Oral Answers to Questions

Al Carns Excerpts

Monday 14th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Chris Ward (Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven) (Lab)]

5. What progress he has made on implementing the recommendations of the LGBT veterans independent review.

[The Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns)]

If you will allow me to say so, Mr Speaker, it is with great pride that I stand behind this Dispatch Box for the first time, after 24 years of service, to represent veterans, serving personnel and their families and dependants. Be under no illusion: it is now my duty to serve them here in Government and to fight for the deal that they deserve.

I was serving when the ban was lifted in 2000 by a Labour Government. The treatment of LGBT veterans was completely and utterly unacceptable. The treatment of LGBT veterans has been dealt with by the Etherton review, which we will see out at the end of the year. We have met 32 of the 49 recommendations and we will meet those on the financial redress scheme by the end of this year, with a launch in January next year.

[Chris Ward]

LGBT veterans have suffered appalling injustice and ingratitude, including many in my Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven constituency. I welcome the update from the Minister, but he will know that it is recommendation 28 on financial redress and compensation that is causing concern among veterans. Because the report caps compensation at £50 million, the average payment per veteran might be as low as £12,500. The then Prime Minister, now the Leader of the Opposition, rightly told the House that the ban was

“an appalling failure of the British state”.—[Official Report, 19 July 2023; Vol. 736, c. 897.]

Will the Minister meet me and Fighting With Pride to discuss how we can take this forward to get fair and swift compensation?

[Al Carns]

I know that a significant number of my hon. Friend’s constituents are affected by this completely unacceptable and highly regrettable policy. I met Fighting With Pride and Lord Etherton just last week. I will meet them again and I will meet my hon. Friend to talk through the detail. I can confirm that Defence is working with experts across Government to establish an appropriate financial redress scheme. That scheme will launch this year and I will update the House in due course.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

6. What steps he is taking to help secure the future of the UK’s defences.

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[Jess Asato (Lowestoft) (Lab)]

7. What steps he is taking to support veterans.

[The Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns)]

This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. That is why the Prime Minister focused on the debt we owe our veterans in his first conference speech as Prime Minister. As a veteran myself, I stand steadfast in my commitment to deliver improved services for veterans, working closely across Government and with the devolved Governments.

[Jess Asato]

The Lord Kitchener Memorial Holiday Centre is an extraordinary charity in my constituency, set up more than 100 years ago after the great war to provide convalescence for returning soldiers. Today it provides much-needed short stays for veterans and their families across the country, as well as a drop-in and information centre for veterans locally, but sadly its funding situation is precarious. Does the Minister agree that investing in our locally valued veterans’ charities is essential if we are to provide the best support for our brave service personnel?

[Al Carns]

I thank my hon. Friend for an important statement and question, and I thank the Lord Kitchener Memorial Holiday Centre for all the work it has done in supporting veterans for over a century now—it is truly deserving of applause. I would be happy to visit the centre with her to see the brilliant work that it does. The Government are looking at the best way to deliver collaboratively across the charitable sector, which includes more than 1,000 charities, to deliver the best support for veterans and deliver the deal they deserve.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

During his Labour conference speech, the Prime Minister made one of his key announcements:

“We will repay those who served us and house all veterans in housing need. Homes will be there for heroes.”

[Ben Obese-Jecty]

Wait for it. Last week, the Government confirmed that that would actually be done by exempting veterans from local connection and residency tests, rather than by making dedicated housing available. Given that it was a key conference pledge, what guarantees are the Government able to offer veterans that homes really will be there for them?

[Al Carns]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, Op Fortitude is running and we have had more than 2,000 referrals so far, with 700 veterans put into housing. We will continue to extend the programme to ensure that every veteran has a home in due course.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)]

This weekend marked 40 years since one of the most appalling and audacious terrorist attacks on British soil, the attack on the Conservative party conference in Brighton in 1984. Five people died in the bombing. If you will forgive me, Mr Speaker, they were the Member of Parliament for Enfield, Southgate, Anthony Berry; Lady Jeanne Shattock; Muriel Maclean of the Scottish Conservatives; Eric Taylor; and Roberta Wakeham. All are remembered. Thirty-one people were also injured and some never recovered.

