Speeches by Carns.

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) for highlighting the barbaric invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in particular the continual bombardment of Kyiv, and for championing the defence housing strategy, through which nine out of 10 houses will get modernisation—that is 40,000 …”

“The right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), with his extensive experience, highlighted that the Bill increases the recall age of reserves to 65 years. Although it should not be a surprise, I remind him that there is an opt-in for those who have already left the armed forces and an opt-out for those wh…”

“My hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Kevin Bonavia) was right to highlight the postcode lottery of the covenant. We have now extended the covenant to over 12 areas of policy to ensure that people can be held to account. Equally, although the covenant can be accepted, in some cases it will indeed be applied differen…”

“My hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Luke Akehurst) supported delivering the DIP before the NATO summit. We will move forward with that.”

“My hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) was correct to talk about the importance of getting the relationship between Valour and the English veterans commissioner right.”

“The hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool) highlighted the utility of an English veterans commissioner and how that could connect into Valour. As she said, the role of veterans commissioner is not a statutory office, so legislation is not required but could provide utility in the future; I think this point…”

“I have continued to engage with the devolved Administrations on this matter. I strongly recommend that district councils buy into the covenant and abide by it, though there will be nuances in some cases on how the covenant is practised in Northern Ireland, as regards security arrangements relating to armed forces perso…”

“My hon. Friend the Member for South East Cornwall (Anna Gelderd) mentioned Cameron and Lexi. I congratulate Cameron on proposing after completing initial training—I can tell the House that after I completed my initial training, I was in no fit state to propose to anyone!”

“This Bill is a great step forward for the armed forces. It renews our armed forces at a time of heightened geopolitical tension. It delivers a defence housing service—a once-in-a-generation chance to deal with the acute problem, and with the systemic failure of the last 14 years. The covenant expands from three to 12 p…”

“”

“Question put and agreed to.”

“I will finish where I started: by thanking everyone across the entire House, the Committee, the Clerks and the staff for pulling the Bill together and making it a success.”

“Clause 1 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.”

“Clause 2”

“I absolutely agree. I am a full patriot, and I support patriotism, but I make sure that I practise it. By not being here today, Reform Members are demonstrating that some individuals do not necessarily live up to those standards. Government amendments 8 and 9 bring the Greater London Authority, combined authorities and…”

““(vii) a combined authority established under section 103 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, or”

“See the explanatory statement for Amendment 8.”

“(viii) a combined county authority established under section 9(1) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.”—(Al Carns.)”

“That is one of the reasons for these amendments and other provisions in the Bill. In the past, personnel had to leave the regular forces to join the reserves and leave the reserves to join the regular forces. We want to create a seamless transition, which will reduce the 60 pages of administrative burden that my hon. F…”

“As an ex-Marine, I have never been known for flying, but I would love to visit East Sussex Veterans’ Hub. When I am going around the country, be it to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales or England, it always amazes me to find these little examples of pure community spirit that help our veterans out. Importantly, while t…”