South-west England (Long-term Economic Plan)
Debate between John Glen and Liam Fox
Dr Fox
Indeed, and I would add that we need co-operation among local authorities. Where we can get good, functional local government clusters, things work well. The one thing I would say to the Minister is that we do not want to push our luck where we have local authorities co-operating and working well together; we do not need to see a change in the organisational structure that would only be expensive and bureaucratic. Where it is working already, we should leave well alone—that is a very good Conservative principle.
One common thread that runs between us is that the economic welfare of the south-west is very closely linked to the transport infrastructure. The new large group of Conservative south-west MPs will be putting that transport infrastructure at the very front of what we intend to do.
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend acknowledge that one of the key decisions of the previous Government was the welcome investment in the A303—
John Glen
Does my right hon. Friend acknowledge that one of the key decisions of the previous Government was the vital investment in the upgrading—the dualling—of the A303, particularly the contentious but much-needed investment in the Stonehenge tunnel in my constituency? That development will be pivotal in opening up the road to the south-west, which will be of vital significance to the whole region.
Dr Fox
The tunnelling to which my hon. Friend refers is a big improvement not only in the transport infrastructure, but in the tourist infrastructure, which go hand in hand. I will come back to that point in a moment.
Such transport infrastructure issues are to be found right across the south-west. Those of us who have campaigned extensively on these matters know all too well how two points on a map, which might look pretty close, can, in effect, be a long way apart. A very good example of that is getting to Barnstaple. On that point, I will give way to my hon. Friend.
Defence Transformation
Debate between John Glen and Liam Fox(13 years, 5 months ago)
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John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the additional funding announced for defence equipment budgets will not be a sufficient uplift post-2014 to achieve the full aspirations of the Future Force 2020?
Dr Fox
We have to look at the defence budget as a whole, not simply the equipment budget, and see where there is leeway. I set out the equipment programmes that we are willing to start spending money on today. I am simply not willing to start to spend on other projects where I can see no budgetary line in the future. After all the pain we have gone through to rebalance the Ministry of Defence budget, we are not going to go back to the bad old habits and recreate the black hole that we inherited.
Defence Reform
Debate between John Glen and Liam Fox(13 years, 5 months ago)
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Dr Fox
I was keen to discuss at length with Lord Levene how to create a structure within defence that could offer careers to those who might be attracted to the intellectual, if you like, side of defence—electronic warfare and so on—but who might not want to become commandos. We need to create a pillar inside defence that can grow as the nature of conflict changes. We want to create that expertise and attract those young minds who have a different view of what the electronic and cyberspaces look like and who are interested in a defence career. It is essential that we change how defence does business in order to reflect the genuine threats out there. As we develop that expertise, so we will have a greater ability to deter the sorts of attacks to which the hon. Gentleman referred.
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
One of the issues that needs clarification is the practice of individuals being appointed to sensitive roles in large procurement processes for just two years. Will that be reviewed, so that the period of the role suits the project, rather than an arbitrary career path?
Dr Fox
The specific work on that is currently being done by Bernard Gray but, as I said in the statement, it is now important that we increase the length of tenure of many such posts, otherwise we are wasting talent. If the MOD were a private company, it would be number three in the FTSE. The idea of having the most senior people in the private sector stay for 18 months or two years, and then rotating them round because it is “good for their career experience” would not hold water in the private sector, and it no longer holds water in the MOD.
Armed Forces Covenant
Debate between John Glen and Liam Fox(13 years, 7 months ago)
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Dr Fox
In so far as they have the same rights as anyone else to access public facilities, yes, it will. For some there are complex issues relating to nationality, but as I said, we are setting out today a cross-governmental arrangement. I want to consider some of the complex issues relating to those from Commonwealth countries. In particular, I want to ensure that we fully recognise that those who make the sacrifices share in the benefits.
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Will he indicate his willingness to examine how compensation is paid to members of the armed forces who are injured? Currently, many of those who are badly injured and rightly receive many hundreds of thousands of pounds are at great risk of exploitation when inadequate or no financial advice is available on how to invest that money so that it is available in the years ahead. What relevance has today’s announcement for that?
Dr Fox
My hon. Friend makes a very interesting point. I will undertake to have some work begun in the Department to see where we are on that subject. It is obviously crucial for the long-term welfare of those who receive such payments that money is invested in a wise way that can maximise return over the longest period. He raises a crucial point and I will ensure that further work is done. I will report back to the House on that on a future occasion.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between John Glen and Liam Fox(13 years, 10 months ago)
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John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
12. What recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.
The Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Liam Fox)
Based on what I saw on my recent visit to Afghanistan, including my conversations with commanders and politicians, I assess that important security gains are being made. They are not irreversible and we can expect a high tempo over the winter and throughout the year. Although there are many challenges, there is cause for cautious optimism in the growth of the Afghan national security forces. We have the right strategy, numbers and equipment in place and now a little strategic patience is required to ensure that we are successful. Both 2011 and 2012 will be key years in that regard.
John Glen
I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Does he agree that the best way forward for Britain’s long-term strategic security interests is to form long-term relationships between the international security assistance force military leaders and the Afghan police and military commanders? What observations would he make on the level of co-operation between UK forces and Afghan security leaders?
Dr Fox
That is an ongoing and progressing relationship. I point my hon. Friend to one particularly successful project—the police training taking place in Helmand. Those involved in that project throughout the country would recognise that what the British armed forces are doing is very possibly and very probably the leading project of that kind. If we can not only continue with what we are doing but export it as best practice to others, we will be making a doubly important contribution.