Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Francois Excerpts

Monday 14th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

9. What discussions his Department has had with other Government Departments on supporting the armed forces covenant.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr Mark Francois)]

The covenant is a matter for the whole of Government and sustained progress requires close working across Whitehall. To oversee that work and maintain the momentum, a Cabinet Sub-Committee on the armed forces covenant was established in February 2012, led by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Government Policy. The Committee met four times in 2012. It works closely with the covenant reference group, which includes representation from the service community and a number of key service charities, as well as armed forces advocates from Departments and the devolved Administrations.

[Andrew Stephenson]

Specifically with regard to co-operation with the Department of Health, will the Minister say what is being done to improve mental health provision for those who are serving and for veterans?

[Mr Francois]

I assure the House that we work very closely with our colleagues in the Department of Health on these important issues. We have delivered improvements in mental health care provision, including greater access to mental health care for up to six months after discharge, an increase in the number of veterans’ mental health nurses, a 24-hour helpline, and a support and advice website, popularly known as the Big White Wall, which has proved popular with veterans, including some of those facing these challenges.

[Peter Aldous]

Given that about 300 out of the 430 local authorities, including Suffolk county council and Waveney district council, have signed a community covenant between the civilian and armed forces communities in their area, does the Minister agree that it would be fantastic if all Departments and local authorities that are yet to sign such a covenant did so by Armed Forces day on 29 June?

[Mr Francois]

I am encouraged by the number of local authorities around the country that have signed community covenants and pledged to do their best for armed forces communities, the families of those who are serving and veterans. It would be fantastic if local authorities were to sign up by that date, but we should not have to wait until then—the more the merrier and the sooner the better.

[Lyn Brown (West Ham) (Lab)]

In the Government’s annual covenant report, forces federations state that they

“remain deeply concerned at the cumulative effect of the impact of the pay freeze for many, allowances cuts, including significant and sudden reductions in overseas allowances that have been imposed on families mid-tour, and changes to pensions indexing.”

Is it not the case that, although the Government have enshrined the covenant in law, their actions simply undermine it?

[Mr Francois]

I do not accept that last assertion. It is true that we have enshrined the key principles of the armed forces covenant in law, and I was proud to be one of those who served on the Armed Forces Bill Committee, which helped bring that process to fruition. I work closely with the Army Families Federation; in fact, one of my first appointments as a Minister in the Department was to go and talk to 300 Army wives at the AFF conference. I listen carefully to what it says and will continue to do so.

[Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the publication of the report and note the comments of service charities on the covenant reference group, who state:

“We continue to hope that, in line with the 2010 Coalition Agreement, the Government will use any efficiencies and other monies that become available within the MoD budget, to invest in”

decent homes. Was it not therefore deeply careless that the Ministry of Defence very nearly had to surrender a reported underspend of hundreds of millions of pounds to the Treasury at the end of last year? Why did it not allocate at least part of it to housing, and will it do so now?

[Mr Francois]

As the hon. Lady will know, some months ago we injected an additional £100 million for housing back into the programme, and we need to ensure that that money is well spent. I take a particularly close interest in the quality of service accommodation. At the AFF conference, which I mentioned in my previous answer, one serviceman raised with me an issue about the poor quality of his quarter, and two weeks later I went and knocked on his door to see it for myself. I cannot promise to do that for every serviceman who raises an issue, but I take the matter seriously and will most certainly continue to do so.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

The reality and the rhetoric of the armed forces covenant are such that there is a feeling of betrayal in the Colchester garrison. In 1997, there were 33 Ministry of Defence police officers there looking after the Army married quarters and Army schools. In April, the last MOD police officer will be made redundant. May I urge the Minister at the very least to reinstate some MOD police at the Colchester garrison?

[Mr Francois]

As ever, my hon. Friend mentions Colchester, which I know he represents vociferously on these matters. I have already had a meeting with the chief constable of the MOD police and one with the Defence Police Federation to discuss issues such as the profile of manning at sites. I am also planning in the near future to visit RAF Wethersfield, where, as my hon. Friend knows, the MOD police are based, and I intend to continue the dialogue at that meeting.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Does the Minister share my concern that Army regulars, including those serving in Afghanistan, reservists and trainees are likely to be badly affected by the Government’s bedroom tax, which goes against the whole direction of the covenant?

[Mr Francois]

I am not sure that the effect will be exactly as the hon. Gentleman outlines, but he raises a specific issue, and to do it proper justice I will look into it when I get back to the Department and write to him about it.

