Armed Forces: Redundancy

Mark Francois Excerpts

Wednesday 11th September 2013 Ministerial Corrections

[Angus Robertson]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many redundancy letters in each tranche have been delivered to personnel stationed at (a) RAF Lossiemouth, (b) RAF Leuchars, (c) HMNB Clyde, (d) RM Condor, (e) Headquarters 2nd Division, (f) Headquarters 51 Brigade, (g) Redford Barracks, (h) Dreghorn Barracks, (i) Kinloss Barracks, (j) Fort George Barracks, (k) Glencorse Barracks, (l) Crombie Defence Munitions Centre, (m) Beith Defence Munitions Centre, (n) Glen Douglas Defence Munitions Centre, (o) HMS Gannet, (p) Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport, (q) MOD Hebrides Ranges, (r) British Underwater Training and Evaluation Centre, (s) Loch Ewe Fuel Depot, (t) Garelochead Defence Fuel Depot, (u) HMS Caledonia, (v) Rosyth Defence Estate and (w) West Freugh Training Ranges.

[Official Report, 1 July 2013, Vol. 565, c. 399-400W.]

Letter of correction from Mark Francois:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson) on 1 July 2013.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Mr Francois]

The information requested about numbers of redundancy letters is set out in the following table:

[Mr Francois]

The information requested about numbers of redundancy letters is set out in the following table:

National Employer Advisory Board

Mark Francois Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2013 Written Statements

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

Following an open competition, I am pleased to advise the House of the appointment of three new members to the National Employer Advisory Board (NEAB). They are:

Mr Alun Griffiths

Mr Kevin Goodman

Mr Paul Noon

They join the other 11 members of the board, which is chaired by Mr Richard Boggis-Rolfe and which continues to provide informed independent strategic advice to Ministers, the chiefs of staff and the reserves community about how the Ministry of Defence can most effectively gain and maintain the support of and for employers of reservists for Britain’s reserve forces. I take this opportunity to thank NEAB for its work which is greatly valued by the Ministry of Defence.

Assets

Mark Francois Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2013 Ministerial Corrections

[Mrs Moon]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value was of (a) thefts, (b) items lost and (c) items lost in transit from his Department's establishments in (i) October 2012, (ii) November 2012, (iii) December 2012, (iv) January 2013, (v) February 2013 and (vi) March 2013; and if he will make a statement.

[Official Report, 22 April 2013, Vol. 561, c. 623-4W.]

Letter of correction from Mark Francois:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon) on 22 April 2013.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Mr Francois]

The information on thefts is shown in the following table:

[Mr Francois]

The information on thefts is shown in the following table:

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Francois Excerpts

Monday 2nd September 2013 Commons Chamber

[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

12. What steps his Department is taking to strengthen the military covenant.

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

As my hon. Friend knows, the armed forces covenant is important for this Government and it is a personal priority of mine. We are taking a number of steps to strengthen it. These include the continued promotion of the community covenant scheme, with more than 370 local authorities now signed up—that is more than 80% of all the local authorities in the UK; the recent announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of £10 million per year to support the covenant; and the launch of the corporate covenant, which allows businesses and charitable organisations to demonstrate their public support for the armed forces community.

[John Glen]

Over the next few years, a considerable number of pupils from military families will be educated in south Wiltshire and around Salisbury. Will the Minister confirm that the MOD will work proactively with local authorities, including Wiltshire, to ensure that pupil premium funding is spent in an optimal way and that best practice is shared?

[Mr Francois]

Yes, I believe I can. The service pupil premium was increased in April this year from £250 to £300. I can assure my hon. Friend that as units move under re-basing, whether from Germany or within the United Kingdom, we continue to work with the Department for Education, providing specialist information, advice and support through our own directorate for children and young people to local authorities and schools to secure maximum benefit from the service pupil premium for service children. In my hon. Friend’s particular case, we will of course ensure that we involve the military-civil integration partnership in Wiltshire, which does very good work in this area.

