Speeches by Carns.

“Yes, 100%. We have taken it on with the ONS to make sure it is included in the next census. It is worth noting, speaking to different veteran cohorts around the country, that some people want to be recognised as a veteran and some people don’t. We have to leave that option open once people have left. Some people want n…”

“I used to be the chief of staff of the carrier strike force. Within that, I was responsible for the validation of our mine countermeasures unit, which sits in Bahrain. They have an uncrewed mine-hunting capability that has been tested and trialled for several years now. It is capable, and we are looking into it for var…”

“Those are two separate issues. My enthusiasm for uncrewed systems is matched by my boss as well. We have £4 billion in the SDR moving towards uncrewed systems, the uncrewed centre of excellence and a targeting web that is critical in the management of the data that the drones will collect, along with the required AI ma…”

“It is a really good question. If we step back, at the moment we have a whole multitude of types of Reserves. We have two types of Reserve forces, seven Reserve services and 16 different terms and conditions of service. I am going to be really honest: the thing’s a mess. This Bill is the first step to simplifying that p…”

“I am always pushing on drones, whether that is getting drones into the military or defending against what is becoming a ubiquitous capability. We have had significant incidents across Defence of drones in and around the defence estate. These measures put in place the correct protections to allow defence personnel and d…”

“Family accommodation was the focus of this strategy. Single living accommodation will be done after that. The reality is that for the last 14 years we have categorically under-invested in defence housing. We have left our families in a state of disarray, and our estate is dilapidated because of a lack of consistent fun…”

“Speak to the leads—my opposite numbers in the devolved Governments. I have briefed them, as this Bill has been progressing, on the Covenant, VALOUR and indeed some of the work on the Reserves. We keep that close contact to ensure that we are aligned as much as possible on the implementation of the Covenant and the stan…”

“I apologise for disappointing you.”

“Can I guarantee to you when the DIP will be published? No.”

“The DIP will be published in due course.”

“Nothing in the DIP process is preventing us from getting on with the job. We are making improvements for service families now and preparing for the launch of the Defence Housing Service. The DIP will be published in due course.”

“The team will have the detail on the engagement that we have at official level; it is actually quite regular. The problem in local government that I mentioned, which is about education and communication with the armed forces, is equally applicable at the Government level in some cases. You will recognise this across va…”

“I think the yearly report that we are going to put out will be a good way of holding people to account both at the local and national level. However, it is going to be individuals in the local council who are going to have to champion armed forces requirements. That is what I would like to see. We are in the first stag…”

“The reality is that, when we look across the estate, a huge amount of it is the wrong shape and size, and in the wrong place, for our current armed forces. In some cases, for more than 10 years now, we have been struggling to provide the right type of housing for our armed forces—just for the current commitment, not an…”

“I will lead and then hand over to David. We have done a lot of work on this. I know this has been on the books and off the books for a long time.”

“Leaving the forces is an interesting one. We might want to come on to it when we get on to the Reserves, because technically a lot of people who leave still have a legal liability for recall. You could argue that they are not necessarily a veteran, but we now give veteran cards as soon as people leave the gates of a mi…”

“He knows a lot about leadership and major project development. You will know that team leadership is about surrounding yourself with the very best people.”

“If I can defend the National Armaments Director, I think he is doing an excellent job. He is a professional from industry who understands the scale of project management required to deliver major projects, whether they be across armaments or through to major infrastructure. I think he is doing a fantastic job, and doma…”

“There are three different bits to VALOUR. These are steps in the right direction to start formalising our support to veterans and the armed forces community. VALOUR has three sections. First, we recognised that there was a lack of data on veterans once they left. There is a national census going out, but there is not a…”

“The reason I said “in conjunction with the DIO” is because the DIO will own the broader estate. Some of those houses sit inside the broader estate, and therefore making sure that the DIO is aware of the reporting system that is coming up and through will be critical to ensuring that interdependencies are understood.”