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[Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con)]

13. What support he has received from major employers for the proposals set out in his Reserves Green Paper.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr Mark Francois)]

As I informed the House on 26 November a number of large companies have shown their support for our reservists and the Green Paper consultation process. Some have held their own reserves awareness events. We have received over 2,400 responses to the consultation to date—not all from my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr Brazier)—and we held a workshop on 11 January with major employers and the Secretary of State. We continue to engage with major employers, but also with medium-sized and small businesses, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and other employer organisations to ensure that we capture the views of as broad a range of employers as possible.

[Mr Baron]

I thank the Minister for that response, but the Government will know that I think it unwise to disband regular infantry battalions, such as 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, before first being certain that the reservists can plug the gap. What objective measures exist for Parliament to gauge the progress of Government plans in this regard?

[Mr Francois]

I acknowledge the strong interest that my hon. Friend has taken in the fate of his old regiment. I think that the whole House can understand his motivation for doing that. Our plan is for the Army to achieve its full strength of 30,000 trained volunteer reservists in 2018 from its current trained and in-training volunteer reservist strength of 25,000. These are early days, but I am delighted that the recent tri-service recruiting campaigns have produced a 25% increase in Territorial Army inquiries and that regular Army enlistment is up by 3% against a three-year rolling average. We regard both those statistics as good news.

[Jack Lopresti]

What steps will be taken to ensure that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to employers and reservists, and that instead the Government will consider factors such as the size and complexity of the business?

[Mr Francois]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who, as many in the House will know, was mobilised and saw active service on behalf of his country on Operation Herrick and therefore clearly understands this issue very well. I stress to him that we considered this question carefully in the consultation, and we are mindful that, proportionally, for some smaller and medium-sized employers it is a greater challenge to let reservists go and be deployed than it is for some larger organisations. We have been talking to employers about it and intend to set out the way forward when we publish the White Paper in the spring.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

Will the Government legislate to ensure that employers cannot discriminate against reservists in their hiring policies, promotion or in other ways in the workplace?

[Mr Francois]

I understand exactly the hon. Lady’s question, and we will lay out our proposals when we publish the White Paper in the spring. At the moment, our instinct is not to legislate and to try and persuade, but we understand the difficulty and will address the issue specifically when we publish the White Paper.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Minister tell the House how many reservists he expects to be on extended readiness at any one time?

[Mr Francois]

Again, we will lay out the exact profile for how we intend to deploy the reserves when we publish the White Paper. We should bear it in mind that the process will run for several years. Again, the answer will be addressed when we publish the White Paper in the spring, but I stress to the House how seriously we take this process. To use an old Army term, we will publish the White Paper, then cross the start line and get on with it.

[Patrick Mercer (Newark) (Con)]

What incentives are being offered to regular soldiers, upon discharge or redundancy, to join the volunteer reserve?

[Mr Francois]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and say in passing that I look forward to visiting the Newark patriotic fund in his constituency later this week. On the question about incentives, I hope that the House will forgive me if again I pray in aid the White Paper. We are considering the issue as we prepare our plan, which we will lay out in the spring, and I can assure him that we are mindful of his point.

[Mr Kevan Jones (North Durham) (Lab)]

We know that the Government are reducing the size of the regular Army, with the constant issuing of redundancy notices to members of our armed forces. There is clearly a concern that there will be a gap between regular service personnel and the new plans for reservists coming into place. How confident is the Minister that reservists will be able to meet those demands and that he can get employers to release reservists covered by the present legislation?

[Mr Francois]

I hope that I have already mentioned the point about legislation in an earlier answer. With regard to numbers, we continue to manage the growth in the Army reserve and the reduction in regular numbers closely. Beyond the end of operations in Afghanistan, these trajectories will be kept under close review to ensure that we can take early action to maintain an appropriate force level to meet our planning assumptions.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

7. What recent discussions he has had with his international security assistance force partners on the draw-down of combat troops from Afghanistan.

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[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

11. What steps his Department is taking to increase the number of cadet forces in the UK.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr Mark Francois)]

As announced by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister on armed forces day 2012, the Department for Education and the Ministry of Defence are working together to enable 100 more state-funded schools to have cadet units by 2015. The extra cadet units will be formed through partnerships with existing units or by self-standing new units, both using third- party sponsorship. The Departments have identified £10.85 million to meet the training and equipment costs of the programme. More than 70 state schools have already registered their interest in the programme and the joint departmental team, supported by the reserve forces and cadets associations, will be working with schools to develop the most appropriate cadet option for each individual school.

