"My Lords, with the greatest respect to the noble Baroness, I will speak against Amendment 2. I declare my interest as a member of the Army Board.
I understand the intent, but my objection to Amendment 2 is based on practicality. The recruitment process has changed dramatically in recent years. …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"The noble Baroness makes a reasonable point, which is why I said at the start of my remarks that I understood the intent behind what she is trying to achieve. Without getting distracted, the challenge that we face at the moment is a crisis not of recruitment but of conversion. …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"I sense that we are in danger of confusing the recruitment process and recruits. The recruitment process is the process through which you apply to join the Armed Forces. That ends at the point of attestation, when you join the Armed Forces. You then become a recruit in training. It …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"We are in danger of not overpublicising but causing confusion. The majority of the service complaints system which is lifted and dropped into the Bill still remains the responsibility of the single service. One of my concerns at Second Reading was, for a number of reasons in a number of …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak in broad support of Amendments 3 and 4. Anything that strengthens the relationship between the Armed Forces and Parliament must be a good thing. I was taken by the commentary in the House of Commons around the similarities with the German system, although I was …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"It just came to my mind now, and my memory may be wrong, but I thought that was the case. If it was, it would be interesting to know why that provision has been taken out as the Bill has evolved, because it is probably quite a good thing. On …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"On the appointment process, which we touched on earlier, I am grateful that the Minister will come back to me about the air gap, but could I entice him to offer a view as to whether he thinks it would be appropriate to have an air gap to prevent a …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"My Lords, I will be equally brief. I come at this from a slightly different angle. I confess that I equally support the principle that, whatever happens, this post must be funded; indeed, I asked some Parliamentary Questions about this before commencement. An Answer to a Question on 14 February …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"I entirely accept the point made by the noble Lord. All I am trying to do is to put in a dose of reality as to just how expensive this process could be if we are not careful. There is enormous value in it, but can we please be mindful …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"I am intrigued by this—and the more I think about it, the more confusing it gets. We are clear that, within the Bill, qualification is subject to service law. Of course, members of the Regular Forces are subject to service law 24/7, 365 days a year. It is about the …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech