Asked by: Viscount Trenchard (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the external scrutiny team of the Council of the Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations will be equally independent of the Ministry of Defence if the Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations are converted into a non-departmental public body.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence Ministers greatly value the independent reports produced by the External Scrutiny Team (EST). The future of the EST will likely be a topic for discussion once the new Armed Forces Commissioner is appointed. We would seek to retain the independence of the EST if there are any changes to the extant arrangements.
Asked by: Viscount Trenchard (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value of the independence of the external scrutiny team of the Council of the Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 29 January 2025, to Question HL4334.
Asked by: Viscount Trenchard (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the usefulness of the annual reports of the external scrutiny team of the Council of Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations, and of whether the reports are genuinely independent of the Ministry of Defence under the current arrangements.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence Ministers are very grateful for the hard work of the External Scrutiny Team (EST) led by Maj Gen (Retd) Simon Lalor. My hon. Friend Alistair Carns DSO MC OBE, Minister for Veterans and People, expressed the same sentiment on 17 December 2024, when he placed a copy in the Library of the House the EST’s Annual Statutory Report 2024 on the health of the Reserve Forces. A copy of that Report and Alistair Carns’ response can be found at the following link: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-12-17/hcws326
I am clear that the EST is indeed independent, since it directs its own business, and I greatly value its reports as a result. The future of the EST will likely be a topic for discussion once the new Armed Forces Commissioner is appointed.