Veterans Strategy

Baroness Pidding Excerpts

Thursday 15th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Pidding (Con)]

My Lords, I start by thanking my noble friend Lord Attlee for bringing forward this debate. The Armed Forces are very close to my heart. Three years ago I made my maiden speech in this Chamber about the Armed Forces covenant. Despite our religion, race or creed, despite the party that we support, we came together on Sunday to honour all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and for our liberty. While we commemorated the end of the First World War, we also pay tribute to all those who have served and are still serving in our Armed Forces. We are so grateful for and humbled by our veterans’ sacrifice and service, and for their contribution since leaving the Armed Forces.

Our country’s Government can never serve our veterans in quite the same way that they have served us—but, because we asked them for the greatest sacrifice, we must be prepared to do whatever we can to assist them whenever they need our help. This Government have made meeting the needs of the Armed Forces one of their highest priorities. This is only right: when men and women risk their lives in our defence, they should expect nothing less.

Unfortunately, veterans, particularly those who through no fault of their own have landed on hard times, often feel undervalued for their service. Our support for the armed services must go further than simply wearing a poppy for two weeks a year. So, with that in mind, I am proud that the Government are increasing their support for service personnel, families and veterans by adopting a more holistic approach.

Service families do so much to support their loved ones who are serving in the Armed Forces. We need to make sure that we are able to reinforce this. It is right that we are launching a spousal employment support scheme, helping service personnel’s spouses to find the jobs that they want, and so ensuring that they can support their family while having the opportunity to be rewarded for their hard work. I welcome the creation of a development scheme for those serving to ensure that they have the right personal and professional skills—skills that are vital for succeeding in life both while they serve and after they leave the Armed Forces. Also significant is the launching of this Government’s transition policy, giving those leaving the Armed Forces a helping hand as they move into civilian life. This initiative goes far beyond blunt financial support. It will provide support for resettlement, health and well-being, housing advice and pastoral care.

The Government have a record to be immensely proud of. They created the Armed Forces covenant to stop our service personnel from being disadvantaged. The covenant has created greater awareness across society of the challenges that service personnel, veterans and their families face.

The launching of the Forces Help to Buy scheme has helped more than 14,300 people buy their home. In 2012, the Government changed the law so that former service personnel with urgent housing needs are always given priority for social housing. We have urged local authorities to prioritise Armed Forces members and their families for social housing.

We must continue to do more, particularly by doing what we can to prevent our veterans becoming homeless. While the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance for councils on providing homelessness services to veterans, we must not waver in our commitment to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it by 2027. I am proud to support a Government with such a commitment to our service personnel. However, with estimates on the number of homeless veterans ranging from 7,000 to 13,000, I implore the Government to do more to support veterans. Seeing anyone homeless or sleeping rough is tragic, but it is even more so when it affects those who have done so much for our country.

This Government have a proud record on commitment to our Armed Forces, but we must not rest on our laurels. We must continue to find new ways to help our veterans and service personnel. The veterans support strategy is evidence of this. I know that this Government will continue not only to respect and honour the dedication and bravery of our Armed Forces but to value them. We must be certain to deliver the support and care that our brave service men and women and veterans deserve.

National Security Situation

Baroness Pidding Excerpts

Thursday 19th April 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Pidding (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution in this important and timely debate. I acknowledge the brave men and women in our Armed Forces and police and the work they do in keeping us safe. The topic of this debate is wide-ranging, and I shall limit my speech to supporting the Prime Minister’s actions in the context of the national security situation in recent weeks.

The dictionary definition of terrorism is,

“the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in pursuit of political aims”.

What then was the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal if not terrorism? Russia has shown total disregard of and contempt for international law and human decency. It has for far too long violated the sovereignty and dignity of its neighbours, Georgia and Ukraine. I am encouraged by our Prime Minister’s leadership of international diplomatic efforts against Putin’s regime. We cannot allow Russia and other rogue states to think that they can bulldoze international law and order and target individuals in our country. I hope that because of the Prime Minister’s actions it will think very hard before attempting anything like that again. Russia must learn that it is unacceptable to attempt to murder people on the streets of our country or to assist with the murder of those in Syria.

Over the past month we have seen first-hand the horror of chemical warfare on our streets, but this pales in comparison to what is happening in Syria. Not only is the use of chemical weapons prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Syria has acceded, but it offends and violates our very deeply held beliefs. For this reason it is often referred to as a red line, but what is the purpose of a red line if it is not enforced? What are we achieving by making such profound declarations if we are not prepared to act to enforce them? We did that in 2013 and the cost of non-intervention has been punitively high: the refugee crisis, the destruction of Aleppo and the empowerment of Russia.