The peace that we enjoy today in Northern Ireland and across these islands was hard-won over many decades, but hard-won also was the protection afforded to our veterans, who served our country through the troubles and have since been plagued by ambulance-chasing lawyers with vexatious claims. That protection was achieved through the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, but there is concern within the veteran community that the new Government’s proposed repealing and replacement of that Act will put those men and women, many of whom are now well into retirement, at risk. Can the hon. and gallant Gentleman assure me, and them, that they will be protected and that those who served our country with distinction and valour over so many years will never be at the mercy of those seeking to distort their service or to damage their lives and reputations?

[Al Carns]

I thank the hon. and gallant Gentleman for his comments. Our Government recognise the important service of veterans and serving personnel and the sacrifices they made to keep us all safe in Northern Ireland during the troubles. I did not serve during the troubles, but I did serve in Northern Ireland and I understand them. He has my absolute commitment that any individual who needs to go through legal proceedings will get the correct welfare and legal support.

[David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)]

9. What recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on support for Ukraine.

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[Chris McDonald]

Can my right hon. Friend outline what steps the Government are taking to ensure that every veteran who has bravely served this country has access to safe and secure housing, so that they never face the injustice of homelessness?

[The Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns)]

As I mentioned before, Op FORTITUDE is up and running. It is doing exceptionally well, with over 2,000 referrals and 700 veterans finding housing, and we will work to continue that programme for the foreseeable future.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

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[Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth) (Lab/Co-op)]

T2. Earlier this month, a Royal Navy investigation found intolerable misogyny in the submarine service, following complaints of bullying and sexual harassment. Forward Assist, a charity based in my constituency that supports survivors, has done research and a number of reports into the prevalence and impact of military sexual trauma. Will the Secretary of State meet me and that charity to discuss its findings, and how we can support serving personnel and veterans?

[Al Carns]

I would love to visit that charity with my hon. Friend in due course. Any reports of misogyny or wrongdoing in any way are utterly unacceptable. That is why since entering government we have started a programme of raising our standards with a plan to enact cultural change across defence, with the aim of making defence the best place to work across Government.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

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[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

T3. Many members of the armed forces in my constituency are living in sub-par MOD housing that is cold, damp and mould-ridden. How is the Minister ensuring that all MOD properties are fit to live in?

[Al Carns]

I have been utterly shocked by the state of parts of the housing estate that we have inherited. Over the last 14 years, the Government of the time failed to decisively close with this issue, instead kicking the can down the road or continually topping up the leaking bucket. We have examples of families living in accommodation with no running water, with mould and with pest infestations; there were 53,000 complaints between 2018 and 2023. Having lived in some of that accommodation, I can tell the House that it is unacceptable. Our armed forces protect the freedoms we enjoy, and this Government will take action—including a medium to long-term review—to get after the housing and create a new armed forces commissioner to improve service life.

[Luke Murphy (Basingstoke) (Lab)]

T10. I am immensely proud of the armed forces, both those serving and veterans, who live in my constituency, but I do worry for the future given the recruitment crisis that we inherited from the previous Government. What steps are this Government taking to tackle the recruitment crisis, in particular to attract diverse skills such as in cyber?

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[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

T5. I commend the new Veterans Minister for the contact he has already had with the chairman of the War Widows Association, who is with us today in the Special Gallery. May I request a meeting with him, her and me to try to resolve the situation for the last 49 war widows who have so far been excluded from the payment scheme that we managed to work out for those who unfairly lost their pensions on remarriage?

[Al Carns]

I thank the right hon. Member for bringing that up. Given the amount of his experience, I would love to sit down with him and the chair of the War Widows Association to talk this through in more detail.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

In May, I was privileged to join a group called Help99 in driving some pick-up trucks and other military vehicles to Kyiv

for the use of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can make it easier for such groups to deliver vehicles, which are so desperately needed?

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[Al Carns]

In August, medical standards including on ACL injuries were changed. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, but I would like to discuss it in more detail in person in due course.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

T7. Does the Secretary of State share my incredulity that he has not been told the cost of leasing the facilities in the Chagos?