Speeches by Carns.

“We are zeroing in on an important point here about the standardisation of information before people state a preference for the civilian or the service justice systems. That is something we need to take away, have a look at and ensure is standardised across the entire system, so that people have a clear insight and unde…”

“It is my firm belief, after speaking to a multitude of people involved in the system, that preference is required. I think we heard evidence yesterday that we need to standardise the information and education given to people before they state a preference. We have taken that away to double-check that it is standardised…”

“We heard from various panel members, specifically yesterday, that they welcome a lot of the measures in place. It is worth stepping back to look at where we have come from. In December 2022, after a couple of high-profile cases that were completely unacceptable, we took a large chunk of the military crime elements and …”

“The cost of the measures will be included in our future programme. I do not think there will be an exceptionally large cost for our Strategic Reserve plan. The costs will be around a communication plan to ensure that our reservists stay engaged in defence. That will come out in the defence investment plan.”

“I think it would be really dangerous to make an estimate. I will wait till the ruling is complete.”

“The measures in the Bill are about our ability to use reservists, not the compensation paid to reservists when they are serving. We therefore do not expect a significant impact from the Milroy case. However, we are still examining the impact of the ruling on all employment of reservists.”

“I think it will be internal within MOD.”

“Measurement of effect is going to be critical. The nine measures in the Bill go some way to delivering it. From my perspective, if you were to harmonise the maximum recall liability of all our ORs, we would start to see an increase in the Strategic Reserve numbers. That is the first and easiest way to measure effect. A…”

“Do you mind if I elaborate on that? There is a lot of good will out there in the industry with reservists. We have to make sure that having Reserves in your workforce does not become a liability or impact your productivity. That balance of good will needs to be maintained; it cannot flip either way, or it becomes very …”

“There is a very clear concern that if we were to mobilise our Reserve, it would take the heart out of the defence industry, because we have so many ex-defence personnel working in it. We need to map and track our reservist base and ensure that industry acknowledges who it has, and indeed some of the liability it has sh…”

“On top of that, remember that we are in a simplification process to make the reservists easier to navigate. We have a multitude of terms and conditions of service. What does that mean? It means things like pensions, how many hours you need to do and what you need to do to continue to serve, all the way down to what typ…”

“This reflects some of the issues we have with our veterans. When you leave, you get a veteran card and a digital ID card. Our ability to track veterans who have a Strategic Reserve liability after the Bill and our ability to keep reservists engaged in the system are continual challenges. We used to be exceptionally goo…”

“Ready to sign up, Paul?”

“The end of the Parliament. I will not comment on the exact timings or details of a Bill that is outwith this Bill. What I will comment on is the active Reserve. Although some think that the measures will not have a huge impact on the active Reserve, I believe otherwise. I know from having visited many bases, from Brize…”

“I cannot comment on the defence readiness Bill. I am hoping that it will be before the end of this Parliament.”

“I am here to talk about the Armed Forces Bill.”

“I will pass over to Marc.”

“That is a very good question. I think we will see very few people who are still serving opting out of the increase in Strategic Reserve liability. What does that mean? When you leave the service, you will now have a standardised return of 18 years, from the lowest rank of private to sergeant to warrant officer, all the…”

“Ninety-five thousand.”

“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…”