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Armed Forces: Severely Wounded Personnel

My Lords, the House will be grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Burnett, for raising this important issue. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Lee of Trafford, that his noble friend’s distinguished service with the Royal Marines fully qualifies him to be taken very seriously by the House tonight. As the noble Lord, Lord Burnett, said, many men are alive today due to the miracles of modern medicine, but many of them are seriously wounded. Most want to be with their comrades and, as the noble Lord said, their comrades want them back. I also agree with the noble Lord that most units and regiments are like extended families—when you join, you are in for life. I am very proud that my former regiment, the Household Cavalry, which has suffered a number of deaths and serious injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, like the Royal Marines has active associations both in this country and overseas and an efficient support network for the severely injured. I know that the same applies to the Household Division, in which my noble friend Lord Lyell served. Can the Minister tell the House how many members of the British Armed Forces have been seriously injured in the past 12 months? As the noble Lord, Lord Lee of Trafford, asked, do the Government keep records of the number of service personnel serving with their original regiments or units in administrative or clerical roles since being wounded or disabled while on active service? Are any programmes in place to allow and indeed encourage wounded soldiers who wish to continue serving to stay with their units? We on these Benches welcome any progress to enable wounded soldiers to continue serving. Although that is paramount, it is also vital that wounded soldiers, after leaving military care facilities such as Headley Court and Selly Oak, have access to proper civilian healthcare. Can the noble Baroness tell the House what government procedures are in place to ease the transition from military to civilian healthcare for disabled soldiers? What programmes are used to facilitate greater co-operation and communication between the Ministry of Defence and the NHS? I should like also to join the noble Lord, Lord Burnett, in paying tribute to our local and national newspapers and the television for highlighting the very positive contributions that severely injured servicemen can make. Many years ago, Lord Nelson said that this country expects every man to do his duty. Two hundred years on, our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are still responding to the call and many are being severely wounded in the defence of this country. The difference is that our Government expect a first-rate military on a second-rate budget. After a decade of Labour’s neglect, our military is overstretched, undermanned and in possession of worn-out equipment. It is our duty to ensure that these brave heroes who fight on our behalf receive proper care and recognition both for operational requirements and, as my noble friend Lord Patten said, for urgent post-operational requirements.