[Fiona Bruce]

I thank the Minister for that reply. Will he join me in commending the hugely dedicated leaders and committed cadets in my constituency, such as the Air Training Corps in Sandbach and Congleton, particularly the Tigers of 230 Squadron in Congleton ATC? Their dining-in night this week will celebrate another successful year of developing wide-ranging practical skills, confidence and qualifications, not least a clutch of bronze, silver and gold Duke of Edinburgh awards.

[Mr Francois]

I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to those units and, indeed, to cadet units across the country, which do so much to foster the right values in our young people. I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Leading Cadet A. Green of the Sea Cadets Corps, from the Winsford and Middlewich unit, who was appointed a Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet recently. We commend that cadet too.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Private schools account for only 8% of all schools yet have 76% of cadet forces. Will the Minister confirm that, as a matter of urgency, he will switch the majority of the available funding to the state sector?

[Mr Francois]

As the hon. Lady rightly points out, it is a historical fact that the majority of cadet units in schools have historically been in the independent sector. The non-school cadet units, however, are spread across the whole country. Within schools, the bulk of the funding is focused, as I said in my earlier answer, towards trying to promote cadet units in state schools. Of those 70, a number of the new units, including one at an Essex school in Westcliff, are up and running.

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[Mr Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire) (Lab)]

We all welcome the number of councils that have signed up to the community covenant, which will help to ease the transition from military to civilian life. This morning I was in Dagenham with the council leader, Liam Smith, to launch Labour’s campaign for a veterans champion to be appointed in every council so that service leavers have a single point of contact when they need it. Will the Minister commit the Ministry of Defence to a campaign to encourage the appointment of a forces champion in every local authority in the country, regardless of politics?

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr Mark Francois)]

I accept that the proposal is well meant, and I have already met some Labour MPs to discuss it. The actual implementation of the community covenant at ground level is a matter for individual councils, but, as the right hon. Gentleman may know, we have encouraged all councils—within the freedom that they have—to appoint armed forces champions, hopefully at senior level, to champion the needs of the armed forces and the veterans community in those local authorities. I am not averse to the suggestion, but the fact is that most councils are already implementing it.

[Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con)]

T2. The Minister may be aware that last Thursday an exceptional debate on dementia took place in this House, with the consensus being that cross-government working must play its part in helping to meet this challenge of dementia. Will he assure me that the Ministry of Defence will play its part in helping us to meet that challenge?

[Mr Francois]

Almost one in 10 adults in this country is an armed forces veteran, so clearly the increasing prevalence of dementia has implications for those veterans, too. As I have said in response to other questions, we work very closely with our colleagues in the Department of Health. They have primary responsibility for dealing with this challenge, but of course we also work closely with armed forces charities—the Royal British Legion and many others—to try to provide bespoke services for veterans who are dealing with this challenge in their life.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

T8. Last week, 1.2 million people lost their entitlement to all or part of their child benefit. Can the Minister say how many people in the armed forces are affected by that change? Will he assure us that every single member of the armed forces has been notified that they would lose all or part of their child benefit?

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[Mrs Madeleine Moon (Bridgend) (Lab)]

Ministry of Defence reports in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2012 showed that the majority of women in the armed forces were subject to unwarranted sexual harassment. Such harassment creates a climate in which rape and sexual assault can be prevalent; it creates a climate for these things to take place. What steps is the MOD taking to protect women in the armed forces?

[Mr Francois]

We take this issue extremely seriously. I know that the hon. Lady knows a lot about it, and I hope that she will not mind my mentioning to the House that she and I met in my office last week for a little over an hour to talk about it in detail. I have had meetings with the Provost Marshal (Army)—the head of the Royal Military Police—to talk about the issue; he was also present at our meeting. I have also had meetings with people such as the chief constable of the Ministry of Defence police. So we take this issue very seriously. We absolutely do not tolerate any offences of this kind. When any are reported, they will be most thoroughly investigated. As the hon. Lady knows, we have also been running awareness campaigns to encourage servicemen and women who come across any offence of this type to report it immediately, so that appropriate action can be taken.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

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[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

T4. May I preface my question by saying that my younger brother is a defence mental health professional? Is the idea that has been around that all serving personnel should have mental health assessments and training being progressed and what progress has been made on it?

