Armed Forces

Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts

Tuesday 25th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Murphy]

The hon. Gentleman makes a serious point about how we can learn from international experience. A lot of information is available online, but not in print. If he wishes to suggest to the Government that they produce their own bible, I am sure that the Education Secretary would be happy to write the foreword. The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, and I am sure that those on the Government Front Bench are listening.

While it is right that members of the armed forces—this relates to the point about an additional organisation—do not have a union and cannot join a union, I want to mention for a moment the role of trade unions in the important work of post-service workplace support. I know that some in the country, and perhaps even some in the Chamber today, bemoan the role of unions, but I am delighted to inform the House that earlier this afternoon I attended an event with the general secretary of the Community union, Michael Leahy. I hope that the whole House will welcome the news that the Community trade union has announced its intention to work with parliamentarians on all sides and other stakeholders to position themselves as the UK veterans’ union. It is well known that Community supports me in my work as shadow Defence Secretary, and from now on it will be able to offer specialist, bespoke provision to help veterans find gainful employment and continue to make a valuable difference.

Changes in post-service support should be just one side of the reform we need, which is why we are arguing for faster academic attainment within the services. In recent evidence, the Defence Select Committee said:

“The provision for meeting the literacy and numeracy needs of our service personnel would benefit from further improvement.”

A system where many of those who defend our country are left without additional basic skills is bad for our troops, the Army and our country. We believe that through close collaboration with the MOD, the Department for Education and the devolved Administrations across the country, there can be opportunities to reach level 2 within two years for those without qualifications. This should apply across the UK because while education may be devolved in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, our collective responsibility to our forces is not. I want to make it certain that members of the forces would benefit from such changes, no matter where in our islands they live. There should also be specialist training in literacy teaching, increased provision of Army apprenticeships within the infantry and easier conversion to civilian qualifications. Enhanced in-service education would be a genuine means of progression for military men and women.

Turning briefly to the issue of reservists, the House will be aware that in the light of the Government’s structural change in the Army—as my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry South has mentioned—realising defence planning assumptions rests largely on doubling the number of reserves to 30,000. Labour Members support a larger role for the Army reserve, as it will rightly be known, but we are concerned that plans are as yet insufficiently available in detail to give members enough information and senior military figures have raised public concerns about their confidence in the success of the current process.

In advance of the forthcoming White Paper, there are a number of policies that we believe the Government should consider, not least to ensure the compatibility between longer training and deployment time periods and the employment of a larger reserve force.

[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating the people of Dudley on the contribution they make to the reservists through A squadron of the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, which is based in Vicar street, Dudley? It is the best recruited squadron in the country; it recently took on 47 new trainees and is processing another 60 now, and has had two dozen volunteers on active service in Afghanistan.

[Mr Murphy]

My hon. Friend has been so strong in support of his Territorial regiment. When I was in Dudley, the campaign was so fierce that it was the one issue about which the local media wanted to talk. I congratulate him, and the Government will have to take into account the point he makes, not only about the high regard in which the unit is held in Dudley but the fact that it is recruited to full strength and is indeed over-subscribed. I look forward to the Minister responding to that specific point.

There must also be real protection for reservists. Current legislation says clearly that an employer has a duty to re-employ a returning reservist in the occupation they were employed in before their service and on the same terms and conditions. There is, however, no legislation to prevent an employer from discriminating against reservists in their hiring procedures on the grounds of their military affiliation. The Government should now consult employers specifically on new legislation to protect against discrimination in hiring reservists, which would need to be coupled with an obligation of transparency from reservists to declare their status.

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[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

I want to pay tribute to all the men and women who serve in the armed forces and say how important it is that debates such as this are held so that we can express our gratitude for the service they give, the risks they face and the bravery they show on behalf of the rest of us.

As I said earlier, the people of Dudley make a huge contribution to the armed forces through the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, a Territorial Army regiment with a base at Vicar street in Dudley. The regiment has a history in the region dating back to 1794, and A Squadron has had a base on Vicar street for more than 20 years. It attracts recruits from across the black country, having recently taken on 47 trainees; it is processing another 60 at the moment. Two dozen volunteers are currently on active service in Afghanistan. It is a popular and expanding squadron in a popular and expanding regiment with deep roots in the local and regional communities. In fact, it is one of the best recruited yeomanry regiments in the whole Territorial Army.

Ministers will be pleased to hear that the regiment is making exactly the sort of contribution they are asking for as they seek to double the size of the TA in the next few years. However, under current proposals, the regiment could be disbanded to make way for a new Scottish regiment. A Squadron in Dudley would be merged with B Squadron in Telford, and the Telford base would cease to be a regional headquarters, becoming part of the Royal Yeomanry regiment based in Croydon. The Telford squadron would end up paired with a new Queen’s Dragoon Guards regiment in the regular Army, based in Norfolk. Together with other changes to squadrons in the midlands, this means that the RMLY would be disbanded, despite its history and the contribution that people in Dudley and the wider black country make to it. The midlands would lose half of its five squadrons and a regional HQ. If we lost the Vicar street base, people who have done a full day’s work in Dudley would have to travel 30 or 40 miles to do their training and fulfil their responsibilities in Telford, which is unlikely.

Dudley would lose a central part of the community at the heart of events that unify people in the town, such as Remembrance day and our St George’s day parade, all to create a Scottish yeomanry, with great difficulty and huge expense, even though similar plans have failed twice before. Even if bases in Dudley and Telford are maintained under the new structures, I worry that they could be at risk in the long term because local reserve squadrons are best managed locally, not from a headquarters 140 or 150 miles away.

Hannah Bragg has created a petition against disbandment, gaining huge support and over 1,300 signatures already. However, I urge the Minister not only to listen to what she has said, and what I am saying, but to seek the advice of the right hon. Member for New Forest West (Mr Swayne), a former commanding officer of A Squadron in Dudley. Will the Minister visit Dudley to see for himself the brilliant work that is being carried out at Vicar street? Everyone accepts the case for pairing reserve units with their regular counterparts, but other alternatives have been proposed. What thought has been given to, for example, preserving the RMLY and pairing it with the Light Dragoons for closer co-operation? I hope that he will consider the alternatives.

In their responses to questions I have tabled and letters I have written, Ministers have so far refused to comment on the future of the regiment. I very much hope that the Minister will take this opportunity to guarantee the future of the Territorial Army in Dudley, and guarantee the future of the RMLY, so that my constituents can continue to make the huge contribution to our nation’s defence that they have done so far. Will he join me in congratulating the 47 new recruits and the 60 new leads that are being processed? Does he agree that that is exactly the sort of contribution that he wants local communities to make if we are to hit this Government’s targets?

The people of Britain show huge respect and support for the work of our armed forces. Nowhere is this more true than in Dudley, where our local squadron and the wider regiment are at the heart of the community and have the freedom of the borough. It is hugely important that the TA is not reorganised in a way that puts that in jeopardy.