My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Derek Twigg) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. As the Secretary of State for Defence informed the House on 10 January, a small number of UK service personnel who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years have received...

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Derek Twigg) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. As the Secretary of State for Defence informed the House on 10 January, a small number of UK service personnel who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years have received...

As the Secretary of State for Defence informed the House on 10 January, a small number of UK service personnel who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years have received life-saving emergency transfusions of US blood. We had identified from US and UK records that 18 of these UK...

As the Secretary of State for Defence informed the House on 10 January, a small number of UK service personnel who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years have received life-saving emergency transfusions of US blood. We had identified from US and UK records that 18 of these UK...

Absolute bollocks.

Absolute bollocks.

I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I pay tribute to those staff for their dedication to their duty and the pride that they feel—it is every bit as much as that of the uniformed armed forces—in serving their country. The ultimate sacrifice that members of our armed forces...

I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I pay tribute to those staff for their dedication to their duty and the pride that they feel—it is every bit as much as that of the uniformed armed forces—in serving their country. The ultimate sacrifice that members of our armed forces...

I begin by drawing the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members' Interests. I would also like to add my expression of admiration for our men and women in uniform, their long-suffering families, veterans and the organisations that look after them and their interests, often...

I begin by drawing the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members' Interests. I would also like to add my expression of admiration for our men and women in uniform, their long-suffering families, veterans and the organisations that look after them and their interests, often...

Is that a parliamentary phrase?

Is that a parliamentary phrase?

Debate on a motion for the adjournment on armed forces personnel.

Debate on a motion for the adjournment on armed forces personnel.

I welcome that invitation from the Defence Secretary and will indeed take him up on it. Perhaps he would also like to join me in a visit to the cavalry barracks in Hounslow, to which the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers will return in the spring. I will...

I welcome that invitation from the Defence Secretary and will indeed take him up on it. Perhaps he would also like to join me in a visit to the cavalry barracks in Hounslow, to which the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers will return in the spring. I will...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the problem with the example of the Hounslow barracks, to which the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) referred, is the fact that the Army needs to make a strategic decision in London on where it will concentrate its housing? That decision must...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the problem with the example of the Hounslow barracks, to which the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) referred, is the fact that the Army needs to make a strategic decision in London on where it will concentrate its housing? That decision must...

I welcome the review of accommodation because it is important. However, given that the cross-party Public Accounts Committee has described nearly half of all service accommodation as sub-standard and that the Army's surveys show that half the soldiers feel that the maintenance of their accommodation is not what it should...

I welcome the review of accommodation because it is important. However, given that the cross-party Public Accounts Committee has described nearly half of all service accommodation as sub-standard and that the Army's surveys show that half the soldiers feel that the maintenance of their accommodation is not what it should...

As the hon. Gentleman knows, I have enormous respect for his knowledge of the circumstances, but I do not accept that there is a crisis, although I do accept that there are issues in relation to retention. We are operating in an employment market that is very different from the...

As the hon. Gentleman knows, I have enormous respect for his knowledge of the circumstances, but I do not accept that there is a crisis, although I do accept that there are issues in relation to retention. We are operating in an employment market that is very different from the...

Can the Secretary of State confirm not only that his wish that that happens has been conveyed to those local councils that have large numbers of military personnel, but that those councils are carrying out what he wishes to happen?

Can the Secretary of State confirm not only that his wish that that happens has been conveyed to those local councils that have large numbers of military personnel, but that those councils are carrying out what he wishes to happen?

The intention is that it will be a statutory duty, so if the councils behave legally there will be no problem about them knowing about it. A problem we faced in the past was that there was a variable interpretation of parts of the legislation but, in consultation with the...

The intention is that it will be a statutory duty, so if the councils behave legally there will be no problem about them knowing about it. A problem we faced in the past was that there was a variable interpretation of parts of the legislation but, in consultation with the...

I want to ask my right hon. Friend about an issue that affects many service personnel. When we debate the treatment of casualties, we tend to focus on what they receive when they get back to the United Kingdom rather than on the first hour or two after suffering their...

I want to ask my right hon. Friend about an issue that affects many service personnel. When we debate the treatment of casualties, we tend to focus on what they receive when they get back to the United Kingdom rather than on the first hour or two after suffering their...

The issues that underpin the hon. Gentleman's question generate a significant amount of support across the House and in our wider society, as is also seen in campaigns to achieve the same. They are welcome to the extent that they show the level of support generated in recognition of what...

The issues that underpin the hon. Gentleman's question generate a significant amount of support across the House and in our wider society, as is also seen in campaigns to achieve the same. They are welcome to the extent that they show the level of support generated in recognition of what...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing that out. It would not serve this debate well for me to go through all the individual challenges that we face in accommodation and on the estate. It would serve us and our relationship with the armed forces well if we...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing that out. It would not serve this debate well for me to go through all the individual challenges that we face in accommodation and on the estate. It would serve us and our relationship with the armed forces well if we...

My right hon. Friend is, of course, correct. I can say with all sincerity that it is hard not to feel some sympathy for the Secretary of State, given the budgetary pressures that he is going to face as a result of the spending settlement that he has received. That...

My right hon. Friend is, of course, correct. I can say with all sincerity that it is hard not to feel some sympathy for the Secretary of State, given the budgetary pressures that he is going to face as a result of the spending settlement that he has received. That...

The hon. Member for Vale of Glamorgan (John Smith) is right to say that the armed forces received pay increases of between 3 and 9 per cent. last year. The Secretary of State can claim great credit for that, but the trouble was that the pay increase had to be...

The hon. Member for Vale of Glamorgan (John Smith) is right to say that the armed forces received pay increases of between 3 and 9 per cent. last year. The Secretary of State can claim great credit for that, but the trouble was that the pay increase had to be...

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that, across the board, the British armed forces, quite rightly, had the largest public sector pay settlement in 2007? That was in recognition of all the factors to which he has drawn attention.

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that, across the board, the British armed forces, quite rightly, had the largest public sector pay settlement in 2007? That was in recognition of all the factors to which he has drawn attention.

They do indeed. I am not complaining about the military decisions or the presence of the personnel: I am complaining about the fact that the Prime Minister purposely gave one impression, knowing that it was at least partly not true even as he said it. During the last defence policy...

They do indeed. I am not complaining about the military decisions or the presence of the personnel: I am complaining about the fact that the Prime Minister purposely gave one impression, knowing that it was at least partly not true even as he said it. During the last defence policy...