Armed Forces: Territorial Army

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2013 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Trefgarne]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many personnel have left the Territorial Army in the last 12 months; and how many recruits have been enlisted over the same period.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever) (Con)]

My Lords, first, I am sure the whole House will wish to join me in offering sincere condolences to the family and friends of Warrant Officer Class 2 Ian Fisher of 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, who was killed on operations in Afghanistan recently. My thoughts are also with the wounded and I pay tribute to the courage and fortitude with which they face their rehabilitation.

Independent figures published last week show that 4,880 personnel left and 3,250 joined the Army Reserves in the 12 months to 30 September. These pre-date the recruitment campaign that started in September to grow the Army Reserve from a trained strength of 19,000 to 30,000 by 2018, with improved training and equipment. There are IT teething problems, which we are addressing as well as undertaking aggressive action continuously to improve the recruiting process.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, I endorse the opening words of my noble friend and add my support to them. With regard to the Question, given the future importance of Reserve Forces in the British line of battle, will he ensure that all vigour is applied to the recruiting campaign and that, in particular, the new terms of service for Reserve Forces are not so onerous as to put people off?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, I am very grateful to my noble friend for his support. We are making the offer more attractive to both reservists and employers and encouraging ex-regular personnel to join. This is supported by significant additional investment—£1.8 billion over 10 years across training, equipment, paid leave, pensions, and welfare and occupational health support. The Army has already run one Army Reserve recruiting campaign, which resulted in a great many expressions of interest, and is currently running another with up to 900 soldiers conducting outreach activity at local and regional level.

Armed Forces: Legal Challenge

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Thursday 7th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freeman (Con)]

My Lords, I join colleagues in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Faulks, on an excellent speech. I find myself in complete agreement with his contribution to this important debate, and my remarks would march very much in time and in tune with what he said.

I want to make what some noble Lords might feel is a rather narrow point, but for me it is very important: the impact of the uncertainty that has been created on the major challenge that we face in increasing our Reserve Forces, particularly the Army reservists. Twenty years ago we had something like—my noble friend Lord Trefgarne will confirm this—50,000 reservists. That fell to 15,000 only quite recently.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, we aimed for 83,000.

[Lord Freeman]

I defer to my noble friend on the statistics. Now, however, we are looking to increase the numbers to something like 35,000. The uncertainty that has been created by this discussion, however erudite and legal, is causing problems already. I say this as president for the past 10 years of the Reserve Forces Association, and the questions that I get—few at the moment, but they will gather speed and pace—about the liability of reservists who are serving abroad alarms me, and gives me concerns about our ability to reach our target of recruitment over the coming years. It is rather poignant that today the MoD has sent out a call for 1,500 extra reservists for service abroad, principally in Afghanistan.

I make a plea to the Minister and, through him, to his Secretary of State to come to a conclusion fairly quickly. I appreciate that the advice Ministers are receiving is, “Let’s wait and see what the results are of the lower court’s consideration of the issue”—the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hope, referred to two present cases. We cannot wait too long; we need clarification on this issue. I for one, and I dare say a number of noble Lords on this side of the House, would probably favour taking clear action on the Convention on Human Rights and disallowing it in relation to the activities of the Armed Forces, not just on the battlefield but in planning and preparation for conflict.

I look forward to the Minister’s response and hope that we can clarify the situation so that this major task of increasing our reservists can be done in a slightly calmer fashion and we can allay their fears that they might be subject to litigation in the courts of the United Kingdom.

Ministry of Defence: Dogs

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Monday 14th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, I am sorry to disappoint the noble Lord but this Question is specifically on dogs. He can table a Question on the issue that he has raised at some other point.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, is my noble friend aware that I have had the privilege of owning two dogs that were retired from military service, which of course I purchased from the Ministry of Defence, and that both were beautifully looked after and were quite excellent?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, I am really pleased to hear what my noble friend says. There is great interest in this issue, particularly in the different types of military working dogs. I have asked my department to put in the Library a list of all the different types of specialist and protection dogs, as well as the reasons why a small number of working dogs were killed during the past three years—I think that it was two this year, one the year before and one the year before that—along with information on the number of dogs that were put to sleep and the reasons for that.

Armed Forces (Retrial for Serious Offences) Order 2013

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Monday 8th July 2013 Grand Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever)]

My Lords, there are two instruments for consideration today, the Armed Forces (Retrial for Serious Offences) Order 2013 and the Armed Forces (Court Martial) (Amendment) Rules 2013. I shall say a few words on each, starting with the former. For your Lordships’ convenience, I shall refer to it as the retrial order.

This instrument enables persons acquitted of certain very serious offences by a service court—for example, the court martial—to be retried in the service justice system. This may happen only if new and compelling evidence comes to light in relation to those offences and if it is in the interests of justice for a retrial to take place. These are high hurdles to clear.

