To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what welfare, health and family‑support provisions are available to submariners completing exceptionally long patrols.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what welfare, health and family‑support provisions are available to submariners completing exceptionally long patrols.

I. The United Kingdom Reserve Forces External Scrutiny Team Annual Statutory Reports for 2022 and 2023 (2 docs.). II. Letters [undated] from the Secretary of State for Defence to Maj Gen(Retd) Simon Lalor, Council of Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, regarding the government response to the recommendations in the above reports. Incl. annexes. 10p.

I. The United Kingdom Reserve Forces External Scrutiny Team Annual Statutory Reports for 2022 and 2023 (2 docs.). II. Letters [undated] from the Secretary of State for Defence to Maj Gen(Retd) Simon Lalor, Council of Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, regarding the government response to the recommendations in the above...

I. The United Kingdom and Reserve Forces External Scrutiny Team annual statutory report 2021. Incl. annexes. 68p. II. Letter dated 26/05/2022 from Ben Wallace MP to Major General Lalor, Chairman of the RFCA External Scrutiny Team, regarding the Government response to the recommendations in the above report. Incl. annex. 5p.

I. The United Kingdom and Reserve Forces External Scrutiny Team annual statutory report 2021. Incl. annexes. 68p. II. Letter dated 26/05/2022 from Ben Wallace MP to Major General Lalor, Chairman of the RFCA External Scrutiny Team, regarding the Government response to the recommendations in the above report. Incl. annex. 5p.

Letter dated 23/11/2021 from Baroness Goldie to Lord Browne of Ladyton regarding the Army regulations regarding minimum service period discriminating against younger recruits, as raised in the Armed Forces Bill committee stage. 1p.

Letter dated 23/11/2021 from Baroness Goldie to Lord Browne of Ladyton regarding the Army regulations regarding minimum service period discriminating against younger recruits, as raised in the Armed Forces Bill committee stage. 1p.

Letter dated 30/01/2020 from Ben Wallace MP to Major General (Retd) Simon Lalor, Chairman of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association External Scrutiny Team, regarding the recommendations contained in the Team’s 2019 report. Incl. annex. 7p.

Letter dated 30/01/2020 from Ben Wallace MP to Major General (Retd) Simon Lalor, Chairman of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association External Scrutiny Team, regarding the recommendations contained in the Team’s 2019 report. Incl. annex. 7p.

Three new initiatives, aimed at modernising the living and working arrangements for Armed Forces personnel will be launched today, 1 April. Our people are at the heart of Defence and these measures, including flexible working arrangements, expanded accommodation options and new cohabitation rules, are designed to modernise our Armed Forces...

Three new initiatives, aimed at modernising the living and working arrangements for Armed Forces personnel will be launched today, 1 April. Our people are at the heart of Defence and these measures, including flexible working arrangements, expanded accommodation options and new cohabitation rules, are designed to modernise our Armed Forces...

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Gavin Williamson) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Three new initiatives, aimed at modernising the living and working arrangements for Armed Forces personnel will be launched today, 1 April. Our people are at the heart of Defence and...

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Gavin Williamson) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Three new initiatives, aimed at modernising the living and working arrangements for Armed Forces personnel will be launched today, 1 April. Our people are at the heart of Defence and...

Programme motion agreed to. Report stage. New clause 1, debated and withdrawn. Agreed to on question. Third reading. Agreed to on question. Bill passed without amendment.

Programme motion agreed to. Report stage. New clause 1, debated and withdrawn. Agreed to on question. Third reading. Agreed to on question. Bill passed without amendment.

Hear, hear!

Hear, hear!

New clause 1 would ensure that the armed forces personnel numbers and diversity statistics are as accurate as possible and that there can be proper scrutiny of the new flexible working measures. It would require that the personnel statistics and the diversity statistics include details of how many personnel work...

New clause 1 would ensure that the armed forces personnel numbers and diversity statistics are as accurate as possible and that there can be proper scrutiny of the new flexible working measures. It would require that the personnel statistics and the diversity statistics include details of how many personnel work...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

I wholeheartedly agree with the approach that my hon. Friend is setting out, and with the new clauses and amendments before the House. He will recall that I have been trying on a monthly basis to get from the Government many statistics on the crucial issue of recruitment, and they...

I wholeheartedly agree with the approach that my hon. Friend is setting out, and with the new clauses and amendments before the House. He will recall that I have been trying on a monthly basis to get from the Government many statistics on the crucial issue of recruitment, and they...

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct, and I wholeheartedly agree with him.

This highlights more than ever that active steps need to be taken if we are to reach the targets that are in place. The new advertising campaign for the Army is a good example of that. In spite of...

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct, and I wholeheartedly agree with him.

This highlights more than ever that active steps need to be taken if we are to reach the targets that are in place. The new advertising campaign for the Army is a good example of that. In spite of...

I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend that it is essential to have transparency and clarity on the figures. If the Government do not give the full picture, they are not fully informing the public debate or allowing us to see a true picture of the Ministry of Defence’s performance....

I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend that it is essential to have transparency and clarity on the figures. If the Government do not give the full picture, they are not fully informing the public debate or allowing us to see a true picture of the Ministry of Defence’s performance....

Does my hon. Friend agree that the reason why the female intake is so important is that we have a pretty atrocious record of females getting to senior positions in all three services? If we are to change that, we need young women joining now.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the reason why the female intake is so important is that we have a pretty atrocious record of females getting to senior positions in all three services? If we are to change that, we need young women joining now.

On the subject of diversity, particularly the number of BAME and African personnel in the Army and the geographical spread among our armed forces, is he as surprised as I was that when I asked a written question about the geographical split in our armed forces—the number from each local...

On the subject of diversity, particularly the number of BAME and African personnel in the Army and the geographical spread among our armed forces, is he as surprised as I was that when I asked a written question about the geographical split in our armed forces—the number from each local...

The Scottish National party welcomes the measures in the Bill that aim to address some of the issues around recruitment and retention of personnel. However, we are concerned that they do not go far enough to tackle the crisis. Unless some evaluation of these measures is carried out, we run...

The Scottish National party welcomes the measures in the Bill that aim to address some of the issues around recruitment and retention of personnel. However, we are concerned that they do not go far enough to tackle the crisis. Unless some evaluation of these measures is carried out, we run...