Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 14th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

It is very much within the agreement. Equally, this is a priority, which is precisely why we are investing £1.9 billion in it over coming years.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

13. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Capita’s Army recruitment contract.

[John Grogan (Keighley) (Lab)]

17. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Capita’s Army recruitment contract.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster)]

The Army is working closely with Capita, with multiple interventions now in place and delivering improvements. Regular soldier applications are at a five-year high, supported by last year’s award-winning “This is Belonging” marketing campaign. It will take longer to see increases in trained strength due to the length of the recruitment and training pipelines.

[David Hanson]

This contract has underperformed. How much would it cost to cancel it, and why is the Minister not considering that as a key option?

[Mark Lancaster]

There are certainly alternative plans in place should this contract not perform, and the Secretary of State has made it absolutely clear that he has not ruled that out. However, I am pleased that in recent months, after interventions by Capita, we have seen a dramatic improvement in the contract. One of the indications of that is that applications are now at a five-year high.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 11th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Will the ministerial team recognise the work of service dogs in the Army, Air Force and Navy, and in particular, welcome the establishment next week in this House of a memorial charity to those animals, to be based in Delyn constituency in north Wales?

[Mark Lancaster]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very valuable point. All too often, when we talk about our armed forces, we think purely of humans, but of course, for many centuries, animals have made a fine contribution, too.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 23rd April 2018 Commons Chamber

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

16. What steps he is taking to provide military support to NATO allies in the Baltic states.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster)]

Don’t worry, Mr Speaker; I will endeavour to speak very slowly, for a change, and maybe at length.

We have a strong and enduring defence relationship with our allies in the Baltic states. Since April last year, UK forces have been deployed in Estonia as part of NATO’s enhanced forward presence. The UK acts as the framework station in Estonia, leading a defensive but combat-capable multinational battlegroup to deter aggression. The UK also contributes to the US-led enhanced forward presence battlegroup in Poland.

[David Hanson]

This might be an opportunity to give a lecture on Estonian, Lithuanian and Polish relations with the UK—while keeping you happy in your Chair, Mr Speaker. In the meantime, I very much welcome what the Secretary of State has said about the increased support to the Baltic states. Will the Minister also look at the possibility of giving training and support to members of the Baltic states’ armed forces in the UK? He will be aware that a recent parliamentary question revealed the fact that no one from Lithuania, Latvia or Poland had attended the MOD’s highest profile UK-based courses. Is that not something that we should try to rectify?

[Mark Lancaster]

I would be delighted to look at that. Indeed, I am sure that the House will be delighted to know that the one request I received from just about every nation when I was travelling in east Africa last week was for further places on UK training courses—our Royal College of Defence Studies, our advanced command and staff course, our higher command and staff course, or even at Sandhurst. Places on such courses are incredibly valued by overseas nations. Unfortunately, demand exceeds supply, but I will look carefully at what more we can do to support our Baltic colleagues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 12th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

My hon. Friend is right to focus on quality, and I am delighted to say that following the last Ofsted inspections both the Army and the naval service were graded as “good”, with some individual programmes being graded as “outstanding”, while the RAF’s programme was graded as “outstanding”.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

The Minister mentioned the Department for Education, and the Government website refers to England, so will he assure me that apprenticeships are available throughout the UK for people in the devolved regions where apprenticeships are a devolved matter to the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly or the Welsh Assembly?

[Mark Lancaster]

Of course, we are always happy to work with devolved Assemblies, and I can absolutely reassure the right hon. Gentleman that apprenticeships are available to all our armed forces personnel.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 12th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

The Légion D’Honneur is established by law in France, with set requirements for scrutiny and approval. Within those limits, the French authorities have done their utmost to expedite the issue of the awards. As in the UK, such honours and awards are generally not made posthumously. I can confirm that the cases of Mr Barbour and Mr Nankivell have been submitted to the French authorities. Unfortunately, there is no record of an application for Mr Carncross, but if one is submitted, I will ensure that it is expedited.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

I do appreciate the efforts of the Minister and the Department to ensure that individuals get their Légion d’Honneur medals, but like the hon. Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster), I still know of a large number of people who are qualified for the medal and have applied for it but have not received it. Is it possible for the Minister to carry out an audit of how many applications are outstanding in the United Kingdom, so that he can chase them up?

