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Tuesday 14 June 2011 COMMITTEE of the WHOLE HOUSE PROCEEDINGS

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Tuesday 14 June 2011 COMMITTEE of the WHOLE HOUSE PROCEEDINGS 641 SUPPLEMENT TO THE VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS Tuesday 14 June 2011 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE PROCEEDINGS ARMED FORCES BILL NEW CLAUSES AND AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CALL OUT OF RESERVE FORCES Call out of reserve forces Secretary Liam Fox Added NC12 To move the following Clause:— ‘In section 56 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 (call out for certain operations), after subsection (1) insert— “(1A) Where— (a) work is approved in accordance with instructions issued by the Defence Council under the Defence (Armed Forces) Regulations 1939 as being urgent work of national importance, and (b) the Defence Council have by order under those Regulations authorised members of any forces to be temporarily employed in such work, the Secretary of State may make an order authorising the calling out of members of a reserve force for the purposes of carrying out such work.”’. Secretary Liam Fox Agreed to 14 Clause 31,page29,line3, at end insert— ‘(1A) Section [Call out of reserve forces] comes into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.’. 642 Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 14 June 2011 Armed Forces Bill, continued Secretary Liam Fox Agreed to 15 Title, line 4, after ‘Naval Medical Compassionate Fund Act 1915;’ insert ‘to make provision about the call out of reserve forces;’. Clause 1 agreed to. Mr Elfyn Llwyd Jeremy Corbyn Mrs Linda Riordan Hywel Williams Jonathan Edwards John McDonnell Withdrawn 2 Clause 2,page2,line5, leave out ‘Secretary of State’ and insert ‘Minister for Former Armed Services Personnel’. Gemma Doyle Mr Kevan Jones Negatived on division 16 Clause 2,page2, leave out lines 8 to 12 and insert— ‘The armed forces covenant report shall cover the following fields as they apply to service people— (a) education; (b) accommodation; (c) healthcare; (d) mental healthcare; (e) pensions and benefits; (f) employment and training; (g) support for reservists and their employers; (h) the running of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme; (i) progress on Armed Forces rehabilitation services; and (j) such other fields as the External Reference Group may determine.’. Mr Elfyn Llwyd Jeremy Corbyn Mrs Linda Riordan Hywel Williams Jonathan Edwards John McDonnell Not called 3 Clause 2,page2, leave out line 11 and insert ‘including— (a) the operation of section 359C (Former Armed Services Personnel Rights Charter), (aa) the operation of section 359D (Former Armed Services Personnel Support Officers), (ab) the operation of section 359E (Financial Support for Former Armed Services Personnel Welfare Groups), Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 14 June 2011 643 Armed Forces Bill, continued (ac) the operation of section 359F (Former Armed Services Personnel Policy Forum), (ad) the effect of the following issues upon service people— (i) welfare benefits; (ii) housing; (iii) healthcare; (iv) education, including educational courses and training; (v) employment advice; (vi) budgetary and life skills; (vii) debt management; (viii) alcohol and drug treatment; (ix) relationship skills/domestic violence courses for perpetrators and victims; and’. Gemma Doyle Mr Kevan Jones Not called 17 Clause 2,page2,line11, after ‘housing’, insert— ‘(aa) in the operation of inquests’. Secretary Liam Fox Agreed to 11 Clause 2,page2,line12, at end insert— ‘(2A) In preparing an armed forces covenant report the Secretary of State must have regard in particular to— (a) the unique obligations of, and sacrifices made by, the armed forces; (b) the principle that it is desirable to remove disadvantages arising for service people from membership, or former membership, of the armed forces; and (c) the principle that special provision for service people may be justified by the effects on such people of membership, or former membership, of the armed forces.’. Secretary Liam Fox Agreed to 12 Clause 2,page2,line12, at end insert— ‘(2B) An armed forces covenant report must state whether, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, any effects covered by the report are such that service people or particular descriptions of service people are at a disadvantage as regards the field or fields in question, when compared with other persons or such descriptions of other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate. (2C) Where the Secretary of State’s opinion is that service people or particular descriptions of service people are at a disadvantage as mentioned in subsection (2B), the report must set out the Secretary of State’s response to that.’