The Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns)
This Government are committed to improving service life for our dedicated service personnel. This includes addressing any experience in our armed forces which falls short of the standards we expect. The Secretary of State for Defence made clear in his first address to the Ministry of Defence that we will have a culture that values all, and we will have zero tolerance for any abuse, in the military or the civil service.
That is why today, I am updating the House on the findings of an investigation into misconduct in the submarine service. This investigation was commissioned by the Royal Navy in October 2022 as a result of allegations of misconduct made by a former female submariner. The investigation has now concluded and has found evidence to prove that misogyny, bullying and unacceptable behaviour did occur amongst a range of ranks and rates during the period 2014-2020.
This is appalling and should have never happened. I sincerely apologise for the treatment that the victim experienced during her time as a submariner, and I commend to the House her bravery in coming forward. Those that have chosen to serve deserve better. The First Sea Lord has also offered his personal and unreserved apologies to the victim for her treatment.
Action is under way to address the findings of the investigation. First and foremost, I can confirm that the Royal Navy has conducted misconduct proceedings, and action has been taken against several individuals up to and including discharge from the service.
The investigation also made 37 recommendations to address practical and cultural shortcomings which must change. The First Sea Lord has accepted these in full and implementation is under way. These changes include proactive welfare checks for submarine crews pre and post deployment, to understand the experiences of the crew; changes to training and the submarine command course; and increased outreach from the Royal Navy Police so that personnel are aware of the routes available to them should they wish to raise a complaint.
Further detail on the investigation, including its findings, recommendations and how they have been implemented has been published on the Ministry of Defence website. The executive summary and redacted report will be placed in the Library of the House. However, changes made so far are not limited to the submarine service. In parallel to the investigation itself, the First Sea Lord instigated a wider review of the Royal Navy’s working culture. As a result of this, the Royal Navy has appointed a commadore as its head of culture and a team to support driving cultural, behavioural and leadership improvements across the entirety of the Royal Navy.
Misconduct such as that identified in this investigation is unacceptable and has no place anywhere in Defence. While progress is being made, there is more to be done. I will hold the First Sea Lord, the Royal Navy and the submarine service to account for delivering the change this investigation has identified. I have requested a formal review of progress in six months.
More widely, the MOD has established a programme for raising our standards that builds on existing work to instil a positive working culture and uphold the standards of behaviour that we expect. The programme focuses on communications and training, underpinned by work to test the action being taken and make sure that unacceptable behaviours are being eliminated from Defence.
Work is under way by the new ministerial team to look at what action has been taken to raise standards and tackle unacceptable behaviour so far across the Ministry of Defence and the whole of the military; assess what impact this action has had; identify where we are still falling short; and ensure where we learn lessons and establish good practice this is shared across the whole of Defence.
Furthermore, I will personally oversee the programme of change through our external challenge panel: a group of experienced subject matter experts in organisational change that have been brought together to hold this Department to account for action on these issues, and ensure we have strong ambition and independent testing of our programme.
It is only by delivering on this commitment that we will enable Defence to better reflect the nation it serves and protects, and draw from the best of British talent, to deliver operational outcomes in an increasingly uncertain world.
Poor practices and behaviours in the past that may have been normalised in some quarters are unacceptable, and they have no place today. We will learn from this, and I will provide further updates to the House on action taken across Defence in due course.
The leadership of the submarine service has my, and the First Sea Lord’s, full support to deliver the changes needed.
The attachments can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2024-10-07/HCWS103/.
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