Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Monday 20th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge]

The hon. Lady is consistent in raising accommodation issues. As ever, if she has a specific case, she is more than welcome to write to me about it, if she has not already done so. On funding, I gently remind her that we committed an additional £400 million, and because of our commitment to 2.5%, we can confirm that we are able to put another £4 billion into SFA over the next 10 years—a significant investment.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

My hon. Friend will agree that it is important that our service accommodation be of high quality, but we should also support members of our armed forces in buying a home for themselves and their families. What support is there in the modernised accommodation offer to help soldiers, sailors and pilots get on the housing ladder?

[James Cartlidge]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, which speaks to my previous career, running a small business that helped first-time buyers. Forces Help to Buy has been a great success, but we also recently confirmed support with conveyancing costs, because the cost of getting on the property ladder includes not just the purchase but all the ancillary costs. We are committed to supporting our armed forces personnel, whether that means investing in the accommodation of those in SFA or single living accommodation, or helping those who want to get on to the property ladder.

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Monday 7th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Wallace]

The hon. Member has read out a list of claims. I will be happy to write to him to answer those claims. I suspect the people of Scotland are now rather thankful they have a nuclear deterrent, in the face of a very provocative Putin.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

T2.   I recently met Help for Heroes, and we spoke about the routine health assessment at the point of military discharge. Is there more that can be done at this point to pick up on mental health issues? It is a defining moment.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Andrew Murrison)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. Help for Heroes is one of our key charities, which I visited a while back in its premises near Salisbury, and I plan to meet it again very soon. It is now mandatory for all armed forces personnel leaving the services to have a structured mental health assessment at their discharge medical examination. I am pleased to say that that will highlight any unknown mental health needs and enable signposting and referral where necessary, and my hon. Friend will of course be aware of Operation Courage within the national health service.

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Monday 1st February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Johnny Mercer]

The hon. Member raises a good point and a good question. These negotiations are ongoing at the time. We are very clear, though, that those who have served in the armed forces should suffer no disadvantage because of their service, and that of course extends to those who apply for BNO residency, should they be eligible.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to further enshrine the armed forces covenant into law.

[The Minister for Defence People and Veterans (Johnny Mercer)]

As committed to in the Queen’s Speech, last week measures to further incorporate the armed forces covenant into legislation were introduced in the Armed Forces Bill. The Bill requires those public bodies in scope to consider the principles of the covenant when developing policy and making decisions in health, housing and education—areas that are fundamental to service life.

[Caroline Ansell [V]]

I thank my hon. Friend for his response, and I am very pleased with that support for the family, which is very much in the spirit of our military covenant. What duty will be applied to education, and what support measures are in place for the children of our military families to support their learning in schools both while the parent is serving and later when a veteran?

[Johnny Mercer]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her tireless campaigning on this issue. Registered service children in the annual school census in England receive the £310 service pupil premium per child per year up to year 11. Since 2016, registered service children, even if their serving parent has left the armed forces, continue to receive the SPP for up to six years while they attend state schools in England.

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Monday 7th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

What recent preparations his Department has made to support (a) the NHS and (b) other public bodies in their response to the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (James Heappey)]

As part of the national covid-19 response, Defence has supported NHS trusts in a variety of ways, including the distribution of personal protective equipment and diagnostic equipment; the planning, construction and staffing of Nightingale hospitals; conducting testing; and supporting the vaccine taskforce. We have established a winter support package of 13,500 personnel with specialist capabilities to ensure our continued support to the NHS and other civil authorities throughout the winter period.

--- Later in debate ---

[James Heappey]

Defence is working closely with other Departments, particularly the DHSC and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to assist on vaccine roll-out plans. Some 60 military planners are integrated within the vaccine taskforce, and Defence has deployed 56 personnel to assist in constructing vaccination centres. Defence stands ready to provide further support to the NHS in meeting the challenge of vaccinating the UK against covid-19.

[Caroline Ansell]

The professionalism and logistical support of the Army have already proved vital in our country’s ability to respond to this pandemic. That was seen most recently in Eastbourne’s mobile testing unit, which allowed key workers to return to work. I was most interested in my hon. Friend’s remarks about how the Army might help to roll out the vaccine, having performed various other important tasks. Could he tell the House how many military liaison officers have been deployed to date to help with these very localised planned operations?

[James Heappey]

My hon. Friend is right to single out the military liaison officers who have been working alongside local authorities across the country throughout the year. There are 350 of them currently deployed. I know from speaking to my own council chief executive in Somerset, and I have heard from colleagues around the country, just how much their expertise has been valued by local authorities, assisting them with their preparations initially for the distribution of PPE, then for testing and now for vaccines.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Wallace]

I thank the hon. Lady for bringing this matter to my attention. I would be delighted to meet her to discuss it, and then we can discuss it with the Department and the commission.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

With the number of combat role set to increase, does my hon. Friend the Minister agree that now is the time to invest in our people, and most specifically in support for mental health resilience, hardware and cyber, so that our troops are prepared in every sense of the word to do the important work that they need to do?