Many commentators and a number of noble Lords have spoken about the cost of intervention in Iraq. It is true that we should act with caution and learn the lessons of that war, but this is fundamentally different from Iraq: this is not about regime change. It is about telling President Assad that he cannot use chemical weapons to kill and terrorise his people into submission.

We should not forget how many lives in Bosnia, Rwanda and indeed Syria have been lost because of our unwillingness to intervene, and how many lives in Kosovo and Sierra Leone were saved because of British military intervention. I believe that by not intervening in 2013 we committed a sin of omission that has led to the deaths of thousands of people. Crucially, we also sent Assad a message that he could use one of the vilest forms of warfare to murder his own people without any threat of retaliation. Assad has gone on to use chemical weapons dozens of times. The Prime Minister has done exactly the right thing by telling the regime that it can no longer act with impunity.

Armed Forces Bill

Baroness Pidding Excerpts

Thursday 11th February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Pidding (Con) (Maiden Speech)]

My Lords, it is an honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton. It was only a few weeks ago that I was standing in front of an amazingly talented group of schoolchildren in Gerrards Cross in my home county of Buckinghamshire. I was giving my critique of their public speaking ability as a judge in a Rotary Youth Speaks competition. Now the time has come for me to stand in front of your Lordships and deliver my maiden speech, and I hope that noble Lords will be as kind and encouraging to me as I sought to be to those schoolchildren.

It is a tremendous honour to stand here today in your Lordships’ House. For me, this is a steep learning curve, but the severity of that curve is eased by the tremendous support that I have received. Much is said about the warmth and helpfulness of the staff here, and I would like to add my personal thanks to all of them: the doorkeepers, the clerks and those who are hidden from view—all those who make the working of this House a little less formidable to a newcomer like me—and of course the wonderful restaurant and bar staff, who ensure that we do not go hungry or become dehydrated.

I am grateful, too, for the generosity of spirit of noble Lords on all sides of the House in making me feel so welcome and always being there with gentle encouragement and guidance, ensuring that I do not make a huge faux pas or, if I do, that I am swiftly but kindly corrected so that I do not do it again.

My heartfelt thanks go to my noble friends Lady Shephard of Northwold and Lord Bates for helping to navigate me through my day of introduction. Both have provided me with wise counsel and I know that they will continue to do so.

I have spent 30 years working as a volunteer for the Conservative Party, from the Young Conservatives through to holding the most senior roles for a volunteer—the elected office of chairman of the National Conservative Convention and deputy chairman of the Conservative Party Board. I pay tribute to our volunteers, who work tirelessly for all political parties. It often seems like a thankless task: out there whatever the weather, knocking on door after door, stuffing envelopes, delivering endless bundles of leaflets and sitting in draughty village halls for meeting after meeting, desperate to secure that elusive vote. And to what end? The reward: to be invited to attend more meetings or buy some more raffle tickets? No. The reason we do it is that we care passionately about our country and about making it a better place. We might not agree on the vision of this better place but I am certain that we all agree that the democratic process that we have in this country is something that we all are very proud of.

In the year leading up to the general election, I travelled to all parts of the United Kingdom, campaigning in more than 70 constituencies. I have never sought to be a parliamentarian. My role was always that of a volunteer, doing what I could to get others elected. So it is with a huge sense of pride that I now look down the corridor to the other place and see so many friends and colleagues elected. But here I am now, a parliamentarian myself. It is a huge honour and with it comes great responsibility.

It is a particular privilege to be able to make my maiden speech in support of the Bill before the House today. The Government have made meeting the needs of the Armed Forces one of their highest priorities. This is only right: when men and women risk their lives in our defence, they should expect nothing less. The military covenant is our side of that bargain, and I am proud of the Government’s record when it comes to the interests of service personnel and their families. We are helping them to buy their own homes, improving facilities for injured veterans and greatly broadening mental health provision across the Armed Forces, an area that was too often neglected in the past.

We have taken steps to make sure that British soldiers are no longer sent into danger without proper equipment. Over the next 10 years, the Government will spend £178 billion on defence equipment and support, and we have brought in private sector expertise in order to reduce both waste and delay in the procurement process. Not only are we making sure that our troops have up-to-date kit, but their organisation too is being adapted to the needs of modern warfare. The Government’s proposal to establish two new 5,000-strong strike forces, ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, recognises the changing nature of the threats facing our country today.

The United Kingdom remains committed to maintaining NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defence, and to updating our continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent. We have been the cornerstone of this alliance since its foundation, and these investments signal our determination to pursue an active, global role for Great Britain in the 21st century.

Under this Conservative Government, we have two clear objectives: to maintain an up-to-date fighting force with the equipment and support necessary to defend our country’s interests all over the world; and to guarantee that the men and women who serve so bravely receive the rewards and respect that they deserve. Our Government will continue not only to respect and honour the dedication and bravery of our Armed Forces but also to value them. I will lend all the support that I can to that.