Our purpose in making this order is to follow the same path as Part 10 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which reformed the law relating to double jeopardy. Before the 2003 Act, a person who had been acquitted of an offence could not be retried. The 2003 Act changed the law to permit retrials in respect of a number of very serious offences where new and compelling evidence has come to light, but separate provision is required to apply this to our service justice arrangements.

We are now filling that gap. I do not want to give the impression that this measure is driven by specific concerns about members of the Armed Forces who are evading justice because they cannot currently be retried. It is intended simply to bring the two systems of justice into line on this matter, extending the same principles from one to the other; nor would I want to give the impression that we are doing this now for any reason other than we want to have the legislation ready.

The Armed Forces (Retrial for Serious Offences) Order makes provision for the retrial of persons previously acquitted in the service justice system of a “qualifying” offence. Qualifying offences are set out in Schedule 1 to the order. They include a very limited number of criminal offences—such as murder, manslaughter and rape—and, because this legislation is for the services, a small number of disciplinary offences, such as assisting the enemy.

The order sets out the arrangements governing the investigation, charging and application for a retrial of an acquitted person for a qualifying offence. Retrial is a complex matter and there are, as I said, high hurdles to get over first. In broad terms, the order will enable the service police to reinvestigate the commission of a qualifying offence by a person previously acquitted of the offence. Investigative measures may, in most cases, occur only if the Director of Service Prosecutions consents; and he may only give his consent if he is satisfied that it is in the public interest to proceed with an investigation and that there is either some new evidence that warrants an investigation or some evidence would come to light if the investigation takes place.

However, there is a power for service police to take investigative steps without the consent of the Director of Service Prosecutions if it is necessary to do so to prevent the investigation being prejudiced. Additionally, a person previously acquitted of a qualifying offence may be arrested only if a judge advocate has issued a warrant for their arrest. Where a person has been charged with a qualifying offence, and if the Director of Service Prosecution consents, a prosecuting officer may apply to the Court Martial Appeal Court for an order to retry the person. Where such an application is made, the court must make the order applied for if it is satisfied both that there is new and compelling evidence against the acquitted person and that it is in the interests of justice to do so. As the Committee will recognise, therefore, a strong set of safeguards has been built into the new procedures.

It is important to clarify the position of those who have left the Armed Forces. In most cases, there are strict limits in place that prevent former service personnel being charged with a service offence when they have been out of the Armed Forces for more than six months. However, this time limit can be waived if the Attorney-General consents. The time limit applies in relation to all former service personnel who are suspected of committing a service offence and not just to those who might face retrial. These provisions also apply to civilians subject to service discipline.

The order also makes provision for the production of evidence and attendance of witnesses at the hearing. It creates a right of appeal to the Supreme Court. There is provision for the Court Martial Appeal Court to make an order restricting the publication of material which might otherwise prejudice the administration of justice and, furthermore, it makes it an offence for a person or an organisation to breach an order prohibiting publication. It provides for the period of time in which certain arrangements for the retrial must be made and for the holding in custody, and release from custody, of a person, previously acquitted, who is charged with a qualifying offence. There are also a small number of supplementary provisions relating to the rules governing the service of documents and the exercise of functions of the Director of Service Prosecutions and the Court Martial Appeal Court.

I now turn to the second order, the Armed Forces (Court Martial) (Amendment) Rules 2013. The court martial was established by the Armed Forces Act 2006 as a standing permanent court that replaced the system of ad hoc courts martial that were convened by the services. The court martial may sit anywhere, within or outside the United Kingdom. It comprises a civilian judge, known as the judge advocate, and lay members—sometimes referred to as the board members—who are usually officers or warrant officers. Its rules of procedure are set out in the Armed Forces (Court Martial) Rules 2009. I shall call these the 2009 rules. These broadly follow those that apply in the civilian system, but reflect the different make-up of the court martial. The main purpose of the second instrument before us today is to amend these rules, specifically Rule 29, to reduce, in certain circumstances, the number of lay members that sit on the panel of the court martial.

The court martial rules—in fact, the rules of all service courts—are kept under review by the Service Courts Rules Review Committee. This is a non-statutory body under the chairmanship of the Judge Advocate-General. Currently, Rule 29 of the 2009 rules provides that where court martial proceedings relate to a more serious offence, there shall be at least five lay members. The Service Courts Rules Review Committee considers that in cases where a defendant or co-defendants all enter a guilty plea before the trial begins, it is not necessary to have five lay members. It has therefore recommended an amendment to Rule 29 that reduces the minimum number of lay members required to sit in the court martial in these circumstances from five to three. The aim of this is to reduce delay and the cost of proceedings in the court martial, but it is not cutting corners. It is a sensible adaptation of the system to a particular set of circumstances.

