Armed Forces: Family Life Debate

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Lord West of Spithead

Main Page: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)

Armed Forces: Family Life

Lord West of Spithead Excerpts
Monday 19th January 2015

(9 years, 10 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Jolly Portrait Baroness Jolly
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I can indeed.

Lord West of Spithead Portrait Lord West of Spithead (Lab)
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My Lords, would the Minister not agree that one of the main reasons for pressure on servicemen and service families is the ever increasing rate of rotation in ships or whatever, because we have too few ships and there are huge pressures on manpower anyway? Some easement in resources to allow more money for recruiting and retention, plus some more ships and aircraft, might help dramatically.

Baroness Jolly Portrait Baroness Jolly
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More ships and aircraft are not in my brief, but families are. Long operational deployments attract additional leave, allowing servicepeople to spend time with their families.