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Foreign Affairs and Defence

If that is the hon. Gentleman's justification for the rates of pay for the lowest paid members of the armed forces, he had better debate that with them rather than with me. For those who are deployed, we have improved the operational welfare package, with more free phone calls, better internet access and plans to put in more terminals and wi-fi access. I am pleased today to be able to confirm that, with the Royal Mail, we will now be able to provide an all-year-round freepost scheme for those in Iraq and Afghanistan. That has been called for by a number of people and I am delighted that the Royal Mail has been able to join us in helping to provide that service. Further, the new operational allowance has been raised to £2,328 tax-free for a six-month operational tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, and these personnel will also benefit from a tax-free rebate of £140 on their council tax. We hope next year to develop that to include all those on operations. We have achieved a lot in support of our troops in recent months but we can do more. That is why last week I announced that, in spring 2008, we will publish for the first time a cross-Government strategy for supporting our service personnel, their families and veterans. This will cover all areas of support including accommodation, medical care, welfare support and education and will be published as a command paper. It will build on our success and recent achievements and will outline areas where we think we can do more, for example in accommodation. Last year, we spent £700 million, a figure that has increased to £870 million during the last financial year. At this point, I want to deal with an issue raised by the hon. Member for Dunfermline and—I forget the rest of his constituency. I apologise to him.