levels of commitment were maintained, he said that he was"““reflecting a view widely held in the armed services””." Apparently he has spoken out again recently, calling for an extra 3,000 front-line soldiers. General Dannatt fears that the Army risks being so worn down by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan that it cannot operate properly. He called for extra troops during an impromptu speech at the end of a conference in Whitehall a couple of weeks ago. Adrian Weale from the British Armed Forces Federation has pointed out that defence funding was based on assumptions made in the late 1990s. He said:"““We were never expected to be having to mount these two””—" by which he means Iraq and Afghanistan—"““what are called medium-scale enduring operations at the same time. And that’s put a lot of pressure on the armed forces.””" Our very own Defence Secretary admitted recently that the scale of operations meant that"““we could be in danger of degrading our armed forces””." There is no ““could”” about it. There is no doubt that we are degrading our armed forces, and that is having an effect on their sustainability and on the morale of our troops. All the indicators that I mentioned earlier are clear evidence that our armed forces are being degraded. It will come as no surprise to Members that Liberal Democrats believe that the Iraq war has contributed significantly to the retention problems in the armed forces. I again pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in Iraq in the service of their country. By invading Iraq, we created a moral obligation to support the country, and our armed forces have an important role in achieving that, but we must recognise that the commitment cannot be open-ended and that the current strategy is not succeeding. That is why earlier this year the Liberal Democrats said that it is time for us to go. We reached the conclusion that our troops should get out, and soon. Unfortunately, the Government have not listened to that advice, but we hope that they will listen sooner or later. What are the consequences of this overstretch? According to an MOD survey, a rising number of soldiers are no longer given full recommended rest periods between operations. Only 30 per cent. of ordinary soldiers who responded to the survey were satisfied with the notice given for extra duties. Almost three out of five rated their work load as high or very high, and only 31 per cent. felt valued, with nearly one in four saying that their morale was low. The same survey found that one in five soldiers want to quit at the earliest opportunity, with many blaming overstretch. More than half often think about quitting and more than a third blamed operational commitment and overstretch. That is why figures from the Defence Analytical Services Agency show that approximately 14,500 left the Army in 2006. Many left before their period of engagement was up. The retention crisis has led to some of our most skilled and experienced soldiers quitting the armed forces. I acknowledge that recruitment levels are okay and tend to meet the targets that have been set. However, the structure is like a big leaking tank—no matter how much one puts in the top, it simply pours out at the bottom. Overstretch effectively breeds overstretch. The more our forces are asked to do, the more they want to leave early. The more that personnel leave early, the greater the overstretch, and so on. We must break that vicious circle if we are to maintain the high standards and worldwide reputation of our armed forces. I want to outline more examples that show that our forces are being degraded. Ministers will have read reports that show that the Army is so short staffed that military bandsmen have been put on standby to replace infantry battalions guarding Cyprus. Fifty musicians from the Welsh Guards will be the first band scheduled to go to Cyprus, followed by the Grenadier Guards and the Rifles. The first deployment is expected in January next year. One musician said:"““The worst thing about this is that we are essentially professional musicians who have not seen a rifle since our basic training””." Members of the armed forces have raised concerns with me about being in the storeroom one moment and finding themselves on the front line in Iraq the next. They were led to believe that they would not undertake front-line duties, only to find themselves thrust forward to conduct patrols and raids, even though they did not have appropriate training to fulfil such dangerous roles. I asked the armed forces Minister to explain that in a previous debate and through parliamentary questions. So far, despite persistence, I have not received a satisfactory answer. Perhaps the Under-Secretary can enlighten us in his summing up. It is unacceptable that, with an ethnic minority population of just under 10 per cent. in the United Kingdom, the current figure for the recruitment of ethnic minority military personnel in the three services is just below 5 per cent. That is half the proportion of the ethnic minority population in the UK. All the services missed the target for UK ethnic minority intake in 2005-06, but the RAF and the Royal Navy did especially badly, despite the fact that the Ministry of Defence said that it would take action in the past year. I acknowledge that the Army is managing to achieve its recruitment targets for black and ethnic minority recruits, but the Navy and Air Force are well short. Other countries, such as the USA and Canada, which adopt proactive recruitment policies, invariably have a higher proportion of ethnic minority recruits. In the US army, three times the proportion of recruits are from ethnic minority groups compared with the US population as a whole. Recruitment from our own ethnic minorities could be even worse, with recruitment from overseas masking the genuine problems in the UK. Figures that my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Bob Russell) obtained reveal that one in 10 soldiers in the British Army are from abroad. Citizens from 57 countries are recruited to compensate for falling numbers of young Britons signing up. It is a welcome step that our Army is appealing to countries and citizens in other parts of the world, but that also sends a message that we are failing to connect with our ethnic minority communities in the UK. To revert to my original point about ethnic minority