Parliamentary Search

Opposition day on Wednesday, 12 December 2007, in the House of Commons, led by Nick Harvey. The answering member was Bob Ainsworth.

Military Covenant

Military covenant. Fourth Opposition Day debate (part 1). Main question negatived on division (71 to 302). Amendment agreed to on question.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
469 c322-70 
Session
2007-08
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Proceeding contributions
Speaker | 469 c345 (Link to this contribution) Order. I remind hon. Members that Mr. Speaker has imposed a limit of 10 minutes on Back-Bench speech...
Nick Harvey | 469 c322 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move,"That this House notes the commitment, bravery and professionalism of the UK's armed f...
Show all contributions (118)
Speaker | 469 c322 (Link to this contribution) I have to inform the House that I have selected the amendment tabled in the name of the Prime Minist...
Nick Harvey | 469 c323 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that such shortcomings do need to be sorted out. The first of those—the too frequent deplo...
Angus Robertson | 469 c322-3 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the interviews that were conducted by the Ministry of Defence at the ...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c355 (Link to this contribution) I was simply bringing the House's attention to my entry in the Register of Members' Interests. I am ...
Eric Joyce | 469 c355-7 (Link to this contribution) It is not my intention to criticise; my point is that it is pretty much the norm for Members to go o...
Speaker | 469 c357 (Link to this contribution) Order. I hesitate to interrupt the hon. Gentleman. It is one thing to refer to the qualifications an...
Eric Joyce | 469 c357-8 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate that, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Let me just say that if they want to become personalised and ...
Patrick Mercer | 469 c358-60 (Link to this contribution) It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. and gallant Member for Falkirk (Mr. Joyce), many of whose ...
Lord Beamish | 469 c360-1 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the debate. I recognise the hard work done by the Royal British Legion, but I agree with m...
Willie Rennie | 469 c361 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry that the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones), who is a colleague of mine on the Defe...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c361 (Link to this contribution) Where was the hon. Gentleman on the last occasion we had an opportunity in Government time to debate...
Willie Rennie | 469 c362 (Link to this contribution) I can provide a full copy of my diary if the hon. Gentleman wishes, as I am sure he would follow it ...
John Barrett | 469 c362-3 (Link to this contribution) One positive thing that is going through the Scottish Parliament in relation to today's debate is th...
Willie Rennie | 469 c363-4 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend raises a good point, and I was going to address that subject later. I would like to h...
Derek Twigg | 469 c364 (Link to this contribution) It has been an interesting debate. I pay tribute to our armed forces and their families. Our armed f...
David Hamilton | 469 c365 (Link to this contribution) I realise that time is very short, but will my hon. Friend also have discussions with the Royal Brit...
Derek Twigg | 469 c365-7 (Link to this contribution) I have good relationships with Poppyscotland and am happy to have discussions with that organisation...
John Baron | 469 c365 (Link to this contribution) I agree with much of what the Minister has said, but does he not think that it is an absolute shambl...
Derek Twigg | 469 c365 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the report, but I do not accept the facts. More than 90 per cent. of the accommodation is ...
Eric Joyce | 469 c355 (Link to this contribution) I am aware of the time, Mr. Deputy Speaker, so I shall be as brief as I can be. It is a privilege an...
Keith Simpson | 469 c352-5 (Link to this contribution) It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Marsden) and to echo his ...
Gordon Marsden | 469 c351-2 (Link to this contribution) I will not give way because of the time constraints, and to allow other colleagues to get in. I am s...
David TC Davies | 469 c351 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Gordon Marsden | 469 c350-1 (Link to this contribution) It is a privilege to speak in the debate this afternoon, and a privilege indeed to follow the hon. M...
Mike Hancock | 469 c349-50 (Link to this contribution) Despite the fact that the hon. Member for Westbury signed the amendment, I am sure that he would not...
Mike Hancock | 469 c347-9 (Link to this contribution) The transition from Madam Deputy Speaker to yourself, Mr. Deputy Speaker, was a stealthy operation—i...
David Hamilton | 469 c347 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for that contribution. I agree, Madam Deputy Speaker—I mean Mr. Deputy Sp...
Colin Breed | 469 c346-7 (Link to this contribution) I recently raised that issue with my district council, because unfortunately armed forces do not get...
David Hamilton | 469 c345-6 (Link to this contribution) I shall be brief; I have asked a number of questions and spoke in the last debate on these issues. I...
David Hamilton | 469 c344-5 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that improving housing standards is of key importance if our servi...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c345 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that there is an element of truth in what the hon. Gentleman has said. October 2 was a da...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c344 (Link to this contribution) Once too often, as my hon. Friend says. I have an interest in coroners' inquests because the Wiltsh...
