Speeches by Carns.

“The Defence Housing Service is being created in recognition of the DIO’s capacity and capability to deal with huge under-investment in the defence estate over the last tens of years. How will it increase DIO’s capacity to focus on other issues, such as strategic basing, single living accommodation and the plethora of o…”

“I, too, have lived in married quarters and seen repairs being poorly dealt with. They were either overly expensive or fixed the wrong thing altogether. Could you talk me through the consumer charter and how on-site housing officers will help to facilitate better management of contractual change and housing repairs?”

“Thank you for the collaborative and polite way in which you are dealing with these questions.”

“Sorry, Natalie. Could you say that again? I could not hear you.”

“Thank you very much for your evidence and the great work you have done on the defence housing strategy. Just to be clear, nothing in the Defence Investment Plan process is stopping us getting the work under way, is there?”

“That is a really interesting point of view. I know from speaking to a variety of people—witnesses, women and groups within the Defence Serious Crime Command—that the preference piece is critical. The civilian justice system obviously decides which way it goes anyway, but it is primarily on the preference of the victim.…”

“The Lyons review recommended that serious offences such as murder, manslaughter and serious sexual assault should be tried solely in the civilian jurisdiction unless consent is given by the Attorney General for the offence to be tried in the service justice system. Given that the Bill does not take forward that recomme…”

“Are there any measures that ought to be included in the Bill to enhance the capacity and capability of the Reserves?”

“General, outside the SDR are there any specific points in the Bill that you think need to be expanded or elaborated on?”

“Thank you very much for your service, Richard, and thank you for attending the Committee today. To what extent will the Bill’s provisions meet the aspirations in the Strategic Defence Review to increase the number of active reservists by 20% and to increase the readiness of the UK Armed Forces?”

“I have been out speaking to the armed forces, and a lot of the reservists, particularly in the RAF, were quite concerned that they had to leave at 55. A lot of this was driven internally by individuals, air traffic controllers, who are maybe not at their peak physical fitness but who could still offer hugely valuable s…”

“When we look into how to gather the data and understand who we need to recall, we have some limited records in HMRC and Defence. Would you agree that a data-led ability to map and track our reservists or individuals with recall liability and to understand what professions and capabilities they have once they have left …”

“Lord Peach, do you agree that our inability to communicate effectively to our people—both when they join and when they leave—about the recall Reserve and the issuing of veteran ID cards creates quite a complicated and confusing picture for them when they leave the military?”

“Are you content that the Bill is heading in the right direction?”

“A very simple question: do you think standardising the Reserve recall times between officers and other ranks will, first, make it easier to map and track the data, and secondly, give you a better picture of who is available for recall and who isn’t?”

“Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that often one of the problems is helping service personnel, veterans, their families and the bereaved to understand what is out there and available.”

“First, I would like to thank you all for your continued efforts for the Covenant and the armed forces community. This is really an open‑ended question, but how do you think the implementation of centrally funded VALOUR officers, based in a data‑led network, may support our ability to implement the Covenant and provide …”

“The issue is that the Covenant is coming in, and the legal duty on due regard and the statutory guidance are the overarching umbrella and framework for local councils to follow. A couple of comments have been made today about guidance to ensure that the Covenant is not forgotten or left on the side. Every time I have m…”

“From a statutory guidance perspective, on implementation what does it need to contain to help your Department? Is there anything that we need to do to change it, make it more forceful and enable you to deliver the outputs?”

“Could you give a quick summary of some of the good stuff that the DWP is doing in support of the Armed Forces Covenant?”