Speeches by Wakeford.

“True.”

“Thank you for joining us, Mary, and thank you for everything you do. To begin with, can you talk us through the role that the Service Prosecuting Authority plays in providing support for victims of service offences?”

“You mentioned review by two lawyers and the possible introduction of a third lawyer if a case is not taken on. How do you think that works alongside the victim’s right to review?”

“Has the right to review overturned a decision in any cases?”

“Clause 10 will introduce a new victims code of practice. What should the code look like to support victims to navigate the service system, in your opinion?”

“As we heard from the last panel, there are operational as well as behavioural issues. If they are both in the same service, trying to remove one person for safeguarding raises quite significant concerns. Is there a logistical component as well?”

“Lord Lancaster referred earlier to the skills you acquire while serving, and then the different skills you acquire in later life and careers—so not necessarily needing to be a soldier first when returning as a reservist. Then Lord Peach said that we cannot operate without specialist Reserves. What is your view, or what…”

“Thank you for joining us, General. We have gone through the opt-in and opt-out element with the previous panels, but in your opinion, would these changes help or hinder the aim to increase the mass-mobilisation ability of the armed forces, if fully implemented?”

“That is correct, yes.”

“In the previous session, General Potter said that part of the concern is not necessarily about the time limit for leaving the service but about when people are able to join the service, especially as a reservist. What are your views on that?”

“Mark, you mentioned consistency of services. Obviously, in Greater Manchester we have pockets of brilliance and then huge amounts that are lacking—Wigan being a prime example, and I speak as a Greater Manchester MP. What more can be done to share those elements of best practice? When we refer to the armed forces contin…”

“Andrea, you mentioned the feeling of not knowing where to go. Indeed, RAF families themselves said that intervention often comes when they have hit rock bottom and are at crisis point—I imagine most MPs will probably see that in their casework as well. What more do you think the Bill or the Covenant should be doing in …”

“As part of the legislation, the Secretary of State will have the power to issue guidance, which is an incredibly powerful tool when you think about how it is cross-departmental, across layers of Government and across society. In the last panel, part of the concern was about how the Covenant will be applied consistently…”

“Thank you. I was going to push Andy on a comment he made in response to an earlier question, but I will apply it to you, Chloe. It was about “don’t ask; don’t know.” Obviously we see that in quite a few areas, but, with regard to your work with Op NOVA, how could that be applied more vigorously, and applied in some of …”

“To feed into that, I think 22% of personnel responded that they knew quite a lot about the Covenant. What more can we be doing, as parliamentarians, in the Department or throughout civil society, to make sure that people understand that, if they are being asked that question, there is a particular reason for it, and th…”

“I think that might be a separate conversation for a separate day.”

“Which one?”