"It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Rosindell. I am grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to this important debate and to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Pamela Nash), who made an important contribution, bringing the perspective of the vital …..." Gemma Doyle - View Speech
"I am happy to repeat that as often as the hon. Gentleman wants, but I suspect that colleagues would like me to move on. I have said again and again that we are awaiting the outcome of the alternatives review and, as I have just said, we are committed to …..." Gemma Doyle - View Speech
"The Government have been tested on how seriously they take the armed forces covenant by the issue of the bedroom tax, and they have failed that test. The right hon. Gentleman has finally admitted, in a letter to my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin), that some armed …..." Gemma Doyle - View Speech
"It is a pleasure, Mr Dobbin, to serve under your chairmanship today. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon) on drawing attention to the important issues that we are debating. The vast majority of our armed forces do their job with the utmost professionalism and commitment, …..." Gemma Doyle - View Speech
"With respect, the phrase, “It is not the military way”, is sometimes part of the problem. I am happy to repeat what I said: I think we must look at whether there is a need to give people access to justice outwith the chain of command. As I said, it …..." Gemma Doyle - View Speech
"I welcome the publication of the report and note the comments of service charities on the covenant reference group, who state:
“We continue to hope that, in line with the 2010 Coalition Agreement, the Government will use any efficiencies and other monies that become available within the MoD budget, to …..." Gemma Doyle - View Speech
"Last week, the Secretary of State announced plans to allow serving personnel to access their pension funds early to buy a house. Will the Minister confirm that an individual who takes up that offer will therefore receive lower pension payments in future?..." Gemma Doyle - View Speech
"I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to today’s debate on our armed forces and the military covenant. Our servicemen and women sacrifice so much in defence of our country, as do their families, and they continue to serve across the world, most notably at present in Afghanistan, putting …..." Gemma Doyle - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Unfortunately, we are continuing to see a patchwork of provision across the UK, and it is to be hoped that we can address that problem through the community covenants.
Over the last couple of months a number of cases have been highlighted in Scotland …..." Gemma Doyle - View Speech
"I am very sorry, but I am not going to give way as I am conscious that other Members still want to speak.
Clearly, Northern Ireland faces particular challenges in taking the covenant forward, as Members have made clear today. I hope that a solution can be found.