[The Minister for Defence People and Veterans (Johnny Mercer)]

Over the past two years, we have made a real effort to completely redesign the mental health care provision for our armed forces personnel, both during their time in service and when they leave. I am delighted to confirm for the first time that this country’s armed forces will receive mandatory mental health training every year from 1 April next year. I pay tribute to the service chiefs who have led the way on this significant policy change.

Remembrance, UK Armed Forces and Society

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) as he pays tribute to all those who we must remember today in this debate, which is an important opportunity to reflect and to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. It is also an opportunity to highlight ongoing need and pay tribute to those who provide support. I echo the calls for funding for veterans’ charities, as raised by my right hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood).

As a nation, when we came together in the shock and distress following the first world war and looked at the scale of loss, not a single family was left untouched by conflict. My own great-grandfather and his son, my great-uncle, served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders infantry. I cannot imagine what they went through, but I remember and feel for those they left behind whose lives were so impacted by their loss. The truth is that when men—men then, but men and women today—step up and make that commitment to serve, they take their families with them, wherever they go, in their hearts, but they also bind, in part, their families to their fate.

I was made incredibly aware of that when, in a past life before I came to this place, I worked as a teacher in a boarding school and was in loco parentis for teenage girls, the daughters of military families. I think everybody here will remember where they were when they heard the shock news on 9/11. I remember where I was. I was with them, and they felt it, in a way not experienced by other students. Calls home were made and anxious days followed. They were on alert as they connected with their homes and with their families across the world, wherever they might have been serving. I echo the petition made today by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) in his endorsement of the “Living in our Shoes” report regarding the important contribution that our military families make. It is so important that we support them.

Back in the day, there was little expectation of support and little understanding. In the late years of his life, a very well loved and remembered Eastbourne resident, Henry Allingham, who was the last surviving veteran of the great war and, for a short time, the world’s oldest man, shared his experiences. Without testimonies such as his, we could not begin to understand and comprehend the experience of that generation, but just talking—a simple thing, really—makes a world of difference.

I wear my poppy with pride. It is the symbol of our remembrance, but it is also a very important way in which we can help to provide for our veterans through the Royal British Legion’s poppy appeal. Eastbourne and Willingdon, my home constituency, is traditionally very generous. I hope that through that demonstration, our veterans see the great value that we place on their service and our serving personnel see the great value that we place on their contribution. I hope, too, that it inspires those who would apply for a military life. I say that with some feeling as a patron of the Military Preparation College in Eastbourne. It is mission critical for me to know that in inspiring a new generation to serve our country, and potentially to put their lives on the line, we stand behind them, and the poppy says that to me.

One organisation in Eastbourne that stands behind our veterans is Blue Van, a charity that provides support—physical, mental and financial—for veterans in my constituency. It has been able to support over 50 local veterans, some of whom have gone so far as to say that without that organisation they would not be here today. I am, unusually, here today—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

Order. I am sorry but we have to leave it there—you have overrun the five minutes.

Armed Forces: Covid-19 Deployment

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin]

We will ensure that all deployed personnel get the right PPE and take the right covid precautions. I warmly welcome what the hon. Gentleman says about how the armed forces represent the whole of our great nation right across the board. We are proud that that is the case and we are always working to ensure that it is the case. We will always stand ready to listen to any MACA requests that come in, and we will always look at those sympathetically if we can.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

I should declare an interest as a proud patron of the Military Preparation College, which has an Eastbourne campus. I am delighted to tell my hon. Friend that there has been a significant increase in applications to the college, so inspired are young people by what they have seen of military service in our town—not least in May, when military personnel set up a temporary mobile site that enabled rapid testing of essential workers so that our hospice, our hospital and our care homes were all able to continue. Will he join me in thanking military personnel who have served in Sussex?

[Jeremy Quin]

I should also declare an interest because I am a Sussex Member of Parliament. Those military personnel have done a terrific job, including, I recall, in May with the mobile testing unit. I am delighted to confirm what my hon. Friend says relating to increased interest in the armed forces. As I say, recruitment is well up this year, as is retention, and I am delighted to see both.

