Armed Forces: Covid-19 Deployment Debate

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Department: Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Covid-19 Deployment

Tobias Ellwood Excerpts
Tuesday 10th November 2020

(3 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lindsay Hoyle Portrait Mr Speaker
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I call the Chair of the Defence Committee, Tobias Ellwood.

Tobias Ellwood Portrait Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)
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Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am grateful to catch your eye.

I hope the message is loud and clear that the Minister hears today: we are absolutely proud of what our armed forces do, but, given their vast experience in emergency planning, crisis management and, indeed, strategic thinking, they are a vastly underused asset in the biggest crisis we have seen since the second world war. With what we face today, we have logistical challenges, command-and-control challenges, communications challenges and operational challenges. These are all things the armed forces can do, yet there is not a place for them at the quad, the top decision-making body dealing with this pandemic. Does my hon. Friend not think that is incorrect?

Jeremy Quin Portrait Jeremy Quin
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I welcome what my right hon. Friend says about the support that is provided by the armed forces. He is absolutely right that we have a vast array of areas where we can support and provide assistance to other Departments. However, as he is very well aware, the process is that the civil authority comes to us to request assistance, and we always stand ready to receive such reports.