Contributions
589 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Commonwealth Personnel in the Armed ForcesI am slightly conscious of the manner in which the debate is already going. I simply interject about the use of the words “hostile environment”, because I hope that there will be…08 May 2019HANSARD Commonwealth Personnel in the Armed ForcesIt is a pleasure and honour to respond to this important debate, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Mr Sweeney) on securing it. I also thank him for his…08 May 2019HANSARD Commonwealth Personnel in the Armed ForcesI do not want to kill my own argument, so of course I am going to say that my hon. Friend makes a powerful point. We need to recognise that people joining our police forces or…08 May 2019HANSARD Commonwealth Personnel in the Armed ForcesThat would certainly be an interesting reflection of the importance of the contribution they make. I think the current number stands at about 4,500. There are also 3,000…08 May 2019HANSARD Commonwealth Personnel in the Armed ForcesMy hon. Friend makes a powerful point, with which I was going to conclude. We are not talking about huge sums of money to rectify the problem—it will not completely break the…08 May 2019HANSARDService Complaints Ombudsman: Annual Report 2018I am pleased to lay before Parliament today the service complaints ombudsman’s annual report for 2018 on the fairness, effectiveness and efficiency of the service complaints…11 Apr 2019HANSARD Veteran SuicideI will give way only once, because I am already down to four minutes.03 Apr 2019HANSARD Veteran SuicideWe can go down that road, but it will take time, and I want to get there faster. I want that data; I want to understand what is going on. The hon. Gentleman makes an absolutely…03 Apr 2019HANSARD Veteran SuicideI fear 6.21 pm does not leave enough time to do justice to what has been an incredibly important debate. It is a real honour and a privilege to speak on behalf of the Government…03 Apr 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransPerhaps it does feel like we are living an episode of “Yes Minister”, and I fully understand that, with Departments trying to establish who has responsibility. We need to iron…25 Mar 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransWith your permission, Mr Speaker, may I pair question 4 with questions 11, 12, 19 and 23?25 Mar 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransI am sure they are all very genuine. The support we provide our veterans is a genuine subject. We owe our veterans a huge debt of gratitude, but it is important that that…25 Mar 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransI am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. It is so important that we engage as much as we possibly can. There are over 400 service-facing charities. They are co-ordinated…25 Mar 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransMy right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary underlined the importance of geographically locally based charities. It is so important that the message gets out that support is…25 Mar 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransI am always delighted to meet hon. Members who want to pursue and support veterans’ initiatives. I would be delighted to visit. My mother-in-law lives just down the road from…25 Mar 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransI do not know the circumstances of that particular case and I would be delighted to meet the hon. Lady to see what more can be done. As I touched on before, we are now far more…25 Mar 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransMy hon. Friend is right to focus on specific issues where we need to increase our support. One reason why we are putting together the veterans strategy is to understand where we…25 Mar 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransThe Northern Ireland prosecution service made an independent judgment on that. I think it would be wrong for us to make any judgment on the Government side. What my hon. Friend…25 Mar 2019HANSARDSupport for VeteransI am pleased that the hon. Lady mentioned that the Government must be doing more. That is absolutely correct. The veterans board was established for exactly this mission—to make…25 Mar 2019HANSARDArmed Forces CovenantThe armed forces covenant not only obliges Government Departments to recognise their duty to support armed forces personnel and veterans and their families, but encourages…25 Mar 2019