Speeches by Carns.

“It will not work under the DIO. David, correct me if I am wrong.”

“It will report in conjunction with the DIO.”

“There are naturally a variety of things that we have done outside of the Bill and outside legislative requirements, such as the consumer charter, which ensures that each housing association has an officer that they can go to. It sets standards for move-in, it allows people more freedom on how they can decorate their ho…”

“I think £1.5 million is adequate for central Government, but I remind you that we have also put £50 million into standardising the procedures down into local government. We are seeing the VALOUR centres and field officers roll out now. They are particularly focused on veterans, but you will end up with field officers, …”

“That is leadership, Paul.”

“We should absolutely get that; it will be really interesting to see. I would also be interested, but I think that includes asbestos and a complete rebuild in the centre. We will get back to you with the details, and then we can scrutinise it.”

“That is a prime example of how not to manage a huge estate. We are the third biggest owner of property in the UK. When I came into the seat, I asked for a breakdown of costs from some of the contractors for veterans and people in single living housing, because I have had experience in the past of electric showers costi…”

“The £9 billion has been ringfenced; it has absolutely been secured for defence housing. Nothing in the DIP process will stop us getting on with the job of making these improvements and getting the job done. We have made that commitment to not just the armed forces community but the nation. We have said it in the House,…”

“It will be huge. One of the biggest problems we have with retention, in particular, is the right to a family life. The least we can do is provide people—who sometimes have to move 10 times in 20 years—a safe, warm, dry and secure home. We have failed to do that for the last 14 to 20 years, but we are now on the road to…”

“We have to be really careful about Whitehall dictating, to local councils and local government, solutions that require local nuance. Northern Ireland, for example, will be very different from England in how veterans are engaged with, or even how we capture data, just because of some of the security concerns and issues …”

“This is a huge deal for the armed forces. I have lived in the accommodation—I am sure you and others in Parliament have—and the reality is that the deal with Annington was probably one of the worst deals of all time. We sold off our housing and had to pay for the rent and upkeep of it. It actually reduced our freedom t…”

“I will lead off and then hand over to Sam for some of the detail. When I joined the military, there was still an LGBT ban on people joining. The military has come a long way, but it has a long way to go, and we continually need to move as fast as we possibly can to ensure that Defence is the most accepting and welcomin…”

“Clause 25 will ensure that victims are properly supported as they go through that choice of preference, but I go back to the requirement for a preference. They have to have the ability to choose; I do not think it is right for us to be forcing upon them which avenue they want to take. But we have to make sure that the …”

“I think Mary’s evidence yesterday was really powerful. When she took away the inability to compare thousands of cases with 20 to 30 cases, and gave you the bare facts, it was really clear that the service justice system has an exceptionally good record of moving through to conviction rates, and indeed a lack of withdra…”

“You are absolutely right, Luke, and you are on to something. In my last job, as Minister for Veterans and People, I went around the country and saw different types of armed forces champions. Some are part time, some are full time. Some are employed by the council, some are not. Some have different terms of reference, a…”

“Early on, when I came into this job, I talked about whether we could thicken it. Actually, I think what we need to do is make sure that it is absolutely clear in the statutory guidance. After going around all the different local governments—and indeed devolved Governments, whether that be Northern Ireland, Scotland or …”

“I am Al Carns, and I am the Minister for the Armed Forces.”

“Zoë, Emma and Ahmed, thank you very much for everything that you are doing to champion this cause and push for a meaningful change. Zoë, I want to get your reflections on the work that you are doing on the violence against women and girls taskforce that we are setting up and trialling with your organisation, and on wha…”

“Thank you very much for your evidence. It is super-useful and always well thought through and balanced. And thank you for your work in collaboration with the MOD to make the system better. This is a broader and more holistic question. Do you agree that there is a need for a service justice system, and if so, why?”

“Thank you very much for your evidence, Mary. It gives me great confidence when I hear someone speak with such conviction and with all the information and experience behind it, not only from the service justice system but from the civilian system. While we are discussing concurrent jurisdiction, can you talk us through …”