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Service Personnel

As the hon. Gentleman knows, we have invested significantly in the medical care of our armed forces, and at the heart of that is the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine. Our investment has built on reforms initially put in place by the previous Government, although we have radically accelerated those reforms. When the Select Committee examined medical care, it produced a report that I thought was very complimentary. I understand that we face a challenge when it comes to service personnel who are too ill to be deployed, for example, but he will know that Headley Court is the jewel in the UK's crown when it comes to rehabilitative medicine. We have announced an additional investment of £24 million in that facility. We continue to research and invest to ensure that we maintain the health of our armed forces. It is our ability to identify the problems and to respond to them through the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre that has inspired the compliments that have been paid to our defence medical services. However, there is still more work to be done.