recruitment, I am extremely concerned about the position, especially in the Navy and the RAF, but also in the Army because its apparent success may be due purely to overseas recruitment. Action is obviously required, which is why I was particularly pleased to see and take part in an exhibition earlier this week. It was called ““We Were There””, it was run by the Ministry of Defence and it took place upstairs in the House. The exhibition highlighted the little-known contribution of the ethnic minorities to our armed forces over the last 250 years. Let us take the example of Indra Lal Roy, who was attacked by German Fokker aircraft in the first world war. His plane was shot down in flames during the engagement, and he was posthumously awarded the distinguished flying cross. Another example is Regimental Sergeant-Major Khamis Juma, who was twice wounded during his service between 1905 and 1945. He received nine different medals. The UK has a great tradition of recruitment from ethnic minority communities, which should be recognised by all. Those brave men whom I have highlighted and many more should be used as role models—I am sure that the Ministry of Defence would want to do exactly that—to promote the ethnic minorities and encourage them to join the armed forces. I want to mention briefly a constituency issue that I have had to deal with. A primary school teacher recently approached me. She is a naval reservist down at Rosyth and she was concerned about being prevented from taking part in what she considered to be essential training. We investigated the issue and looked back into the guidelines that stretch all the way back to 1945. I recognise that the issue of primary school teachers in education is a devolved matter, but I would welcome the Minister’s intervention. My constituent has not been able to participate in this essential training. Under the guidelines, teachers are somewhat bizarrely allowed time off during the school term for a variety of different purposes—including to attend the river purification board, which no longer exists in Scotland. We really need to look further into those guidelines. My constituent views this training as essential, but the education department did not want to release her from her duties. I have been trying to press upon that education department the real value of taking part in such training, whether it be for the Territorial Army or the Royal Naval Reserve. Excellent training is provided and the education department should recognise it. As I said, I would welcome the Minister’s intervention in this matter. Let me deal now with mental health. Last week, along with the Defence Committee, I visited Combat Stress, which has been mentioned several times in the debate. We also had the opportunity during that visit to meet ex-servicemen who were receiving care from Combat Stress. Many of them were there for post-traumatic stress disorder. Combat Stress provides a service that is well appreciated for what it is—a first-class service provided in a military-friendly environment, which is almost unique in the UK. Combat Stress has three centres, but it touches only the surface of the problem. It has high waiting times and there is a long waiting list, even for those who know about the service, but I believe that awareness among ex-servicemen is very low. That problem of awareness has to be addressed, especially among primary care health professionals, who are often unaware that this specialist service is available. We are now seeing earlier presentations of these problems. Between 2001 and 2007, the average age of Combat Stress patients has fallen from 64 to 44—a drop of 20 years in just six years. In that same time frame, the percentage of women has increased from 1 per cent. to 4 per cent. From the Falklands war, there have been 400 cases over 25 years, but from Iraq there have already been 140 cases in three years. There is a great need for an expansion in the service. I am aware that the Government are taking great steps to try to deal with the problem, but I hope that they will take even greater and more urgent steps. With increased coverage of post-traumatic stress disorder in recent months, we are likely to see a huge increase in demand, as I mentioned earlier. We need quick and significant action to deal with the problem. Awareness of Combat Stress needs to be improved among nurses, doctors and other health professionals, especially those working in primary care. Two ex-servicemen from my constituency approached me last year about their frustration at the lack of support they received for what turned out to be PTSD. They said that their GP had provided little advice or support, and that it was only after they found out about Combat Stress that things began to happen. Awareness of Combat Stress among primary care health practitioners really must improve. Entitled ex-servicemen pay for their treatment through their war pension, which covers 100 per cent. of the cost of six weeks’ treatment. About 60 per cent. of Combat Stress funds are generated in this way, leaving 40 per cent. to be raised through charitable fundraising. If an ex-serviceman cannot access his war pension, or requires more than six weeks’ treatment, the costs are covered by Combat Stress. Ex-servicemen resent having to rely on charity for something that they believe should be paid for by the Government. They already feel as though they have been dumped, ignored and neglected by the armed forces, and they now feel extremely bitter that they have to rely on charity. I urge the Government to consider new ways of funding Combat Stress, other than through the war pension, which is not a satisfactory method of funding. Finally, I want to make a plea. I can see some benefit in channelling money for mental health services for ex-servicemen through the NHS, as it might provide the connection that they need between the general NHS, Combat Stress and the MOD. I am worried, however, that if we rely solely on the NHS to fund Combat Stress, it might not be given the same priority. Local NHS departments face huge pressures and conflicting demands, and I do not believe that they would give Combat Stress the same priority that the MOD does. I am extremely concerned that going down a new funding route for Combat Stress might have the effect of de-prioritising the organisation, and I would encourage the Minister to consider that point.