Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Johnny Mercer

Thursday 29th February 2024 Commons Chamber

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

20. What steps he is taking to improve support for veterans who served in Northern Ireland.

[The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs (Johnny Mercer)]

We have expanded the Veterans Welfare Service provision in Northern Ireland and allocated £500,000 to a defence medical welfare service pilot to support veterans’ health and wellbeing in Northern Ireland. On legacy, we are committed to working with the Northern Ireland Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery to ensure that veterans are fully engaged and supported.

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

What support can veterans expect from the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery?

[Johnny Mercer]

We are doing everything we can to support veterans who are going through that process. It is essential that veterans are engaged as the commission develops its policies and processes. We are working closely with the Ministry of Defence to ensure that legal and welfare provisions are established, to ensure that veterans are supported through that process.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Johnny Mercer

Monday 2nd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Johnny Mercer]

I pay tribute to all the groups up and down this country who work tirelessly every day to improve the lot of our veterans, particularly the ones in my hon. Friends’ constituencies. There is a shift in the provision of veterans’ services in this country towards more of a balance between the third sector and statutory provision, but we will always require a blend of the two, and I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her lobbying for this cause.

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

What steps his Department is taking to recruit and retain armed forces personnel.

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

We have a range of measures supporting recruitment and retention, and continue to refine the armed forces offer. Measures include competitive pay, financial incentives, flexible service, and retention-positive accommodation programmes.

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

What is the Minister’s estimate of the quality of new recruits? Hopefully they are better than we were.

[Johnny Mercer]

I can safely assure my right hon. Friend that standards have risen significantly since he and I were accepted into the military. We make no bones about it: the standards to get into our military are some of the highest in comparison with our peer nations. We employ some of the finest people this nation has to offer, and under this Government we are seeing a conscious shift towards how we look after them and value them as our finest asset.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Johnny Mercer

Monday 16th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Johnny Mercer]

The Government are doing more than any before to ensure that that difficult transition from service to civilian life is as seamless as possible. We must remember that 92% of service personnel who leave go into education, employment or training, but there are those who find that challenge particularly difficult. I met the chief executive of SSAFA last week, and I currently meet other chief executives and charity leaders on an almost weekly basis. The Government are shifting the bar in our offer to veterans in this country, and I pay tribute to SSAFA, which is at the front of that.

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

Will my hon. Friend meet me, and others, to discuss a badge to be worn by members of the immediate family of those killed in action?

[Johnny Mercer]

My right hon. Friend will know that the immediate next of kin of those killed in action receive the Elizabeth Cross, which was introduced by the previous Administration. I am always willing to have conversations about medallic recognition, and to consider what more we can do, so that people in this country recognise that we match our actions with the words we say from the Dispatch Box, regarding the feelings of a service family who have been through that process, and often sacrificed the greatest on the altar of this nation’s continuing freedom.