John Glen | In Westminster | Defence Select Committee

The Defence Select Committee

The Defence Select Committee website features all the latest news, but here are a few updates on what we are currently up to...

Current Agenda

16 DEC 2011

Defence Select Committee publishes Seventh Report

Yesterday the Defence Select Committee published its seventh report investigating the Armed Forces Covenant. I attended many of the evidence sessions on this inquiry, and I believe there are three significant points from the report worth highlighting.

The committee has made recommendations on medical treatment and rehabilitation. I was highly impressed by the level of care and treatment provided at Queen Elizabeth Hospital when the committee visited it; I believe it is crucial that these services remain well funded and maintained.

The committee also made recommendations to instigate a study into the drivers behind excessive alcohol consumption and modify its policies accordingly. I feel that for too long the problem of alcohol misuse has not been adequately scrutinised; I feel we need to take it seriously and allocate new resources to help resolve problems associated with alcoholism in the military.

I feel ongoing research in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) should inform new MoD practices to address the detrimental implications for mental health that severe physical injuries can have. I am also pleased there is a much wider awareness of mental health issues, and the committee will be closely following how the recommendations of Dr Andrew Murrison's report are implemented.

Finally, the committee took evidence from the many service charities who work to improve the treatment and rehabilitation of those wounded in the line of duty. In particular, we examined the working relationship between the MoD and the charitable sector. I believe we need to ensure this relationship is properly governed; there needs to be an awareness of budgeting running costs for the long term, not just the immediate future.

You can read my full views on the report on Conservative Home here, and the report itself can be found here.

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Reports

The Committee publishes reports on all the inquiries it undertakes. These include minutes from all the meetings I attend and all evidence that is submitted to us for consideration.

These can be found online here, along with the Government responses to them. The latest reports, issued in April, are the Government responses to developing electronic threats and the Libya Campaign.

Defence Select Committee

18 MAY 2011

John at Defence Select Committee

Sir Jock Stirrup has warned that the armed forces will be "substantially smaller" than currently planned unless the next Government introduces a real terms spending increase from 2015.

The former Chief of the Defence Staff told the Defence Committee today: "The plan is all based around recovering from 2015 onwards... there is a lot of planning going on but it does all depend on money.

"So the key question is what plans are there for ensuring that whoever forms the Government in the second half of this decade ensures that there is real terms increase in Defence spending over that period."

Asked by Tory MP John Glen about the implications should the money not be made available, he said: "The reality is that the future forces [plan] would be completely unaffordable and the armed forces would have to be substantially smaller than is currently planned to be the case."

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Defence Committee Trips

15 MAR 2012

Falklands are in safe hands

LAST week, I visited the Falkland Islands with the Defence Select Committee.

The committee had not visited the islands since 1999 so, despite the sabre rattling by the Argentine president, it was right that we visited the UK's defence establishment at Mount Pleasant where £70 million is spent each year to defend the Falkland Islands.

As has become commonplace on my Defence Committee visits, I soon met a constituent so, amid conversations about helicopters, I was invited to take up a matter by a pilot from Stoford. I felt privileged to oblige.

It is quite clear the Falklands defences are in fine shape – we visited HMS Clyde as it was about to depart to South Georgia, we met with families of serving soldiers, toured accommodation, visited the governor, the Legislative Assembly members, the Chambers of Commerce as well as all military assets and those who look after them.

It was also a real privilege to visit the graves of those who gave their lives during the Falkland Conflict in 1982. The memorial at Blue Beach Cemetery, San Carlos, was particularly poignant as we reflected on the bravery of those who landed there to liberate the islands nearly 30 years ago.

I was pleased to know the radar systems and the overall tactical posture of our assets indicate the Ministry of Defence is taking nothing for granted – no matter how much empty rhetoric is uttered in Buenos Aires.

What was also clear from our conversations is that the Falkland Islands are facing a key moment in their history – the prospect of significant viable oil fields to the south and north of the settlements makes the next decade a potentially exciting one for the overseas territory.