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

The Army Families Federation has launched an investigation into the effect of the bedroom tax on armed forces families, which I know may come as a surprise to the Minister as it took him some time to accept that armed forces families would be affected by the bedroom tax. Will he clarify whether the families of armed forces personnel who stay in single living accommodation on base in the UK are to be exempt from the bedroom tax in the same way as are the families of students living away from home? At present there are inconsistencies in the way this policy is being applied and it is undermining the armed forces covenant.

[Mr Francois]

I recently had the privilege of attending the Army Families Federation conference in Germany, where I spoke on a number of matters, and a number of questions were raised with me by service personnel. I do not remember that issue being raised with me by the Army Families Federation when I was in Germany, so it may be an issue that the federation has raised with the hon. Lady, but it certainly did not raise the matter with me when I was at its conference.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

The Minister rightly pointed out that the armed forces covenant is not just for the Ministry of Defence. With that in mind, what regular liaison and discussions are held with the Department for Communities and Local Government to ensure that the community covenant is more than just a photo call?

[Mr Francois]

The hon. Gentleman mentions the community covenant, which gives me an opportunity to repeat the fact that more than 80% of local authorities have signed it, including, I am pleased to say, all those in his and my county, Essex. He talked about co-operation between Government Departments. As he will know, a specific Cabinet sub-committee chaired by the Minister for Government Policy meets regularly to make sure that we are properly co-ordinated between Departments in evaluating the covenant. The hon. Gentleman may be pleased to know that that committee is due to meet again in the near future.

[Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)]

13. What smart defence or pooling and sharing initiatives the UK has joined; and what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse arising from such schemes.

--- Later in debate ---

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

16. What discussions he has had with employers following the publication of the White Paper on reserve forces.

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

The proposals in the “Future Reserves 2020” White Paper published in July were the result of a full and open consultation with stakeholders, including employers and representative bodies such as the CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses. I have been encouraged by the constructive support we have received. We know that the only way to implement our plans successfully for the future reserves is to maintain an open and honest discussion among the Department, reserves and their families, and employers. That is what we have done to date, and it is precisely what we shall continue to do in the weeks and months ahead.

[Pauline Latham]

I thank the Minister for that answer. Will he join me in paying tribute to the many reservists who have served with distinction in both Iraq and Afghanistan, including one young man in my office, Hugh Orton, who has completed a three-month internship and who has done valuable service overseas?

[Mr Francois]

I wholeheartedly join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to our reservists, including her member of staff. Our reservists are essential members of our armed forces who have served and continue to serve with great distinction and gallantry on deployed operations. Since 2003 more than 25,000 reservists have been mobilised for operations alongside their regular counterparts, with a number paying the ultimate price. In the Territorial Army alone, more than 70 operational awards have been earned since 2003.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Minister is of course right to pay tribute to the contribution of reservists, but could he indicate to the House what protection he will put in place to ensure that reservists are not discriminated against by employers when they go for new jobs?

[Mr Francois]

We are already providing additional support for employers, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, to assist them to find people to fill in if their members of staff are deployed as reservists on operations. We also plan to give greater notice to employers, so they should have greater regularity in when their employees are deployed for service. We have discussed this in great depth with employers. They are not convinced that we should legislate specifically on this issue, although of course we keep an eye on it as we go along.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Consultants

Mark Francois Excerpts

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Ministerial Corrections

[Mr Jim Murphy]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which consultancies have been given contracts with his Department since May 2010; and what the (a) cost, (b) purpose and (c) scope of work conducted under each such contract was.

[Official Report, 6 February 2013, Vol. 558, c. 228-34W.]

Letter of correction from Mark Francois:

An error has been identified in the written answer given on 6 February 2013 to the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy).