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Monday 13th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

The driver, of course, for the better defence estate strategy is military capability, but it is important that we have good-quality accommodation. As the hon. Gentleman knows, units will be relocated in his part of the world, and we will look carefully at that.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

2. What recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on NATO modernisation.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Sir Michael Fallon)]

I regularly discuss the need to reform NATO with my counterparts, including the new US Secretary of Defence, James Mattis, whom I met at the NATO defence ministerial meeting last month. We want NATO to become a genuinely adaptable alliance that is less bureaucratic, faster and better at making decisions, and able to respond more effectively to a wide range of threats, including cyber, hybrid, and international terrorism.

[Caroline Ansell]

I thank the Secretary of State for his response. With NATO’s operation in Afghanistan still its most significant, will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to all those who have served? Does he agree that this underlines that NATO has the capability to combat terror and that it will need to do that more?

[Sir Michael Fallon]

We remember the service and sacrifice of those who fought terrorism in Afghanistan. Our long-term commitment as part of NATO’s Resolute Support mission remains crucial in helping to build the capacity of the Afghan security forces to defend their country. As my hon. Friend implies, it is NATO that has the mandate, the operational experience and the tools to help the fight against international terrorism, and we will continue to push NATO to do more in the middle east and north Africa.

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Yes, we are facing a most barbarous enemy, which is not simply torturing and killing innocent civilians in Syria and Iraq, but still poses a very direct threat to us here in western Europe—on the first anniversary of the slaughter of 30 of our subjects in Sousse by an equivalent extremist. Whether it is through the international coalition, through the use of NATO assets or through other bilateral frameworks, let me reassure the right hon. Gentleman that we are absolutely committed to this fight and to the eventual defeat and degradation of Daesh.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

4. What assessment he has made of the viability of alternatives to a continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent for protecting national security.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

The 2013 Trident alternatives review considered alternative systems and postures for the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent and concluded that no alternative is as capable, or offers the same degree of resilience, as continuous at-sea deterrence.

[Caroline Ansell]

Some have expressed concern that with advancing technology, our submarines can now be detected and discovered by underwater drones. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that that is not the case?

[Michael Fallon]

Yes, we are confident that our submarine fleet remains safe and secure. We devote considerable resources to assessing capabilities and new technologies that could threaten the operation of our deterrent, including potential threats from the development of cyber and unmanned underwater vehicles. I am happy to reassure my hon. Friend on precisely that point.

Military Training: Mental Health Resilience

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd February 2016 Westminster Hall

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered opportunities for mental health resilience in military training.

All of us in this place realise the debt we owe to our armed forces personnel and to their families for the sacrifices they make to keep us safe. It has to be acknowledged that unless we, too, have seen active service, faced danger and death, witnessed carnage and experienced loss we cannot fully appreciate or understand the impact and the price that some pay.

I had second-hand experience of such sacrifice when working in a boarding school. I was in loco parentis to 25 teenage girls whose fathers were serving in Bosnia. I saw something of the impact of protracted periods of lives lived apart and of relationships stretched. I saw something of the fear and anxiety of children for their father, and the loneliness and challenge for the parent left behind. Boarding school often provided the continuity that families need and, for the overwhelming majority, service life is one of purpose, identity and fulfilment, with men and women going on to lead successful lives thereafter. For the estimated one in five who bear the unseen scars, however, every opportunity to build resilience or mental toughness needs to be recognised.

The Ministry of Defence recognises mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder, as a serious disabling condition, but—importantly—as one that can be treated. My question today is, can it be prevented? In the US Battlemind programme, mental resilience training has been dubbed “armour for your mind”. Can we put mental health resilience on the same footing as physical fitness or, indeed, physical armour?

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

This is an important debate and I am sure that the hon. Lady agrees with the importance of having full implementation of the military covenant throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. I am sure she shares my frustration that in Northern Ireland we cannot achieve that. The points she is making are very important.

[Caroline Ansell]

I absolutely subscribe to the hon. Gentleman’s passionate support for the military covenant. I will say more about that later.

The new and growing recognition for mental health and veterans’ care on returning home is very welcome, and I pay tribute to the work of charities, of hon. and gallant and hon. Members and of the Government for their unswerving commitment to the military covenant. We are living amid a sea change in our understanding and recognition of mental health issues as we strive for parity of esteem between physical and mental health in our NHS. Times are changing.

Our commemorations of the centenary of the first world war remind us of a different time, when mental health issues bore a stigma and the social view was that wounds that could not be seen could not really be there. Veterans did not seek help and many could not even speak of their experience. Henry Allingham, God rest his soul, was an Eastbourne resident and a supercentenarian. He only started to share his story at the age of 105, but between his 110th and 111th birthdays he is reported to have made more than 60 public appearances. I met him the once.

“It’s good to talk”—the time-honoured role of the padre reflects that and initiatives such as the armed forces’ mental health first aid programme recognise it. After operational deployment, decompression is another hugely valuable opportunity to safeguard resilience. Furthermore, the stress and resilience training centre within the Defence Academy at Shrivenham runs a course called “START Taking Control”. Perhaps the Minister will elaborate on whether such training, which was designed for postgraduate and leadership roles, might soon be extended to initial training.