. Secretary Liam Fox Agreed to 13 Clause 2,page2,line12, at end insert— ‘(2D) As regards effects covered by an armed forces covenant report— 644 Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 14 June 2011 Armed Forces Bill, continued (a) the Secretary of State must consider whether the making of special provision for service people or particular descriptions of service people would be justified; and (b) where the Secretary of State considers that such provision would be justified, the report must contain a reference to that fact.’. Mr Elfyn Llwyd Jeremy Corbyn Mrs Linda Riordan Hywel Williams Jonathan Edwards John McDonnell Not called 4 Clause 2,page2,line12, at end insert— ‘(2A) The report shall include expert recommendations on improving the welfare of former armed services personnel. (2B) Expert recommendations shall include a timeframe in which these recommendations should be implemented. (2C) If the Secretary of State will not implement any of the expert recommendations as directed then he shall lay a report before Parliament explaining why they have not been implemented, within 40 days of the laying of the armed forces covenant report.’. Clause, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 3 to 14 agreed to. Schedule 1 agreed to. Clauses 15 to 26 agreed to. Schedule 2 agreed to. Clauses 27 and 28 agreed to. Schedule 3 agreed to. Clause 29 agreed to. Schedules 4 and 5 agreed to. Clause 30 agreed to. Clause 31, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 32 and 33 agreed to. Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 14 June 2011 645 Armed Forces Bill, continued REMAINING NEW CLAUSES Closure or realignment of Armed Forces bases Thomas Docherty Ian Mearns Karl Turner Tom Blenkinsop Lindsay Roy Gordon Banks Tom Greatrex John Cryer Steve Rotheram Grahame M. Morris Withdrawn NC1 To move the following Clause:— ‘(1) Prior to commencing a programme of closure or realignment of Armed Forces bases the Secretary of State must— (a) prepare a base closure report; (b) lay a copy of the report before Parliament. (2) The Secretary of State may not proceed with any realignment or closure of armed forces bases without the approval of both Houses of Parliament. (3) In this section a “base closure report” is the recommendation of the Ministry of Defence for the future Armed Forces basing requirements of the United Kingdom and British Overseas Territories including the criteria used when reaching its recommendations and the priority given to each criterion. (4) In this section an “Armed Forces base” is a base or series of installations consisting of facilities necessary for the support of the British Army, Royal Navy or Royal Air Force including security, communications, utilities, plants and systems, or property for which the Armed Forces have responsibility. (5) In this section “realignment” means any action that alters the function of a base or any action for the purpose of transitioning the base to serve another branch of the Armed Forces.’. Minister for Former Armed Services Personnel Mr Elfyn Llwyd Jeremy Corbyn Mrs Linda Riordan Hywel Williams Jonathan Edwards John McDonnell Not called NC2 To move the following Clause:— ‘After section 359A of Armed Forces Act 2006, insert— “359B Minister for Former Armed Services Personnel (1) A Minister shall be appointed within the Cabinet Office who shall be known as the Minister for Former Armed Services Personnel. 646 Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 14 June 2011 Armed Forces Bill, continued (2) The roles and responsibility of the Minister shall be set out by the Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office by order and shall include— (a) Laying the Annual Armed Forces Covenant Report, in conjunction with the Secretary of State for Defence. (b) Conducting such activities as shall be seen to be positive for the well-being of former armed services personnel. (c) Conducting detailed and independently verifiable research to establish a baseline on which future progress can be measured. (3) The Minister for Former Armed Services Personnel shall be appointed within three months of Royal Assent to the Armed Forces Act 2011.”.’. Former Armed Services Personnel Rights Charter Mr Elfyn Llwyd Jeremy Corbyn Mrs Linda Riordan Hywel Williams Jonathan Edwards John McDonnell Not called NC3 To move the following Clause:— ‘After section 359B of Armed Forces Act 2006, insert— “359C Former Armed Services Personnel Rights Charter (1) A Former Armed Services Personnel Rights Charter shall be published, indicating the rights to assistance that former armed services personnel shall expect. (2) The Former Armed Services Personnel Rights Charter shall be made by a Minister of the Crown by order made by statutory instrument and include— (a) the requirement to undergo a psychological assessment immediately prior to leaving the armed forces, (b) the requirement of a resettlement assessment, conducted approximately six months prior to the expected date of discharge, (c) the requirement of access to advice from relevant voluntary organisations, approximately three to four months prior to the expected date of
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