The full answer given was as follows:

[Mr Francois]

[holding answer 10 December 2012]: A list of consultancies that have been awarded Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts since May 2010 is provided as follows. The table includes contract value and a broad description of the requirement. Contracts awarded by MOD agencies and trading funds are included, but the list excludes contracts awarded under the Framework Agreement for Technical Support and those classified by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation as Principal Service Providers; these contracts are defined separately from consultancy services.

Total MOD expenditure on consultancy for the last five financial years is listed as follows. These figures include spend by MOD trading funds. The table shows that between 2007-08 and 2011-12 expenditure on consultancy fell by 84%.

[Mr Francois]

[holding answer 10 December 2012]: A list of consultancies that have been awarded Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts since May 2010 is provided as follows. The table includes contract value and a broad description of the requirement. Contracts awarded by MOD agencies and trading funds are included, but the list excludes contracts awarded under the Framework Agreement for Technical Support and those classified by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation as Principal Service Providers; these contracts are defined separately from consultancy services.

Total MOD expenditure on consultancy for the last five financial years is listed as follows. These figures include spend by MOD trading funds. The table shows that between 2007-08 and 2011-12 expenditure on consultancy fell by 84%.

Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors

Mark Francois Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Written Statements

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

On 22 March 2013, I announced to Parliament through a written ministerial statement, Official Report, column 60WS, the commencement of the triennial review of the Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors (ACCO). I am now pleased to announce the completion of the review.

The Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors is an advisory non-departmental public body (NDPB), sponsored by the Ministry of Defence. It provides advice to the Secretary of State for Defence on appeals from service personnel whose applications to leave the armed forces on the ground of conscience have been rejected.

The triennial review was conducted in accordance with Government guidance for reviewing NDPBs. Accordingly, stage 1 of the review considered whether there continues to be a need for the function, which the ACCO currently undertakes, to be delivered and whether the function could be more effectively delivered through a vehicle other than a NDPB. Stage 2 of the review scrutinised the current governance arrangements of the ACCO to ascertain whether it complies with the principles of good governance.

The review concluded that there continues to be a need for a body, independent of the chain of command, to provide informed advice to the Secretary of State about the status of service personnel who are seeking discharge from the armed forces, on grounds of conscience but whose application to leave on this basis has been rejected by the chain of command. The review considered that the most effective method of delivering this function is through a NDPB. Finally, the review considered that the ACCO complies with the principles of good governance, but made five recommendations, which the MOD will now consider.

The five recommendations are:

Recommendation 1 —The departmental board must strengthen its corporate governance arrangement and monitor the performance of the relevant advisory bodies appropriately in accordance with their nature, size and role.

Recommendation 2—The sponsoring department should strengthen the terms of reference by stating clearly that they are responsible for assessing the effective performance of the Committee.

Recommendation 3—The sponsoring department in consultation with the Ministry of Justice on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, to consider whether the chair should become involved with lay member appointments or reappointment, including the skills and experience required by the Committee.

Recommendation 4—The chair should be asked to confirm the members’ reappointment to ensure that no question of cause for non-renewal is raised, and this is then put to the Lord Chancellor to make the re-appointment. It would be unnecessarily burdensome to do this every year.

Recommendation 5—That the Register of Interests should be reviewed and regularly updated.

The report of the review will be now published in full in accordance with Government guidance.

National Employer Advisory Board

Mark Francois Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Written Statements

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

In June 2012, I announced in Parliament through a written ministerial statement, the commencement of the triennial review of the National Employer Advisory Board (NEAB). I am now pleased to announce the completion of the review.

The NEAB is an advisory non-departmental public body (NDPB), sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, which provides informed but independent advice to Ministers, the MOD and the reserves community about how it can most effectively gain and maintain the support of and for the employers of Britain’s reserve forces. The review considered the effectiveness of how the functions of the NEAB are currently delivered, whether there is a need for the functions and for the advisory NDPB to continue, and if so, how the function might best be delivered in future.

