Defence written statement – made at on 29 October 2008.
Bob Ainsworth
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence
I wish to announce the publication today of the Government response to the independent inquiry into the national recognition of the armed forces carried out by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, my hon. Friend Mr. Davies. My hon. Friend was invited by the Government last December to examine ways of improving the nation's understanding and appreciation of the armed forces and his report was published on
As I said when it was published, the Government warmly welcome this report which is comprehensive in its coverage and based on extensive consultation.
The Government are acutely aware of the debt owed to our armed forces. Our gratitude for the work they do in the service of our country is reflected in a raft of recent initiatives with the service personnel Command Paper the central plank. This unprecedented piece of work set out to achieve two things. First, to end any disadvantage associated with service life. Secondly, where appropriate, to apply special treatment, particularly for those injured in the course of their service. Complementing this, it is also vital for our serving men and women, especially those engaged in difficult and dangerous overseas campaigns, to know that the whole of Britain understands and appreciates the work that they do in our name. That is why the Prime Minister set up the national recognition inquiry.
The report made many recommendations, the Majority of which have been accepted. We have been considering how we might implement them and I am pleased to announce that the Government have already taken action to bring a number of measures into effect, including on the wider wearing of uniforms in public, a more systematic approach to homecoming parades and new rules on dealing with Members of Parliament. However, we are also conscious of the need to avoid placing additional burdens on our hard-pressed armed forces, especially given the present level of commitment to operations, which must remain our top priority. Nevertheless, we welcome the study's objective to create more opportunities for contact between the armed forces and the society they serve and for the public to be able to express their support. Where we have not fully accepted recommendations, we are confident in most cases that we can give meaning to the intent behind the recommendation. Our detailed response to each of the recommendations is set out in the response that we are publishing today.
Copies of the response to the report are being placed in the library of the House and will also be available from the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.
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stephen wilson
Posted on 6 Nov 2008 10:14 am (Report this annotation)
All this "new care" just comes across as "spin", as we still see cases in the press of soldiers disabled, with loss of limbs, being deprived of state benefits. The same hypocrites pay out vast amounts of money, to foreign nationals who are accidentally injured in the line of fire. Also please remember that £500,000 paid to an afghan citizen in compensation is akin to paying our people two or three million, which of course they get. Along with visits from the Tooth fairy, Santa, and even an occasional fairy godmother. As most of us "veterans" know only too well this government, this lets praise the troops government, wouldn't let these "wonderful men and women" wear a medal bestowed upon them from a grateful Malaysian king. No spin here, there are only 35,000 of them and most do not vote anymore as we know only too well promises are cheap, and seldom kept by British governments, unless it's unpopular then they "publish and be dammed". A long time ago now, the British were told that they had fought to make a country fit for hero's. I think they must have meant "zero's". so why this pretence of care? Anyway as they say "good luck" Guy's and Gal's we know your worth it, we do not need a politician to tell us that.