The instrument does two further things. It prescribes a procedure for the court martial to certify to a civilian court, which has the power to commit for contempt, the failure of a person to comply with an order of a judge advocate to produce material to a service policeman or to give a service policeman access to it. It also removes a piece of legislation made obsolete by changes made in the Armed Forces Act 2011.

The Armed Forces Act 2006 gave Her Majesty’s Armed Forces a service justice system that provides consistent and fair access to justice for all, whether they are in Aldershot or Afghanistan. We have faith in this system and, more importantly, our Armed Forces have faith in it. However, we continually look for ways to enhance our processes and to keep the service justice system in line with its civilian counterpart. The orders that we are considering today contribute to that effort.

Finally, I will say a few words about ECHR issues. It is the custom for Ministers commending instruments subject to the affirmative procedure to say whether they are satisfied that the legislation is compatible with the rights provided by the European Convention on Human Rights. I am happy to inform the Committee that I believe that the instruments we are considering today are indeed compatible with the convention rights.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, I am of course grateful to my noble friend for what he said but will make just a few remarks about the Armed Forces (Retrial for Serious Offences) Order. We need to be careful that we do not surround the activities of our Armed Forces, in particular our Special Forces, with such a panoply of legislation that they will have difficulty discharging their duties in the manner that we would wish. Of course the Armed Forces cannot be exempt from the law, but if they are at risk—or fear that they are at risk—of too zealous an application of the relevant legislation, there may be difficulties of a wider kind.

I apologise for going back so far, but some of your Lordships may recall an incident in Gibraltar in 1988 when Special Forces were involved in an operation against IRA suspects. At the time, there was much initial discussion, although it did not go on for ever, as to whether they had complied with the law or not. It was a very finely balanced judgment and a question of whether they had complied with the rules of engagement, as they are called, laid down by Ministers in respect of the use of firearms in circumstances such as then prevailed. I was much involved in the discussion; indeed, there was a very important debate in your Lordships’ House at that time, to which I replied. It was established that they had indeed complied with the required legal provisions and therefore that no question of any offence arose. However, there was a coroner’s examination of the matter in Gibraltar. The outcome of that was not initially certain but eventually it was clear.

It is important that in general terms we do not surround our Armed Forces, and particularly our Special Forces, with such a panoply of rules and regulations that when the time comes for them to do maybe some pretty dreadful—but nonetheless necessary —things, they are inhibited by a possible fear of vexatious prosecution or perhaps a second prosecution, as provided for by this order. I need to be careful, as there is a particular case before the courts at present which must take its course. However, I hope my noble friend can assure me that nothing in this order will create a situation where the activities of our Armed Forces, including our Special Forces, are placed at risk or in greater difficulty.

[Lord Rosser]

My Lords, we have two orders which, on the face of it, go in slightly different directions. The second order, on the reduction in the number of lay members who sit in a court martial in sentencing proceedings for serious cases where a guilty plea has been entered, could be argued to be weakening the panel, at least as far as lay members are concerned.

Reserve Forces

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, I can give the noble and gallant Lord that assurance. We take the cadets very seriously. In the few cases where a unit closes, mostly the cadets will remain in the building but on a very few occasions they will be moved very nearby. I have been a patron of sea cadets and I have first-hand knowledge of the important work that they do.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, can my noble friend say a little more about the integration of the newly enhanced Reserve Forces with the Regular Forces, which will be crucial to the effective transfer to which he referred?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, my noble friend is absolutely right. Army Reserve units will be paired with regular units in peacetime for training and force generation, enabling combined training and helping to build links with the local community, including employers, to aid recruitment and resettlement of service leavers. Reserve units in all three services may be integrated with regular units for mission rehearsals and for operations. We will ensure that our use of reserves is as predictable as possible to help reservists, their families and particularly employers to plan ahead. Specific levels of attendance will become a compulsory part of the proposition and the majority of reservists can expect a maximum of 12-months mobilised service in a five-year period. Whether it is needed will obviously depend on operational requirement.

Armed Forces: Reserve Forces

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Wednesday 19th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, as my noble friend knows, the Government place great value on the contribution of Gurkhas, both past and present. Gurkhas already serve in the TA and ex-Gurkhas living in the UK can apply to join the reserves. The recent launch of the TA Live campaign encourages ex-regulars, including Gurkhas, to join. While we are not minded to have an exclusive ex-Gurkha reserve unit, the Brigade of Gurkhas is working with recruiters proactively to recruit ex-Gurkhas into the reserves.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, in addition to ensuring that our Reserve Forces are sufficiently numerous, is it not also important that they are properly equipped and do not just have to make do with hand-me-downs from the Regular Forces? Can the Minister give that assurance?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, yes, I can. This is central to achieving a fully integrated force. Reserves will train and develop a competence on the weapon and vehicle platforms common to their roles. Some of the most modern equipment currently in use—for example, the amphibious bridging—will only be used by the reserves.

