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Debate on Thursday, 29 January 2009, in the House of Commons, led by Bob Ainsworth. The answering member was Andrew Murrison.

Armed Forces Personnel

Debate on a motion that this House has considered the matter of armed forces personnel.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
487 c501-49 
Session
2008-09
Department
Ministry of Defence
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Related items
Deposited Paper DEP2009-0456
Monday, 16 February 2009
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Deposited Paper DEP2009-0455
Monday, 16 February 2009
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Deposited Paper DEP2009-0454
Monday, 16 February 2009
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Proceeding contributions
Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton | 487 c503 (Link to this contribution) Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that one way of meeting harmony guidelines would be to minimise...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c503 (Link to this contribution) I know that the hon. Gentleman looks into these things and that he has talked to many people over a ...
Show all contributions (98)
Bernard Jenkin | 487 c503 (Link to this contribution) I thank the right hon. Gentleman very much indeed for giving way, although he might not thank me now...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c502-3 (Link to this contribution) It can. That, in addition to the moral duty, is why we need to mitigate the effects as best we can. ...
Lord Campbell of Pittenweem | 487 c502 (Link to this contribution) As well as recognising the personal strains that can be imposed on families and individuals, does th...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c502 (Link to this contribution) I give way to the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell).
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c502 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that we have been asking a lot of our armed forces—that they ...
Shailesh Vara | 487 c502 (Link to this contribution) I am most grateful to the Minister for giving way and I agree entirely with him about the outstandin...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c501-2 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move,"That this House has considered the matter of armed forces personnel." We are fortuna...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c503 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has made much of this and has said things in the House that he ought to think ser...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c504 (Link to this contribution) I accept that ruling, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and I hope to be able to answer the hon. Member for North-...
Speaker | 487 c504 (Link to this contribution) I understand the hon. Gentleman's point of order and, in this instance, the Chair is in a rather dif...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c505 (Link to this contribution) Let me try to answer the intervention to which I was responding before I allow another intervention;...
Bob Russell | 487 c506 (Link to this contribution) The Minister mentions the justified criticism of the shortfall in some of the infantry battalions. I...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c506-7 (Link to this contribution) We should seek to spread best practice in the armed forces, as anywhere else. If the Royal Anglians ...
Lembit Opik | 487 c505 (Link to this contribution) Recruitment has been mentioned a number of times. The Minister knows of my grave concern about death...
Patrick Mercer | 487 c505-6 (Link to this contribution) The Minister and I have spoken about the manning crisis—I use the phrase advisedly—that faces the Ar...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c506 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Gentleman knows, those issues tax the Army and the Royal Marines, who seek to deal with ...
Lord Benyon | 487 c508 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree with the Minister. Those of us who have visited Selly Oak have nothing but praise f...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c508 (Link to this contribution) I have already given way to the hon. Gentleman and covered his point, which he and others have raise...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c507-8 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has mentioned an issue that has been raised with Ministers; the Under-Secretary o...
James Gray | 487 c507 (Link to this contribution) As the Minister has said, the doubling of the compensation package is broadly welcomed by the Royal ...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c510 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has said what he has said, and I have given him the opportunity to do so. We rec...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c509 (Link to this contribution) I am not aware of the circumstances of that case, but I will of course examine the report. It has be...
Bernard Jenkin | 487 c509-10 (Link to this contribution) May I inform the Minister that Essex county council carried out a wide-ranging consultation about th...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c509 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that I can do better than that; the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I have repeat...
Bob Russell | 487 c509 (Link to this contribution) The Minister refers to education for the children of service personnel. Will he and his colleagues e...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c510 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry, but I have given way a lot and taken time from others who want to speak. It would take ...
Speaker | 487 c511 (Link to this contribution) Order. I understand the point that the hon. Gentleman is seeking to make, but I hope that he will un...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c511 (Link to this contribution) I start by declaring my registered interest as an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve. I welcome the...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c511-2 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Heaven loves a trier, and I got further than I thought tha...
Lord Beamish | 487 c512 (Link to this contribution) May I reiterate what we have said about this? We have asked for examples, following the points raise...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c512 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister for that intervention. He will know that, following the Falklands camp...
Lord Beamish | 487 c513 (Link to this contribution) May I stress again to the hon. Gentleman that my predecessor, other Ministers and I have said to the...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c513 (Link to this contribution) Of course the Falklands cases were dealt with under the war pension scheme; that is the point.
Bob Russell | 487 c513 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to go down the line of what civilians are doing, but when I met people during their 24...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c513 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a good point. The Minister for the Armed Forces did not mention it in his openi...
James Gray | 487 c513 (Link to this contribution) Is my hon. Friend aware that there are currently 8,500 ex-service personnel in prison? In a written ...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c514 (Link to this contribution) That point is well made, and I shall deal with the issues surrounding it later in my contribution. I...
Lord Benyon | 487 c514 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that increased time under decompression should come off deployment rather ...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c514 (Link to this contribution) In fact, they do not always necessarily get the 24 hours. Perhaps the picture is mixed: some get rat...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c515 (Link to this contribution) I have never sought to deny that our armed forces are stretched. I do not know whether the hon. Gent...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 487 c514 (Link to this contribution) This is an extremely interesting subject, but should a distinction not be drawn between the Foreign ...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c514 (Link to this contribution) That is a very good point. We could also cite members of the reserve forces, who are traditionally d...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c519 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that Mr. Masters will be pleased with the endorsement that the Minister has given from the...
Linda Gilroy | 487 c519 (Link to this contribution) I usually like to say that it is a pleasure to follow the previous speaker, but I find it a little d...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c515-6 (Link to this contribution) I think that there is an element of confusion between post-operational tour leave and in-tour rest a...
Bernard Jenkin | 487 c516 (Link to this contribution) Before my hon. Friend leaves the question of troops to teachers, I commend the Bill proposed by my h...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c516-8 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that, and I look forward to visiting Colchester at some point to...
Andrew Murrison | 487 c520 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady is terribly gracious. What I could have done, of course, was calculate the number of q...
Linda Gilroy | 487 c519 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way once, for a short intervention, to someone from the Conservative Front-Bench team, ...
Nick Harvey | 487 c526-7 (Link to this contribution) I am disappointed by the earlier part of the Minister's reply, and intrigued by the latter part. If ...
Speaker | 487 c527 (Link to this contribution) Order. There are, as is evident, a small number of Members, all of whom are interested in speaking i...
Nick Harvey | 487 c526 (Link to this contribution) It seems that I have not understood correctly. Perhaps the Minister would like to clear the matter u...
Lord Beamish | 487 c526 (Link to this contribution) On the burden of proof issue, I was on the Committee that considered the Armed Forces (Pensions and ...
Nick Harvey | 487 c524-6 (Link to this contribution) I begin, as ever, by paying tribute to the men and women of our armed services, who work tirelessly,...
Speaker | 487 c520 (Link to this contribution) Order. Perhaps we now ought to get on with discussing armed forces personnel. I call Linda Gilroy.
Linda Gilroy | 487 c520-4 (Link to this contribution) Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I take note of your advice. I want to pay tribute to the men and wom...
Neil Gerrard | 487 c527-8 (Link to this contribution) I shall be brief, as there are just two topics on which I shall speak. The first is what happens to ...
Alison Seabeck | 487 c528 (Link to this contribution) Recently I was in Afghanistan as part of the armed forces parliamentary scheme. We talked to a numbe...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 487 c529-30 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard), who made an extremely cong...
James Gray | 487 c530 (Link to this contribution) Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 487 c530 (Link to this contribution) I will give way on this point, but I shall claim an extra minute.
