(11 years, 11 months ago)
Commons ChamberI think we all regret any reduction in benefits. In the same way that members of the armed forces, such as myself—or my wife, more accurately—are losing child benefit, so we will all lose child benefit if we are paid the relevant amount. I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman should imagine that members of the armed forces are so ignorant of what is happening in the world that they need to be specially told. They are sensible people who can stand on their own feet and they do not need to be patronised by him.
Will Ministers join me in paying tribute to the service provided by the defence attachés across the world and to the very important contribution they make to defence diplomacy? Do Ministers agree that defence attachés also have a vital role to play in conflict prevention? Will the Minister make a short report to the House on how that work impinges on their other duties?
(14 years, 3 months ago)
Ministerial CorrectionsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many permanent UK military headquarters there are; where each is located; who has command at each such headquarters; and what the staff is of each.
[Official Report, 20 July 2010, Vol. 514, c. 182-84W.]
Letter of correction from Andrew Robathan:
Errors have been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames) on 20 July 2010.
The full answer given was as follows:
[holding answer 15 July 2010]: There are five permanent military headquarters (HQ) in the UK. Details of the location, who has command and staff employed at each are shown in the following table:
Military HQ | Location | Commanded by | Number of staff | Military | Civilian |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ministry of Defence (MOD)—Head Office | MOD Main Building London | Secretary of State for Defence | 2,920 | 1,070 | 1,850 |
Navy—HQ Navy Command | Portsmouth | Commander in Chief Fleet | 1,420 | 863 | 557 |
Army—HQ Land Forces | Andover | Commander in Chief Land Forces | 2,077 | 1,075 | 1,002 |
RAF—HQ Air Command | High Wycombe | Commander in Chief Air | 2,099 | 1,476 | 623 |
Permanent Joint HQ—Operations Joint HQ | Northwood | Chief of Joint Operations | 593 | 476 | 117 |