[Mark Lancaster]

The French have awarded approximately 3,500 medals, and we have sent the French about 4,300 applications. At the moment, the process is taking between six and eight weeks. I appreciate that that is still a significant period given the age of the cohort in question, but I can assure the right hon. Gentleman, who has pursued the issue persistently over the past year, that we have done everything we can to make the process as quick as possible given the circumstances and the age of the veterans involved.

Defence

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Hanson of Flint

Tuesday 28th June 2016 Ministerial Corrections

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

T2. Will the Minister undertake an urgent review of the awards of the Légion d’Honneur? I have many constituents who were awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the French authorities and who notified the Ministry of Defence more than a year ago, but have still not received their medals. Will the Minister look at that urgently?

[Mark Lancaster]

I am more than happy to do so. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that there was a review. It is fair to say that the French authorities have simply been overwhelmed by the number of applications, but we have a system in place now whereby 200 are sent each week to the French. Of the original applications that were made, I understand that all have now been awarded.

[Official Report, 27 June 2016, Vol. 612, c. 17.]

Letter of correction from Mark Lancaster:

An error has been identified in the response I gave to the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson) during Topical Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence.

The correct response should have been:

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 27th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

I am delighted to say that since the forces’ Help to Buy scheme was introduced, more than 7,260 service families have taken up the opportunity to buy their own home.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

T2. Will the Minister undertake an urgent review of the awards of the Légion d’Honneur? I have many constituents who were awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the French authorities and who notified the Ministry of Defence more than a year ago, but have still not received their medals. Will the Minister look at that urgently?

[Mark Lancaster]

I am more than happy to do so. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that there was a review. It is fair to say that the French authorities have simply been overwhelmed by the number of applications, but we have a system in place now whereby 200 are sent each week to the French. Of the original applications that were made, I understand that all have now been awarded.[Official Report, 28 June 2016, Vol. 612, c. 1MC.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 19th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

7. How many UK Normandy veterans have been awarded the Legion d’Honneur between 6 June 2014 and 12 October 2015.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mark Lancaster)]

The Government are grateful to President Hollande for his generosity in offering the Legion d’Honneur to all living veterans of the campaigns to liberate France in 1944-45. Although this is properly a matter for the French Government, Ministry of Defence officials are working closely with their counterparts and understand that French authorities have approved approximately 1,100 awards and that around 750 of these have been dispatched to UK veterans. I am confident that that number will increase significantly over the coming months.

[Mr Hanson]

Everyone will welcome the contribution of and the recognition given to those who fought bravely in the second world war from 6 June onwards, but does the Minister share my concern at the slowness and bureaucracy of the process? My constituents have raised with me the fact that more than 500 people who could have had the award died before receiving it. That is not acceptable.

[Mark Lancaster]

I accept that what the right hon. Gentleman says is true historically, but he will be aware that since July the admin procedure has changed significantly. We are now submitting 100 awards a week and the turnaround time is between six and eight weeks. Recently, I met my French counterpart here in the UK and he absolutely reassured me that the French will continue to do what they can to ensure that these awards are sent to our veterans as quickly as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 13th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

I am delighted to say that all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales have now signed the covenant, and that is excellent news. I am keen that we should have best practice across local authorities, and we have the annual report to Parliament, which has now been published on three occasions. I am more than happy to look at this matter and come back to her.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Last Friday, I attended a military covenant event in Flintshire, organised by the county council, which brought together employers to look at how they could recruit reservists and provide employment to former military personnel. The outputs of that are very successful. Will the Minister give an indication not just of the number of those who have signed the covenant but of the outputs of their involvement with the covenant, through a proper audit?

[Mark Lancaster]

I am delighted to hear the good news. Word is finally spreading across the land and we are seeing some areas of best practice. I recently awarded Barclays a gold award. Its AFTER programme is a fine example to other companies of the outputs the right hon. Gentleman desires.