[Mr Francois]

I have been briefed on this specific issue by Professor Simon Wessely and his team at King’s college London, who are internationally renowned as experts in this field. They are researching this specific issue and we are awaiting the outcome of that research. I know you want brief answers, Mr Speaker, but the professor was knighted for his public service in the new year’s honours list and we most heartily welcome that.

[Phil Wilson (Sedgefield) (Lab)]

In July 2012, a memorial to the Durham Light Infantry was unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The Northern Echo and veterans of the DLI have launched a campaign for a similar memorial in the DLI’s home county. Will the Minister support that campaign and say what else the MOD can do to ensure a fitting memorial can be unveiled to the DLI in County Durham?

[Mr Francois]

I pay tribute to the proud history of that regiment. I visited the National Memorial Arboretum, but I cannot say whether, when I was there, I visited that specific memorial. As the hon. Gentleman knows, there are about 200. By tradition, the MOD does not pay for war memorials—that has been a tradition for many years. They are paid for by public subscription, but if the DLI, its veterans and others manage to raise the money for that memorial, I promise I will come and visit it.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

T5. How can local organisations such as the admirable Congleton charity the Listening Out Loud Foundation, which has just opened its first home for seven ex-servicemen, obtain broader support? It is working with Cheshire East council and hopes to obtain agreement this week for another home. Is that not an excellent example of partnership working in this field?

[Mr Francois]

You want brief answers, Mr Speaker: yes.

[Pat Glass (North West Durham) (Lab)]

Will the new state pension arrangements that will be announced today and implemented in 2017 mean that a member of the armed services who is 13 years from retirement today will have to contribute for nine years at the higher level but not receive the state pension?

[Mr Francois]

We are working on the details of armed forces pension scheme 15 at the moment. We are still working on some of the fine detail, but I can already say—[Interruption.] Yes, I know, but we are still working on some of the fine detail for its implementation when it starts in 2015. I can already say that the Forces Pension Society has described the new pension as

“as good as it gets”.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

T6. The Wetherby and district branch of the Royal British Legion in my constituency works hard to enable the reintegration of ex-personnel. What measures are the Minister and the Department taking to ensure that there is the necessary support for our men and women so that they can enjoy the quality of life they deserve after leaving the forces?

[Mr Francois]

We work very closely with the Royal British Legion and many of the other service charities, such as Help for Heroes, Veterans Aid—a whole range of them—to try to do the best between ourselves and the charitable sector for veterans who have served in our armed forces. These are exceptional people who have done so much for their country and it is right that we support them appropriately.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

On Wednesday 9 January I asked the Ministers present whether they had met and discussed with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions the effect of the under-occupancy penalty in relation to housing benefit for service personnel and their families. The Minister’s response was that no discussions had been held with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Is this state of affairs due to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions refusing to meet, or has no request for a meeting been made by the Government’s defence team?

[Mr Francois]

I think the hon. Gentleman will find that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a former regular officer, so I think he understands as well as anybody the needs of our armed forces.

[Simon Wright (Norwich South) (LD)]

T9. Ministers will be aware of the great potential of Norfolk’s RAF Marham as a base for the joint strike fighter. Will they update the House on the timetable on which basing decisions will be made?

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Medical analysis shows us that reservists are more susceptible than regulars to post-deployment mental health problems and post-traumatic stress disorder. What improvements are being made specifically to post-deployment care for reservists?

[Mr Francois]

There was a time a while ago when reservists returning from theatre did not go through a full decompression package and did not get the full mental health briefing when they returned from theatre. We have now altered that so that reservists do go through the full decompression package and do get a full mental health briefing when they come back from theatre. I will not go into the point about who was in charge when some of these deficiencies existed.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

T10. What discussions has my right hon. Friend had over how the Staffords’ name, traditions and role as armoured infantry will be retained in the Mercian Regiment?

[Mr Francois]

Our policy is that where there are changes in the order of battle, it is very important that history and traditions of noble regiments are properly acknowledged. In the first instance we look to the regimental councils to agree among themselves appropriate proposals to do this. I understand that the Mercian regimental council has come up with proposals that are going through an approvals process. Providing they are reasonable, which we think they are, we will be happy to endorse them.

[Thomas Docherty (Dunfermline and West Fife) (Lab)]

If the UK Government are to meet the costs of the C-17s for the Mali operation, will the Minister identify which Government Department will meet those costs?