Future Reserves 2020

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Thursday 8th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend rightly points out that many of our reserve units will be on parade this Sunday, taking a full and active part in the commemorations. As he will know from comments I have already made, I cannot give unit-specific assurances, but I can say this to him: in the restructuring of the Regular Army, a deliberate decision has been taken to reduce manpower disproportionately in logistics, engineers and REME, which will require a disproportionate growth in the reserve strength in those three areas. I think he can probably work out the rest for himself.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

As someone who ran a small business, I can tell the Secretary of State that there will be strong support on this from small businesses, but they will need to plan for the absence of people, many of whom will be key members of staff. Businesses will be looking for a lengthy period of notice about planned deployments, so can he reassure the House as to his proposals on the matter?

[Mr Hammond]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s comments. Yes, we are saying the period of liability for deployment will be determined in advance and will be of broadly fixed duration. There will be a broadly fixed period of immunity before deployment again, and there will be longer periods of specific notice of any given deployment.

2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Thursday 18th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax) and to be part of the Warwickshire tail-end to this debate. There is clearly strong support for the motion throughout the House, and I add my congratulations to those that colleagues have paid to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Baron) for the diligence that he has shown in the campaign, the way he has brought people together and the convincing case that he has made for reconsidering the decision to disband the battalion.

I wish to speak about two matters. The first is the impact of the decision on my constituency, and the second, which we cannot avoid, is why we are in the position that we face today. Unlike many gallant colleagues who have spoken today, before my arrival in Westminster two and a half years ago I knew little of our armed services. My background had not given me that contact, so I was keen to join the armed forces parliamentary scheme to learn more. I have become attached to the Army. Through briefings on the state of our forces, visits to military establishments and, above all, the opportunity to speak to servicemen of all ranks, I have, thanks to that scheme, come to understand the bonds of loyalty and shared history between servicemen that were mentioned by my hon. Friends the Members for Reigate (Mr Blunt) and for Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt). I have also come to understand why these issues are so important to so many of those who are involved in the services.

Of course, these issues are important to my constituents, too, as the regiment was formed when the Royal Warwickshire Regiment joined with others in 1968. Rugby has many connections between the town and the regiment. Rugby is a two-tier local authority and my constituency is covered by two district councils, both of which, along with the county council, have passed motions in full council to call for the decision to be reprieved. I am sure that other local authorities in areas covered by the regiment have done the same.

The mayor of Rugby, Councillor Miss Kathryn Lawrence, wrote to the Defence Secretary on 26 September and advised him that the council had unanimously passed the following notice of motion:

“Rugby Borough Council calls upon the Ministry of Defence to reconsider its proposals to disband the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and to continue to support the success and leadership shown by the Regiment in recruiting, training and retaining loyal soldiers in the County of Warwickshire.”

The council stressed the high regard in which the people of Rugby held the regiment. As a former member of the authority, I echo that and endorse those comments.

My constituency includes the village of Bulkington, which has strong connections to the armed forces and falls under Nuneaton and Bedworth borough council. That council passed a resolution on 16 October opposing the abolition of the regiment and calling on MPs in Warwickshire, including myself, to oppose the proposal in the House of Commons, which I know we will do.

Warwickshire county council passed its resolution on 25 September, drawing attention to the signing of the armed forces community covenant in Warwick earlier this year. The connection between my constituency and those of my colleagues and the regiment is strong, as it is in Northumberland, the broader west midlands, London, south Lancashire and greater Manchester. We all have families who are linked to its survival.

[Bob Stewart]

I remind the House that the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was also the parent regiment of Field Marshal Montgomery. Perhaps he will be spinning in his grave.

[Mark Pawsey]

I thank my hon. Friend for reminding us all of the role of such a distinguished member of the armed forces.

In Warwickshire, we were proud to host the regiment on its homecoming parade when it returned to the UK after its tour of Afghanistan in 2009. It marched through Coventry, Nuneaton, Leamington Spa and Stratford-on-Avon, as well as my constituency and home town of Rugby. On Friday 1 May, I was proud to be in the crowds outside Rugby town hall, applauding its achievements while on active service.