Lord Beamish | 469 c343 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Andrew Murrison | 469 c344 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman when I have made a bit of progress; I have already given way ...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c343 (Link to this contribution) As ever, my hon. Friend has made a good point. The Government have at their disposal any amount of f...
David TC Davies | 469 c343 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way during an excellent speech. Does he share my concern ...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c343 (Link to this contribution) I think the hon. Gentleman is mistaken. As I understand it, the tennis courts in question were run f...
Willie Rennie | 469 c342 (Link to this contribution) Those rather cheap remarks about attendance or not at meetings that the hon. Gentleman happens to at...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c342 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for putting that on the record, but I did not see him at the mee...
Lord Beamish | 469 c342-3 (Link to this contribution) I agree, but when I raised in the House on 16 October the amount of money being spent on generals' a...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c340 (Link to this contribution) I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Le...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c340 (Link to this contribution) Surely it might be better to give retired generals a committee so that they do not have to do the fo...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c340-1 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure what the right hon. Gentleman is referring to. If he has not already read the document...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c341 (Link to this contribution) I hope the hon. Gentleman will make it clear that the Secretary of State is not present because he i...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c339 (Link to this contribution) I am not going to give way again—I have given way a lot. Through the service personnel Command Pape...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c339 (Link to this contribution) I declare my interest as a medical officer in the Royal Naval Reserve. Our armed forces are second t...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c337 (Link to this contribution) The coroner system is a benefit for all. There are occasions on which the MOD feels that it needs le...
Lord Beamish | 469 c337-8 (Link to this contribution) Are not those who are calling for families to get legal assistance fundamentally misunderstanding th...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c337 (Link to this contribution) There is not a blanket idea of never funding legal assistance for families, but, in the overwhelming...
Julian Lewis | 469 c337 (Link to this contribution) If the families are expected to manage at inquests without legal representation, which is an arguabl...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c338-9 (Link to this contribution) The welfare of the families of people deployed is an important matter that will be examined by the C...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c338 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend puts it better than I do. We must consider our priorities. The families must be our c...
Linda Gilroy | 469 c338 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure whether my right hon. Friend intends to say anything about welfare support packages fo...
Bernard Jenkin | 469 c337 (Link to this contribution) I would simply point out that these casualties result from operations. They should be regarded as an...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c337 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman ought at least to recognise that there have been additional resources. However, r...
Mike Hancock | 469 c337 (Link to this contribution) I think that the whole House shares that view and will support the Minister in anything that he can ...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c335 (Link to this contribution) I am glad to hear that the hon. Gentleman is participating in the Defence Committee, which praised h...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c335-6 (Link to this contribution) This matter has been raised repeatedly by different people, and that is perfectly and utterly unders...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c336 (Link to this contribution) A long-standing methodology is being used. I share the hon. Gentleman's concern. We cannot continue ...
Joan Humble | 469 c336 (Link to this contribution) I welcome my right hon. Friend's comments about delays. I have a constituent who has been waiting th...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c336-7 (Link to this contribution) There are exceptional circumstances in which that may be appropriate. I am happy to talk to my hon. ...
Jim Sheridan | 469 c333 (Link to this contribution) I did not see the television programme on which the acting Liberal Democrat leader said that there w...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c333 (Link to this contribution) The House will have noticed that there was no answer either way on whether the Conservatives would s...
Julian Lewis | 469 c333 (Link to this contribution) For the umpteenth time, I shall tell the Government exactly what our position is. The defence budget...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c333 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Westbury has been reinforced.
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c332-3 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. As Member for Coventry, North-East, as well as Ministe...
Mike Hancock | 469 c335 (Link to this contribution) I did not take part in the Committee's visit to Selly Oak, but I visited Selly Oak myself because se...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c334-5 (Link to this contribution) The rate of building work is a problem, as my hon. Friend points out. I would be happy to talk to hi...
David Hamilton | 469 c334 (Link to this contribution) I am well aware that there is a major programme over the next five years to deal with accommodation,...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c334 (Link to this contribution) What was said in answer to a question was clear: no more spending on defence. If more spending is ne...
Nick Harvey | 469 c330 (Link to this contribution) I am very familiar with that ward, and I greatly welcome what it does, but I want to know whether th...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c330 (Link to this contribution) I fear that the hon. Gentleman might be getting a little confused. I am certainly concerned that he ...
Nick Harvey | 469 c330 (Link to this contribution) Am I mistaken? Perhaps the Conservative amendment does not refer to such a network, but I want to kn...