[Mrs Flick Drummond (Portsmouth South) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech on a subject that is incredibly important, in particular to someone who has a close relative serving in the armed forces. Alcohol misuse is one of the most frequently reported mental health problems for deployed UK troops. It is the only mental disorder to have increased in prevalence. Comparison of alcohol misuse in the same age and gender group shows that armed forces personnel are more likely to misuse alcohol than the rest of the population. Does she agree that the dangers of alcohol misuse must be incorporated into any training to improve the resilience of personnel?

[Caroline Ansell]

I acknowledge the great wisdom of what my hon. Friend says. It has been recognised for some time that alcohol abuse has too long been part of a work-hard, play-hard culture. Alcohol has also evidently been used to some extent to cope with the inevitable strains of conflict and combat. It is worth noting that young soldiers between the ages of 18 and 24 are three times more likely than their civilian counterparts to be consuming harmful levels of alcohol. The problem is a serious cultural issue that we must consider, in particular in connection with mental health.

Along with the many good things that the Government are doing to support mental health—I have touched on only some of those—I urge us not to overlook the most effective support system of all, which is the family. The UK Government implemented an operational mental health needs evaluation for those serving in the field during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite obvious operational difficulties in ensuring a full rate of participation, evaluation of a statistically significant 15% of all serving personnel in Iraq and 16% in Afghanistan greatly aided our understanding of the mental health challenges faced by our servicemen and women. The fact that 99% of those asked to participate did so suggests to me that the military has been successful in breaking down barriers to the point that armed forces personnel want to share their experiences, albeit anonymously.

The results of the survey, as broken down in The British Journal of Psychiatry, also showed the prevalence of the most common mental health disorders, with an incidence rate of about 20%. That, too, is significant. The results were used to match the correlations between family stress and the development of mental health disorders, further underlining how vital it is for us to support military families.

The past 15 years have been a time of strain for many armed forces personnel, given the extended interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know that the mental scars of conflict can emerge many years after people are relieved of active duty. Many trigger points can be completely unrelated events that take place in the home, far from the field of battle. Problems at home such as financial trouble, relationship breakdown or even child-related stress can all trigger mental health issues. It is therefore imperative that we equip our soldiers and, crucially, their families with all the mental resilience skills necessary to hurdle the challenges of military life and beyond. Family is the best support system, as soldiers themselves testify. How we promote and protect the military family will be defining for mental health outcomes.

Mental health is likely to be a ticking time bomb. According to Combat Stress, the veterans’ mental health charity, 13 years is the average length of time between service discharge and a veteran seeking help. Next month marks the 13th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, so the demand for mental health services for veterans is likely to increase in the short term. Combat Stress has already seen a 28% increase on 2013-14 in the number of veterans seeking assistance in 2014-15.

I am pleased that we are making it easier for our armed forces personnel to get the support that they need and to come forward in the first place, although a report this week suggests that a significant number of them—perhaps up to 40%—are still not seeking such support. Is there a case for more training, particularly in initial training? The received wisdom is still that prevention is better than cure. Do we need to offer more specific training and dedicate time to building mental resilience, just as we push physical speed, strength and stamina? Does that need to be universally rolled out and not hostage to self-awareness, self-selection or self-referral?

I am a patron to the Military Preparation College. As I shake those graduates’ hands and see them walking off into the sunset, I need to know that we are doing everything in our power to mitigate what is certain occupational hazard, looking overseas for best practice, looking at initial training and training at every stage of military service and beyond. We are looking to change culture by lifting up mental health awareness and we will need to have that as a focus for the foreseeable future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Monday 18th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

My priorities are our operations against Daesh, which I will be reviewing with my counterparts later this week, and the implementation of the SDSR decisions, in order to increase the size and power of our armed forces to keep Britain safe.

[Caroline Ansell]

I thank the Minister for his answer. With growing threats to our national security, I welcome this Government’s commitment to defence spending. What impact will the SDSR have on the future size and power of our armed forces? He may recall that I serve as patron to the Military Preparation College, which has a base in my constituency, and so I have a keen interest in the next generation of servicemen and women.

[Michael Fallon]

I recall both that and my visit to my hon. Friend’s constituency shortly before her election to this place. The commitment to increase the defence budget every year gives our armed forces certainty and stability. We are maintaining the size of the Army, and we are increasing the size of the Royal Navy, the RAF and the reserves. We will have more ships, more planes, more helicopters, more troops at readiness and better-equipped special forces to protect our people, to project our influence across the world and to promote our prosperity.