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Defence Policy

This morning in Colchester there was a regimental service for 2 Para. The final members returned on Sunday, and tribute was paid to the nine members of the battalion, along with those attached to it—another four—who died. The 16 Air Assault Brigade suffered 32 deaths and 170 serious injuries. I know that the House will rejoice for those who returned and feel great sadness for those who did not. I am concerned about the future of the British Army. To discover from parliamentary questions that 10 per cent. of the British Army is not British is worrying. At some point, we need to address the reason for young British men and women's not joining Her Majesty's armed forces in the numbers that we would wish. Clearly, it has something to do with the attraction—financial and otherwise—of the package, which needs re-examining. However, I heard at a function yesterday that 37 per cent. of recruits drop out before they can become fully fledged members of Her Majesty's armed forces. That says something about the physical fitness, determination and aspirations of our young people. It is little wonder that there is a recruitment problem if many of those who join do not make it. Let us consider retention. I pay tribute to the Government for the new barracks that have been provided in my constituency and elsewhere. I am not a fan of the private finance initiative, but Merville barracks, with their accommodation for the single soldier, are a great success. However, the accommodation for those in married quarters is deplorable. The Secretary of State mentioned investment—I believe that the figure was £8 billion—over the next few years. I seek clarification, but I am sure that a large chunk of that is rent for properties that the Ministry of Defence once owned and that the previous Government sold off at ludicrously low prices. In the past 10 years, the rent paid for properties that were once owned is less than what the Conservative Government got in capital receipts. The story gets worse. I ask the Minister to confirm that the investment in married quarters is from the public purse to private properties, enhancing even further the value of houses that Annington Homes owns. When it sells them off, at a thumping great profit, the public purse has enhanced their value and increased that company's profits. That cannot be right, and I hope that one day a Conservative Member will have the grace to admit that the public were ripped off in that privatisation and that our military families are suffering as a consequence. In my constituency, more than 200 Army houses stand empty, for which the public purse pays approximately £700,000 a year. That is a waste and an absolute disgrace. For the married soldier, his children's education is of the greatest importance. I urge the Government to examine closely the Defence Committee's excellent recent report and to look back to the Adjournment debate that I secured on the subject almost a decade ago. The lessons that should have been learned then have still not been acted upon. I congratulate the Government on today's written statement on the inquests and on trying to speed up the process. I wonder whether the Minister can tell us a little more about the progress in the defence inquests unit. The written statement suggests that things are moving, but can the Minister give us any idea of when the process of tackling the backlog will be completed? The hon. Member for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) referred to the Gurkhas. In case hon. Members did not know, I can report that the Select Committee on Home Affairs will hold a special one-day hearing on Tuesday. I hope that the Committee will recommend that the Government follow both the spirit and the legal interpretation of the High Court decision, which is that Gurkhas who retired before 1997 should be allowed to live in this country should they so wish. The Government made the right move in allowing Gurkhas retiring after 1997 and thereafter to do so, so the principle has been accepted. One hopes that the Government will now go further and accept the spirit of that ruling. Also, there is a ten-minute Bill dealing with the issue before the House, which, I can modestly say, I introduced. I hope that the sentiments behind that Bill will find their way into the next Queen's Speech. I realise that many other hon. Members wish to speak, so I shall conclude. I, too, pay tribute to the Royal British Legion and all the other charities involved in providing additional help and encouragement. I passionately believe that we need that community involvement throughout the country, so that there is a feeling of ownership and a feeling that people have something to contribute. We are all wearing poppies as a visible sign of that. I have no more to add and I appreciate that others wish to speak, so I conclude on that point.