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Armed Forces Personnel

I welcome today’s wide-ranging debate. I was struck by the number of comments on the job done by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State. As someone who is fairly new to the Department, I have found his experience and help invaluable, and I can see why he is so highly thought of by the House. I also thank the hon. Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) for his kind comments on the veterans badge and my attendance at the event, which I enjoyed. As he said, the widespread popularity of the veterans badge is continuing to grow, and we should reach our half-millionth badge by this autumn. Members of Parliament play a crucial role in getting that message across. We all recognise the tremendous job that our armed forces do, and their courage, dedication and professionalism, which is clear to those of us who have been out to operations, but also that of the civilians who support them and the tremendous work that they do within the Ministry of Defence and elsewhere. We ask them to do a great deal and there is a high operational tempo, but they do a fantastic job. We have made significant improvements in terms of equipment and support for our armed forces. When I went to Afghanistan and Iraq, the clear message from the vast majority of our armed forces personnel was that they had the best personal kit that they had ever had. I thank the Opposition for their comments on Monday on the Falklands commemorations, which were a tremendous success. I put on record my appreciation for the hard work of our team in the MOD, many of whom are members of the armed forces, in putting together the organisation and activities. I know from talking to the veterans, families and widows how appreciative they were of their efforts. The commemorations struck the right tone, recognising the tremendous feat that our armed forces carried out. I would also like to praise the South Atlantic Medal Association for its outstanding work in leading the veterans. We have talked a lot about the problems today, which I will come to shortly, but the armed forces provide tremendous opportunities. We hear a lot about mental health issues and other problems that people face when they leave the armed forces, but for the vast majority the armed forces provide a very beneficial experience. They develop great skills in leadership and teamwork, which they take back into civilian life. That is often forgotten because of the attention that is given to the problems that exist, but for the vast majority, the armed forces offer a positive experience and they then make an important contribution to our communities and the life around them. Much has been said today about the whole-life approach, not just when serving, but afterwards. That is the right approach and it is the one that the Government are taking and will develop further. I shall not pretend that there are not issues and problems that we need to address, of course there are, and we could do better in various areas. The Government have taken a tremendous step forward in recent years in the support given to our armed forces and veterans. I therefore reject the comment that we are complacent; we are active in improving the situation. Hon. Members have mentioned a range of issues, one of which is pay. It is important to reiterate that the 3.3 per cent. award was one of the best in recent years, and the increase of about 9 per cent. for our junior ranks is a tremendous improvement. We have also introduced the operation allowance of £2,320 and special pay arrangements for pinch point grades to meet shortages. We have made strides on pay: we have recognised the operational tempo and the contribution of our armed forces, and we will continue to consider what more we can do.