Afghanistan

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Mark Pawsey

Tuesday 9th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

As I have said already, the Afghan constitution guarantees the human rights of the citizens and their right to freedom of worship. The Afghan Government made pledges to respect human rights and freedom of worship at Tokyo. However, we are not naive: we recognise that there can be a gap between what is written on a page of the constitution and what is delivered on the ground, and we will focus on that in the months and years ahead.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

The Foreign Secretary has spoken about the future of Camp Bastion. Will he say something about the equipment that may well be left behind and the steps being taken to ensure that it is put to good use by the Afghan security forces?

[Mr Hammond]

Most of the equipment in use in Afghanistan—the big kit, as it were, or the serious bits of equipment—will be brought back to the UK. Indeed, the vast majority of it has already been brought back to the UK, rehabilitated and brought back into core for the future use of the British Army as part of its Future Force 2020 posture. If equipment cannot be brought back but is of sustainable use to the Afghans, which means that they can sensibly use and maintain it—it is no good leaving them kit that they cannot service and maintain—then it will, where appropriate, be gifted to them. Equipment that fits into neither category will be destroyed so that it cannot possibly fall into the wrong hands.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Mark Pawsey

Monday 4th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hammond]

I do not want to speculate on how close Iran could be to developing any kind of warhead, but I reassure my hon. Friend that the Government support the process of engagement with the Iranian regime to test whether it is serious when it says that it wants to negotiate with the west.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Given previous failures, the Government are rightfully changing the framework for defence procurement, which generates a £22 billion turnover. Will the Minister confirm that under the new arrangements there will be more opportunities for small businesses to get their fair share of that expenditure?

Reserve Forces

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Mark Pawsey

Wednesday 3rd July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

The FSB has of course been involved in this process. My hon. Friend’s point is absolutely valid. It will not be right or practical for all SMEs to employ a reservist, and we must recognise that fact. It will be easier for larger businesses. Many SMEs, perhaps including some very small ones, will be keen to employ a reservist, perhaps for a particular reason. We have to be flexible and tailor our package to respond to the needs of individual employers and employer types.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

May I express my disappointment at seeing on the list of surplus sites the Territorial Army centre at Edward street, Rugby?

I thank the Secretary of State for listening to the representations on reservists by businesses, particularly small businesses, many of which stand to lose a key member of staff for a substantial period. I particularly thank him for his provisions regarding greater predictability of call-up.

[Mr Hammond]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I am sorry about the disappointment regarding Rugby. As he will know, the reserve unit there will be consolidated at Coventry—another example of consolidation to create critical mass.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that predictability of liability for call-up is one of the key issues for smaller employers. If, at the beginning of the year, we can give them proper notice of training periods, and as lengthy notice as possible of a period of high liability for call-up, they can plan accordingly.

Future Reserves 2020

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Mark Pawsey

Thursday 8th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend rightly points out that many of our reserve units will be on parade this Sunday, taking a full and active part in the commemorations. As he will know from comments I have already made, I cannot give unit-specific assurances, but I can say this to him: in the restructuring of the Regular Army, a deliberate decision has been taken to reduce manpower disproportionately in logistics, engineers and REME, which will require a disproportionate growth in the reserve strength in those three areas. I think he can probably work out the rest for himself.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

As someone who ran a small business, I can tell the Secretary of State that there will be strong support on this from small businesses, but they will need to plan for the absence of people, many of whom will be key members of staff. Businesses will be looking for a lengthy period of notice about planned deployments, so can he reassure the House as to his proposals on the matter?

[Mr Hammond]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s comments. Yes, we are saying the period of liability for deployment will be determined in advance and will be of broadly fixed duration. There will be a broadly fixed period of immunity before deployment again, and there will be longer periods of specific notice of any given deployment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Mark Pawsey

Monday 11th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Lady is right. We have received the military advice on the outcome of the exercise and Ministers will now consider it and make a final decision on the deployment of ground-based air defence systems. As you would expect, Mr Speaker, when a decision is taken, an announcement will be made first to the House, but I will ensure that the Army engages with residents who live in close proximity to the site to ensure that they are aware of all the ramifications of any decision to go ahead and deploy.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State confirm that, to ensure effective interoperability between the emergency services and the armed forces, all parties involved with Olympic security will use a common communications platform?

[Mr Hammond]

The arrangements for effective command and control will involve military commanders being embedded with police gold commanders in their headquarters. I cannot give my hon. Friend a guarantee that they will use a common communications system, but the key decisions will be made by people sitting in the same room. They will then be passed down the respective chains of command.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Mark Pawsey

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am not aware of the written answer to which the hon. Gentleman refers, but I will look it up when I return to the Department, and I will write to him.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

T6. In my constituency, an average of 27 people a year are killed or seriously injured in crashes involving young people. That includes a tragic accident over the Christmas period involving a friend of my son. Graduated driver licensing, enabling a new driver to proceed to a full licence over a period, has been shown in many countries to reduce the number of casualties in that vulnerable group. What discussions has the Secretary of State had about introducing such an approach to improving road safety in this country?

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend will know that the United Kingdom actually has an enviable record on road safety. Many of the countries that operate graduated licensing suffer worse safety records than the UK. Our policy is to avoid additional regulation whenever possible, and we would be very concerned about imposing any regulation that reduced the mobility of young people who had acquired driving licences, because of the impact that it would have on their participation in the labour market and in further and higher education.