We must not forget why the Government have been faced with difficult decisions. When we came to office, the new Government were confronted with not only a £38 billion black hole in the defence budget but the fact that no review of defence had taken place over the previous 12 years. That delay and the putting off of key decisions for so long has led to a much more severe adjustment than would otherwise have been necessary.

I fully understand that the structural changes necessary within the Army have been made to ensure we continue to have a force admired throughout the world that is properly funded. I believe the long-term future of our armed forces is far safer in the hands of this Government than it was in those of the previous Government.

This is an important debate and for the sake of my constituents and this battalion, I urge the Minister to reconsider this decision and to join colleagues from both sides of the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Monday 11th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Lady is right. We have received the military advice on the outcome of the exercise and Ministers will now consider it and make a final decision on the deployment of ground-based air defence systems. As you would expect, Mr Speaker, when a decision is taken, an announcement will be made first to the House, but I will ensure that the Army engages with residents who live in close proximity to the site to ensure that they are aware of all the ramifications of any decision to go ahead and deploy.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State confirm that, to ensure effective interoperability between the emergency services and the armed forces, all parties involved with Olympic security will use a common communications platform?

[Mr Hammond]

The arrangements for effective command and control will involve military commanders being embedded with police gold commanders in their headquarters. I cannot give my hon. Friend a guarantee that they will use a common communications system, but the key decisions will be made by people sitting in the same room. They will then be passed down the respective chains of command.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

19. What recent representations he has received on arrangements for members of the public to pay final respects to fallen servicemen.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Andrew Robathan)]

Over the last two weeks we have received a number of e-mails and letters following a campaign on Facebook about arrangements for members of the public to pay their final respects to fallen servicemen and women.

[Mark Pawsey]

I recently spoke to a lady in my constituency who is a member of the War Widows Association. She expressed concern about the forthcoming change which would mean repatriation flights arriving at RAF Brize Norton. Like many other people, she believed that it was important for the British public to continue to be able to pay their respects to fallen military personnel. Will the Minister assure us that that will still be possible under the new arrangements?

[Mr Robathan]

I can certainly assure my hon. Friend and the House that that is the case.

Because of the number of e-mails that we had received, I went to Brize Norton on Friday to reassure myself about the plans that are being made. The RAF is spending £3.2 million on a new repatriation centre specifically for the families of the bereaved, who must be the focus of our attention. It is an excellent centre, which will give them a very good view of what is happening when the aircraft land. There are private chapels of rest where they can go and be with their loved one’s remains. The cortege will then head down a very dignified avenue of limes to the nearest gate, which is being refurbished and will be called the Britannia Gate. It is dignified, respectful and solemn.

Once the cortege has left Brize Norton, it will be the responsibility of the police and Oxfordshire county council. The county council is building a memorial garden with a great deal of car parking so that people who wish to show their respect—the general public and the Royal British Legion, which approved the arrangements—will be able to do so in a dignified and proper place.

--- Later in debate ---

[Peter Luff]

I am afraid I cannot go beyond what I said at the meeting with the hon. Gentleman, which I greatly enjoyed. I look to him to carry on making the case for an important facility and factory that does excellent work for the people it serves and who work for it.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

T10. Like the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins), I had the honour of joining Armed Forces day celebrations and, in my case, they were at Bulkington in my constituency. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this annual event not only raises public awareness of the contribution made to our country by those who serve and have served in the armed forces but gives the opportunity for the entire country to show its support for all the men who make up that community? [Interruption.] And women.

[Dr Fox]

Men and women. I completely agree with my hon. Friend, who makes a valid point that will resonate throughout the country. Armed Forces day gives us all a chance to be aware of what the armed forces do and gives the public the chance to thank them. I visited the Armed Forces day celebrations in Edinburgh, which were magnificent. The city put on a great display and I look forward to seeing what Plymouth is capable of doing next year.