Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Yes; we are already doing this. The initiatives that I mentioned to my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr Brazier) are designed to deal with specific problems with the way in which the website interacts with mobile devices, and the way that we deal with medical records and with inducting candidates through the interview process. We will reintroduce, on a pilot basis, the idea of a face-to-face weekend process that deals with all the procedures in one hit. If that is successful, we will make it the default option for 2014.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

What discussions has my right hon. Friend had with large public and private sector employers to see how they can better support our reservists to improve the recruitment and, equally importantly, retention of our volunteers?

[Mr Hammond]

That is absolutely the key to the programme. In the public sector, central Government have made a generous offer of an additional 10 days’ paid leave to reservists in the central Government service, so that they can take those days for training. Many major private companies have already signed up to the corporate covenant, and more are considering doing so. There are excellent examples of companies working with us to reach out to their employees, and to make a joint proposition to them, so that employees join the reserves in a way that is supported by their employer, not done behind the employer’s back.