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Defence in the UK

The hon. Gentleman is obviously right; it is as important, and perhaps more so in some instances, to provide a safe environment in our training establishments at night as it is to do so during the training practice that goes on during the day. A big part of doing that lies in getting the estate right; we need to make the configuration of the training accommodation appropriate to a safe environment. He takes a huge interest in this issue, so I commend him to look around some of the new accommodation that is provided at Pirbright, where there is a safe environment that provides people with oversight during the night as well as during training hours. He knows that bringing the defence estate up to an adequate level—I shall return to this point later in my speech—is a massive project that will still take some time, although building has been going for some time. We need to deal with this issue; we need to get our priorities right; and we need to ensure that we eliminate bullying, no matter where it comes from, be that from instructors or peers. In the process of doing so, we must not lose the rigours of the training regime. If we lose those rigours, we will not turn out the people for the highly dangerous environments in which we expect them to work, to stay safe and to stay alive. The armed forces constituency across the UK, including veterans, families and the armed forces, numbers about 10 million people. That broad constituency is part of the fabric of this nation, and enriches life in Britain immeasurably and in a variety of ways. As a Government and a nation, we have asked a great deal of our armed forces recently, not least in Iraq and Afghanistan—and they have delivered. So it is right that we give them all the support and recognition that they deserve. That was the theme of the national recognition study, carried out with his customary skill by the new Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford who has responsibility for defence equipment and support. He reported in May this year and highlighted a range of ways in which the country can do more to show appreciation and to recognise the huge debt that we owe our armed forces. I am pleased that since that study was launched, we have seen an increase in the number of military parades through towns, as well as a number of other initiatives, such as free tickets to football matches and discounts at cinemas. Individuals are finding their own ways to show their gratitude. That is to be welcomed and appreciated, and it is probably past time that we reached that position.