Linda Gilroy | 469 c330 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way? Has he visited the Stonehouse ward at the Ministry of Def...
Jim Sheridan | 469 c332 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that the new equipment was delivered not by the tooth fairy but by good, h...
Nick Harvey | 469 c330-1 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman was deliberately misquoting me, but I was explaining that I...
Bob Ainsworth | 469 c331-2 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, To leave out from ““House”” to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:"“...
Nick Harvey | 469 c331 (Link to this contribution) That is true, in a manner of speaking, but I am talking about a properly fleshed out and detailed do...
Nick Harvey | 469 c328-9 (Link to this contribution) I take the right hon. Gentleman's point. It is well made, and will be heard by some who serve in the...
Lord Touhig | 469 c327 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. I agree with a lot of what he says about the inadeq...
Nick Harvey | 469 c329 (Link to this contribution) I have given way to the hon. Gentleman twice already. We look forward to hearing what he has to say ...
Lord Beamish | 469 c329 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Nick Harvey | 469 c329 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a good point. It is clear that those criticisms have been made, and on a wide f...
Mike Hancock | 469 c329 (Link to this contribution) Some hon. Members are being critical of what my hon. Friend has to say, but they might be interested...
Nick Harvey | 469 c330 (Link to this contribution) In a moment. The Government have stated that they will consider such a network, so they should tell...
Linda Gilroy | 469 c329 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Lord Touhig | 469 c325 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the debate launched by the Royal British Legion on this issue. I do not believe that the c...
Patrick Mercer | 469 c325 (Link to this contribution) Is not the issue clear? Our servicemen and women are placing their lives on the line. Those sorts of...
Nick Harvey | 469 c325 (Link to this contribution) That would certainly be a welcome further development. We welcomed the creation of the Veterans Agen...
Bob Russell | 469 c326 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend accept that before 1996, when the Ministry of Defence sold off any surplus housi...
Nick Harvey | 469 c325-6 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman, and that is precisely my point. I welcome the advances tha...
Lord Beamish | 469 c326 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman not realise that one of the problems with the Annington Homes deal was that ...
Nick Harvey | 469 c326 (Link to this contribution) It certainly reaps most of the benefit, but the Annington deal was in 1996 and the present Governmen...
David Hamilton | 469 c327 (Link to this contribution) May I point out that that is not the case across the UK? In Midlothian, £60 million has been investe...
Nick Harvey | 469 c326-7 (Link to this contribution) I am intrigued by the hon. Gentleman's description of Lord Owen as a friend, because I do not think ...
Nick Harvey | 469 c327 (Link to this contribution) I would imagine that we all agree that that is desirable. If it were not for the desperate housing s...
Lord Beamish | 469 c324 (Link to this contribution) Is it not the case that it was the Labour Government who brought in the armed forces compensation sc...
Nick Harvey | 469 c324 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that nobody opposed that, as it was a worthwhile scheme. However, the hon. Gentleman and o...
Mike Hancock | 469 c324 (Link to this contribution) Everyone welcomed that legislation, but the trouble was that it did not cover everybody. It containe...
Nick Harvey | 469 c325 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right, and further improvement is clearly needed. The Government have said that th...
Roger Williams | 469 c323 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that what most damages our forces, especially when they are on deployment,...
Nick Harvey | 469 c323-4 (Link to this contribution) There has been a series of difficulties with the transfer to the joint personnel administration. Pos...
Lord Bruce of Bennachie | 469 c324 (Link to this contribution) On that campaign, does my hon. Friend agree that probably every Member of this House regularly recei...
Nick Harvey | 469 c324 (Link to this contribution) In principle, that is supposed to happen. The whole point of the military pension is that, in princi...
Jim Sheridan | 469 c323 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman accept that things are not as bad as some people would have us believe? A re...
Nick Harvey | 469 c323 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has heard the reaction of the House. Someone's pride in being a member of the arm...
Patrick Mercer | 469 c336 (Link to this contribution) I hear what the Minister says, but the fact remains that my colleagues and I, and Labour Members, ha...
Nick Harvey | 469 c340 (Link to this contribution) One has to admire the hon. Gentleman's gall. When his party is put under pressure by the Minister, t...
Andrew Murrison | 469 c341-2 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister. I thought I had done that, in what I hope he will accept was an ackno...
Philip Davies | 469 c335 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased that the Minister referred to the importance of families. The Government have not provi...
Nick Harvey | 469 c327 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way to the right hon. Gentleman one last time, once I have made the point that it seems...
Subjects
Armed forces Deployment Coroners Defence equipment Housing Health services Finance Mental health services Standards Repairs and maintenance
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk