Speeches by Pollard.

“I think it is the same one. As Paul says, Ministers decide.”

“No, I certainly do not recognise the buccaneering suggestion there, because it is part of an integrated model of deterrence and deployments that we have across the European theatre. Our partners in JEF are very clear that JEF is entirely complementary to NATO. Now Finland and Sweden have joined the NATO alliance, where…”

“All resource allocations are done via the established process of creating an Armed Forces plan that flows from the SDR and allocating those resources. There is temptation to answer your question by saying there is a set of forces held solely for JEF and a set of forces held solely for NATO. That is not the case. In man…”

“No, I don’t think it is. It is about how you implement that objective. We have to be very cognisant that if we want to fundamentally change the incentives within the system about attractiveness of job roles and attractiveness of an individual for their next job role, we have to have that throughout their entire career …”

“I entirely agree. Having an element of churn in our overall post fill is quite normal. NATO allows for a 5% churn, and we are nearly at that point. Not many of our NATO colleagues are anywhere near that, so that is welcome. Our offer has to be about family life, service life and career. The SDR set this out very clearl…”

“It is absolutely something that we are aware of. I realise that not all NATO roles are in the European Union—some are further afield—but for the ones that are EU based, especially where we are filling at NATO headquarters, SHAPE, or the maritime missions in Italy, for instance, the Brexit deal removed the opportunities…”

“In the NATO-first approach that this Government will have, we aim to fill more vacancies and make service in NATO roles more attractive to people—especially European NATO roles, where we know there are some obstacles. If you compare the UK participation and fill rates with those of some of our comparable NATO allies, w…”

“The intention is that we have all our vacancies filled, but we know that there is a challenge in overcoming some of the issues that I just mentioned, in relation to the previous question, about the offer that some of those roles—”

“As part of our model, we expect to continue to fill those vacancies.”

“No, absolutely not. The point I am trying to make is that we are making a clear statement that, to succeed to the highest levels in the Ministry of Defence and in military roles in the future, we have now set an expectation about roles. Over time, that should help people at early stages in their career inform the caree…”

“I agree with the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) that we should arm the commissioner with the right tools on day one. That is precisely why I do not want to accept an amendment that would restrict those tools and provide weaker protections for people raising whistleblowing concerns via a proposed route,…”

“That is a genuinely fair question. The Bill is drafted in such a way that there is no obligation or requirement for any commissioner who is appointed to resource according to a Government position. It is for the Armed Forces Commissioner to decide the allocation of resources and energy. However, the German armed forces…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, and for the work he has been undertaking with my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin). The Armed Forces Commissioner was a key manifesto promise made at the general election, and made with the deliberate intent of providing an independent voice—an inde…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for placing on the record the military events in his constituency. It is so important that we recognise the links and ties that so many of our military units have with the localities from which they recruit, where they are based and where they serve. I agree with his broader point; the time is ri…”

“I beg to move, That this House insists on Commons amendment 2A, to which the Lords have disagreed, and disagrees with the Lords in Lords amendments 2B and 2C proposed in lieu of that amendment. Before I start, I place on record my thanks to all those right hon. and hon. Members who supported Armed Forces Day events at …”

“I refer the hon. Gentleman to all the debates that I called on the future of the Royal Marines under the last Government, when I was sitting on the Opposition Benches, to make the case that the Royal Marines have a bright future. We have a strong commitment to the future of the Royal Marines and to amphibiocity. He wil…”

“Oh, go on then.”

“I am afraid I have to conclude because of time, but I would be very happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss this further. I can reassure him that the Royal Marines have a very bright and strong future in our armed forces.”

“I knew he was tempted to go into polar nerdery! I would be happy to speak to the hon. Member about some of those aspects. Clearly, when it comes to the provision of our ships and capabilities, it is not just an MOD matter; it is one that we share, in particular with our Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office coll…”

“I hope that this is not a party political issue, because many of the Members raising concerns about whistleblowing in the other place are doing so because they recognise that cultural issues within our armed forces need to be addressed and to get clarity on what the Government seek to do. I hope that from the statement…”