Armed Forces: Reserve Forces

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, we acknowledge that this is the start of a challenging programme to reshape our Armed Forces. We inherited Reserve Forces that were in decline and not being used in the most cost-effective way. What we are setting out to do is sensible and achievable, and the planned strengths are well within historic levels. However, we are not complacent, and we are already running a major recruiting campaign for the TA. This has already resulted in over 6,650 inquiries since it started on 17 January. The Government are fully committed to delivering Reserve Forces that are integral to and integrated with the Regular Forces, and we are investing an additional £1.8 billion over the next 10 years.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, is my noble friend aware, in his reference to the historic situation with Reserve Forces, that I stood at that Dispatch Box and announced the increase in the Territorial Army, not to 31,000 but to 83,000, and that I announced the formation of 607 City of York Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, to be deployed in support of 2nd Infantry Division, then commanded by Major-General Peter Inge, now of course the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Inge? Is he also aware that I stood at that Dispatch Box and announced the purchase of 11 River class minesweepers, exclusively for the Royal Naval Reserve, assisted on that occasion by the then Commander Alan West, now of course Admiral Lord West, the noble Lord, Lord West?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, I remember well when my noble friend was a very distinguished Minister standing at this Dispatch Box, and I believe I lobbed the odd question at him. My noble friend mentioned the figure of 83,000. That is why we are very optimistic that we can get up to a figure of 30,000 by 2018.

Armed Forces: Medical Services

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Monday 10th December 2012 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Trefgarne]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the respective numerical strengths of the medical services of the Royal Navy, Army and the Royal Air Force, and what proportion of those personnel are reservists.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever)]

My Lords, I am sure the whole House will wish to join me in offering sincere condolences to the family and friends of Captain Walter Barrie, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who was killed on operations in Afghanistan recently. My thoughts are also with the wounded, and I pay tribute to the courage and fortitude in which they face their rehabilitation.

On the Question, in April this year the numerical strength of the naval medical service was 1,650, of whom 60—just under 4%—were reservists. The strength of the army medical service was 8,040, of which 2,840—35%—were reservists, and the strength of the Royal Air Force medical service was 2,120, of which 190—9%—were reservists. Members of all three medical services, regular and reserve, are making extraordinary contributions to our medical capability in Afghanistan, and I pay tribute to them.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that helpful reply. If it is the policy—which I believe it is, and I support it—to increase the use of reservists in the medical services of our three Armed Forces, it is important that we have a good supply of experienced and trained medical personnel, particularly from the National Health Service. Is the Minister satisfied that the National Health Service, which itself is pressed in many areas, will be able to supply the number of personnel that will be required in future years, and that no unnecessary restrictions will be placed in their way?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend that we will need a good supply of reservists in future. NHS employees are free to join the reserves without any interference from their employer. If they come from a trust that does not have reserve-friendly HR policies—and these trusts are very rare—they can still join the reserves, but in the worst case they may have to take leave to train. We recognise, as did the previous Government, that my noble friend highlights a serious problem. The issue is being addressed by the reserves consultation document. We are consulting as widely as possible to ensure that we have the right relationship with employers and reservists to sustain these changes in future. We need to understand what difficulties employers face in releasing their staff and to do our best to mitigate them.

Armed Forces: Military Corrective Training Centre

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Wednesday 25th July 2012 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Trefgarne]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the present number of inmates in the Military Corrective Training Centre; and what is the average percentage of inmates who are successfully returned to their units on completion of sentence.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever)]

My Lords, as at 24 July there were 101 detainees at the Military Corrective Training Centre, Colchester. On average, over the past five years 56 per cent have returned to their unit to continue serving on completion of their sentence. This demonstrates that the centre is very effective and enables the Armed Forces to capitalise on the training, investment and operational experience of those individuals being retained, which otherwise might be lost.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, I am most grateful to my noble friend for that very reassuring reply. Are there not some lessons to be learnt in this regard, maybe in the civil sector, but particularly by the young offender centres whose performance in this area is sometimes deplorable?

Defence Equipment and Support

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Tuesday 17th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

I can assure the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, that Bernard Gray, who wrote the report, is now working for the MoD—poacher turned gamekeeper. I am confident that he has extracted a lot of the assurances that he was after.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, can my noble friend confirm that the input of the chiefs of staff into the initiation of the defence procurement process—namely the preparation of staff targets and staff requirements—will remain untouched after the changes that he proposes?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, I cannot give my noble friend that assurance, but I am pretty certain that the Chiefs of Staff will have had strong reassurances on that issue.