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Armed Forces

My Lords, the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, has spoken with great authority and I hope that his words will be seriously considered by 10 Downing Street in due course. I should mention in passing my own interest as Honorary Air Commodore and as President of the Scottish Veterans Garden City Association, which provides houses for veteran service men and women who have an element of disability. I also have a past interest as an Army reservist for just on 10 years in the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who were at that time the Scottish equivalent of the Royal Green Jackets. Today, I wish to raise the issue of the Government's commitment to the military covenant. We understand that the military covenant is an unwritten commitment between the state and service personnel. But a very good definition of it was given in the Army Doctrine publication volume 5, already quoted by the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig. The key sentences which he mentioned bear repeating: "““Soldiers will be called upon to make personal sacrifices—including the ultimate sacrifice—in the service of the Nation … In return, British soldiers must always be able to expect fair treatment, to be valued and respected as individuals, and that they (and their families) will be sustained and rewarded by commensurate terms and conditions of service””." The noble and gallant Lord went on to refer to the, "““unbreakable common bond of identity, loyalty and responsibility which has sustained the Army … throughout its history””." Very serious concerns have been raised today about honouring the military covenant. One was referred to by the noble Baroness, Lady Dean; the time that it takes for inquests to be held. Bereaved families have to wait for very long periods, sometimes years. Will the Minister please say in her winding-up speech what is being done to hasten the process to alleviate the distress of those who have lost their next of kin? Then there is the allegation—indeed, it is more than an allegation because a considerable amount of evidence has been put forward—that the accommodation is completely inadequate for those returning from active service. I note that the Defence Committee in September 2007 said that some accommodation remains appalling and that accommodation is an important factor in retention. The committee’s actual words were that, "““the MoD must do more to address the condition of accommodation if it is not to lose experienced personnel who are very difficult to replace””." Will the Minister assure the House that upgrading of accommodation will be a top priority and that financial windfalls obtained as a result of the sale of Ministry of Defence land, as in the case of the area surrounding Chelsea Barracks, will be ploughed back into the Ministry of Defence estate? There is also a query about equipment—again, they are more than queries because there is a great deal of evidence. The noble and gallant Lord who has just spoken mentioned that in some cases equipment arrived late. The Minister will be aware that in March 2003, the assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire made a very direct criticism concerning the delay in issuing personal body armour. He said: "““To send soldiers into a combat zone without the appropriate basic equipment is, in my view, unforgivable and inexcusable and represents a breach of trust that the soldiers have in those in Government . . . Sgt Roberts’s death was as a result of delay and serious failures in the acquisition and support chain that resulted in a significant shortage within his fighting unit of enhanced combat body armour, none being available for him to wear””." Sadly, this is not the only case where criticisms by the coroner and, indeed, direct condemnations, have been made. We are aware of the more recent case of her son’s death taken up by Mrs Gentle. I hope that Ministers can reassure us—and that the Minister will reassure us today—that lessons have been, and will be, learnt, and that great care will be taken in future to make certain that necessary and potentially life-saving equipment is readily available. Surely the Government’s commitment on such matters should be put beyond doubt. I hope that the Minister will do just that today. The Minister will be aware of the very direct request by the Defence Committee in July 2007, which stated, "““we recommend that the MoD make even greater efforts to increase the provision of appropriate helicopters to UK Forces and sufficient trained air and ground crew””." Surely having sufficient Tornado aircraft and helicopters available is vital for the troops on the ground. The Minister will also be aware of the Honour the Covenant campaign of the Royal British Legion which seeks a just compensation scheme, a greater commitment to support the physical and mental health of service men and women and more support for bereaved families. I warmly welcome the words of the Armed Forces Minister, Bob Ainsworth, when he said that, "““making sure that the Covenant is upheld, particularly when we are asking our people to do so much, is very important. For this reason we keep the support we provide to our personnel and their families under constant review””." I am very glad that constant review has been promised. I understand that the fighting in Afghanistan has been far more intense than anything experienced since either the Korean War or the Second World War, and that perhaps not all the facts were fully within the nation’s possession for some time after the fighting took place. The Government should give wise and far-sighted signals with regard to their future intentions. As regards the plans to withdraw the ship ““Endurance”” before the Argentine invasion of the Falklands, questions were then asked whether the wrong signal had been given, and many commentators took the view that that proposal had not been helpful. If the British Government are serious about their long-term commitment to Afghanistan, Ministers must leave all parties in absolutely no doubt. The suggestion floated in the press that Tornado squadrons might be withdrawn would be a very dangerous signal. I urge the Minister to give good signals by retaining the Tornado front-line squadrons—I hope that she will reassure us about that today—and by making it quite clear that in future the job of the Secretary of State for Defence will be full time. It must be entirely wrong that at a time of conflict and serious casualties, defence responsibility should be combined with another post. I should like to ask the Minister a question about Nimrods that has not been raised today. Can she reassure us about the manning levels required, the serviceability and safety of Nimrod flying requirements at present and about the future of Nimrods? In 2003, Geoff Hoon said that the Government have effectively been conducting continuous concurrent operations, deploying further fighters, to more places, more frequently and with a greater variety of missions than set out in the Strategic Defence Review planning estimates. He was correct. The review of 1998 stated that, "““we must match the commitments we undertake to our planned resources, recognising that there will always be the risk of additional short-term pressures if we have to respond rapidly to an unforeseen crisis””." In other words, that review recognised the importance of matching resources to necessary and required operational activities. It is a matter of very grave concern that the Chief of the Defence Staff has said that the Armed Forces are very stretched. I remind the Minister that if a piece of elastic is stretched too far, it loses its elasticity and eventually will snap. Frankly, none of us wants that to happen to the armed services under any circumstances. I urge Ministers, and the Minister here today, to recognise the inescapable duty to honour the spirit of the military covenant and to ensure that Her Majesty’s armed services will receive the necessary back-up support as they put their lives on the line on behalf of our nation on a daily basis.