The review concluded that informed independent strategic advice that the NEAB provides to Ministers, defence chiefs and the reserves community is still required and that it should be retained as an advisory NDPB. The review also considered the governance arrangements for the NEAB in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance on good corporate governance. The report makes some recommendations in this respect that will be considered by the chairman and sponsoring division. The review was set firmly in the context of the review of employer engagement under the future reserves 2020 programme where there will be an increased importance in understanding and anticipating changes in the employer environment.

Tri-Service Recruit Trainee Survey 2012

Mark Francois Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Written Statements

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

Today I am publishing the 2012 recruit trainee survey annual report. All recruits and trainees passing through phase 1 and 2 training are offered the opportunity to participate in the survey, which is anonymous and administered independently on behalf of the services by an external contractor.

The annual report contains the views of recruits and trainees about topics such as the preparation for joining, their treatment during phase 1 and 2 training, food, accommodation, access to instructional and welfare staff and complaints procedures. Overall the results are positive and importantly, the findings are used by service training headquarters and units to monitor the training environment and make improvements.

I intend to place a version of the full recruit trainee survey 2012 annual report in the Library of the House.

Service Police Crime Statistics and Analysis Cell

Mark Francois Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Written Statements

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

During the debate on the Military Justice System that was held in Westminster Hall on 31 January 2013, I put on record my commitment to produce the most accurate information possible relating to sexual offences involving members of the armed forces. I then initiated further work with the service police provost marshals to explore practical ways of achieving this.

I am now able to provide an update to the House on the work of a Service Police Crime Statistics and Analysis Cell, which has been created within the Service Police Crime Bureau that is located at Southwick Park, Hampshire.

The aim of the Crime Statistics and Analysis Cell is to improve the quality of, and speed of access to, information relating to service police investigations. Initially, this involves creating a new standalone database to cover all sexual offences investigated by the service police since implementation of the Armed Forces Act 2006. Over the coming months, this database will be updated with information provided by service police units and other organisations that work within the Service Justice System. This, in turn, will provide the service police and the Ministry of Defence with more reliable and assured management information on which to base future thinking and decision making.

Although the initial focus of the Service Police Crime Statistics and Analysis Cell is on information relating to sexual offences, its role is being expanded to cover certain other offences (e.g. firearms, drugs, theft, fraud and those involving violence). The aim is to ensure that more accurate and reliable data are available from April 2014. In parallel, the service police are also taking forward work to enhance their existing crime recording IT system, with a view to auditing and assuring its data and enhancing its search capability by October 2014.

Sexual offences of any kind are not tolerated in the Ministry of Defence. The work of the Service Police Crime Statistics and Analysis Cell will enable the service police to monitor patterns of offending behaviour more accurately, and to allocate their resources accordingly.

Recruitment

Mark Francois Excerpts

Thursday 11th July 2013 Written Statements

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

There has been a long tradition of Commonwealth citizens serving in the British armed forces and most recently on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. We continue to value their service which provides an important contribution in defending the UK at home and abroad.

In order to deliver the future structure of the armed forces under the requirements of the strategic defence and security review, we are already reducing their size by adjusting our recruit intake and making some redundancies. The long-standing five-year UK residency requirement for Commonwealth citizens to join the armed forces was waived in 1998. We have reviewed the Commonwealth recruitment rules and, with effect from 11 July, we will reintroduce the five-years’ residency requirement in the UK for future new recruits from Commonwealth countries. In addition, non-British recruits to the reserves will be required to have indefinite leave to remain in the UK in order to fulfil their reservist commitment. This will also create consistency in the recruitment practices of all three services.

This will not affect personnel already serving, or on recruitment, from the Republic of Ireland or for the Brigade of Gurkhas. We are confident that we will still be able to meet our recruitment targets. We will honour our commitments to those Commonwealth recruits in the pipeline who have already been offered a job or a training place and we will also continue to process the applications for those who have already been offered a place at an assessment centre by the Army or a psychometric test by the Navy or the RAF.