James Gray | 487 c530 (Link to this contribution) I understand my right hon. Friend's point, and I intervene briefly to say that if the worst were to ...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 487 c530-1 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend will understand if I say that I hope that will not happen. By and large, my constitue...
Joan Humble | 487 c531-4 (Link to this contribution) It is a privilege to speak in this debate and to follow the considered contribution of the right hon...
Ann Winterton | 487 c534-6 (Link to this contribution) At the beginning of my brief contribution to the debate, I express my respect and admiration for the...
James Gray | 487 c539 (Link to this contribution) I rise to speak briefly. That I shall be brief is partly because of the structure of these debates, ...
Alison Seabeck | 487 c536-9 (Link to this contribution) May I first put on record, as have other hon. Members, our thanks to our armed services for the fant...
Bob Russell | 487 c541-2 (Link to this contribution) It is an especial privilege and honour to represent a garrison town. I pay tribute to 16 Air Assault...
Gerald Howarth | 487 c542 (Link to this contribution) We have had a very good debate, if, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray) said...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 487 c539 (Link to this contribution) So my hon. Friend really does not need the Chinooks, does he?
James Gray | 487 c539-41 (Link to this contribution) I am extremely grateful to my right hon. Friend for that, because I shall come back to precisely tha...
Gerald Howarth | 487 c542-3 (Link to this contribution) I hear what the hon. Gentleman says. He may only just have become a Minister, having crossed the Flo...
Speaker | 487 c504 (Link to this contribution) Order. There is no more that I can say on that point of order. I think that I have made myself perfe...
Speaker | 487 c504 (Link to this contribution) If it is an entirely separate point of order, I will hear it, but I do not think that I could have m...
Bernard Jenkin | 487 c504 (Link to this contribution) On a separate point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Bernard Jenkin | 487 c504 (Link to this contribution) On a separate point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am not sure that the Leader of the House or the ...
Gerald Howarth | 487 c504 (Link to this contribution) On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. With the greatest respect, it will be impossible to conduct...
Gerald Howarth | 487 c543 (Link to this contribution) Indeed. If possible it should do that, but as I have also said to my hon. Friend, there is a real re...
Ann Winterton | 487 c543 (Link to this contribution) Briefly, the MOD should be driving the news agenda, not the other way round.
Gerald Howarth | 487 c545-6 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that intervention, because I have raised the issue before,...
Gerald Howarth | 487 c544-5 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely; I entirely endorse that. The Aldershot News does not exactly the same job, but—[Interrup...
Linda Gilroy | 487 c544 (Link to this contribution) Following the edition of the ““Helmand Herald”” produced by the deputy editor of the Plymouth Herald...
Lord Beamish | 487 c546-7 (Link to this contribution) I start by echoing the sentiments expressed by Members in all parts of the House who paid tribute to...
Lord Beamish | 487 c547-9 (Link to this contribution) I will not, because I have limited time. The issue of visits to schools was raised last year. I wil...
Speaker | 487 c504 (Link to this contribution) I very much understand that point of order, and it is difficult to separate equipment from the membe...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c505 (Link to this contribution) The issue has gone on for some time. My predecessor explained the situation in the House. The Dhali-...
Bob Ainsworth | 487 c518-9 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman attempts, as he does in a number of areas, to paint a picture, which is far remov...
Neil Gerrard | 487 c528-9 (Link to this contribution) That was a useful intervention. It makes the point that things have improved, although there are sti...
Speaker | 487 c503 (Link to this contribution) Order. I know that the Minister is responding to an intervention, but before he goes too far down th...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 487 c545 (Link to this contribution) I ask my hon. Friend to comment on the announcement that Radio 4 has just made that the Ministry of ...
Subjects
Conditions of employment Compensation Armed forces Deployment Coroners Housing Health services Iraq Gurkhas Offenders Pay Radiation exposure Peacekeeping operations Staff Personnel management Mental health services Rehabilitation Schools Training War pensions Afghanistan Post-traumatic stress disorder Veterans
Link
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