asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will arrange regular visits of sufficient duration by Ministers and officials of the Ministry of Defence to British units in Iraq in order that they may understand the problems and pressures with which the units have to contend.

My Lords, I am sure that the House will wish to join me in expressing our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the soldiers killed and injured in Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The Answer is yes. Such meetings are commonplace and essential to ensure that Ministers and officials, in taking decisions on operational theatres, understand the conditions faced by deployed personnel. I had the opportunity to meet UK personnel when I visited Iraq last July. The Secretary of State for Defence has had the opportunity more recently, during his visits in May and June this year.

My Lords, I am on the edge of being grateful to the Minister for his reply, but that gratitude does not go too far at the moment. His department from time to time gives the impression—it may be wrong—of detachment from the whole operation; that it is outside its normal duties and therefore not much to do with it. Will the Minister take every opportunity to remind his department and everybody within his reach that the department and the Government have two duties: first, to recall at all times that British troops are engaged in an extremely dangerous and very unpleasant operation; and, secondly, to ensure that the equipment they have at their disposal gives them the maximum possible protection against modern explosives and modern weapons?

My Lords, I am concerned to learn that the noble Lord feels that there is detachment because I can assure the House that there is not. The department has an absolute commitment, particularly by Ministers, to ensure that there is full understanding of the real challenges that our forces face on operations. In my own case, as I have responsibility for equipment, I do absolutely everything to ensure that our equipment is the best it can be.

My Lords, we on these Benches add our condolences to the families of the two Special Forces members who were killed so tragically in Afghanistan on Tuesday and to the families of those who were injured.

Although I understand the point behind the Question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Peyton, I wonder whether the Minister agrees that visits to hard-pressed operational units can become an additional burden and pressure? If so, can he assure us that each visit will be vetted for need and co-ordinated so that seats on fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter lift are not used up to no purpose?

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord because he is right. I was talking this morning to a commander who returned from Iraq after commanding forces there. He talked about having to deal with two visits a day which took up about an hour of his time. Although the situation has significantly improved we need to ensure that we achieve a proper balance in providing opportunities to those who wish to visit operational theatres. There are many more people who wish to visit than there are slots available. We have to ensure that we put operational considerations absolutely first, as the noble Lord has indicated.

My Lords, visits to troops on operational duties may be burdensome, but why can we not have more visits by Ministers to troops who are about to leave for Iraq and Afghanistan? I also thank my noble friend for his Answers to my series of Questions on this matter.

My Lords, my noble friend is right. Understanding the operational commitments and demands on our forces is not simply a matter of visiting troops on operations; it is also important to make necessary visits to troops before and after operations and to make the most of ministerial visits which are a part of our departmental responsibilities. I have responsibility for equipment. When, for example, I visited the Commander-in-Chief Land to review our Armed Forces' equipment, particularly armed fighting vehicles, I talked to troops about their experiences in the field. Such visits are essential to our role.

My Lords, can the Minister please tell the House how many times Ministers have visited men and women in hospital and in residential accommodation provided by various military charities? Such visits are an enormous morale booster and not quite as time-consuming and expensive as going abroad.

My Lords, the noble Countess is right that those visits are fundamental. Our policy, however, is not to talk about the visits that Ministers make to hospitals. I have visited our troops in hospital, and I know that my ministerial colleagues have done and continue to do so, but we do not think it an appropriate matter to talk about. I am willing to write to the noble Countess and give her the numbers if she would like, but we do not feel it appropriate to go into great detail on the subject.

My Lords, do the press have unlimited permission to go where they want, when they want?

No, my Lords, the press do not. Our policy—consistent with operational pressures and ensuring that the order of priority is maintained—is to encourage the press to have the greatest understanding of operational commitments and the challenges that we face.

My Lords, from these Benches we also send our condolences to the families of the two soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

The Chancellor of the exchequer has made a startling conversion to appreciating the values of defence. Will Defence Ministers encourage him to visit units, if only in this country, so that he can better understand their problems and pressures?

My Lords, my Right Honourable Friend has done so.