Speeches by Scrogham.

“The SDR promises improved capabilities in the future, but last year the MOD scrapped tranche 1 of its Typhoons and, more recently, the two amphibious assault ships, plus numerous helicopters, drones and Royal Navy ships have all been decommissioned. What impact does this have on our capabilities and our future deterren…”

“To refer back to what my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North said, the amendment does say that the commissioner’s staff “must” include a King’s counsel. That would effectively tie the hands of the commissioner, firmly setting that budget. I would much rather that they had flexibility, so that they could choose …”

“Q The commissioner can access unannounced any of the sites within the UK, but the Secretary of State has the power to restrict access. How will that work in practice? Luke Pollard: When the commissioner’s office is stood up, there will be a ways of working agreement between the commissioner and the single services abou…”

“Can I ask for your views on the German armed forces commissioner? Obviously, this measure has been modelled on that. Mariette Hughes: You can, of course. I know Dr Eva Högl quite well. We are both members of the International Conference of Ombuds Institutions for the Armed Forces, which is a mouthful, so I will say ICO…”

“Q Do you think the German model will translate to the UK? Mariette Hughes: I think we have to build our own model; we have to look at what our key issues are. Germany is a different landscape and a different framework and has been operating for a huge number of years. We cannot just pick it up and start doing things th…”

“Q What should we be learning from the German model to make improvements here? Mariette Hughes: For me, the best thing from the German model that I would like us to learn from and take forward is the voice that Dr Högl has within the German Parliament. She has a permanent seat; she sits in all the sessions. I am not say…”

“Q Do you have any concerns about the transition from the ombudsman to the new commissioner? Abby Dryden: I do not have any specific concerns about that. I would generally have concerns about any change in process, as the shortcomings of a process can sometimes be identified quite easily, but it can be quite difficult t…”

“Q Do you think anything is needed to ensure a successful handover? Abby Dryden: Numerous things are probably needed to ensure success. I cannot comment on those things directly, as I do not have enough experience to comment reasonably.”

“Q How do you envisage this Bill improving service life? You mentioned the importance of communications and getting the information to service personnel. How do you see your role in that? Maria Lyle: I was thinking about that element beforehand. It depends on how the process pans out, in terms of how strategic or how ta…”

“Q It has all gone very quiet on the national veterans commissioner. All the devolved Governments have one; when will we get one here? Luke Pollard: The Minister for Veterans and People has been looking at the system and will be taking steps to see what the most appropriate representation or system to put in place is. W…”

“I am particularly interested in post 2010. My constituency, Barrow-in-Furness, is still paying the price for that. As a Government and a country, we have paid a huge price for those decisions. Saving a few pounds this year has cost us an awful lot going forward. To what extent do you think you are having to make trade-…”

“What learning has been done from the previous defence reviews about the cost to the strategic proposals that you have been putting forward?”

“I am sure the Leader of the House will agree that patients, public and staff should be properly consulted when significant changes are being made to local NHS services, and that the NHS makes better decisions when it listens properly to the views of patients and the public, but unfortunately that has not been the case …”

“What is the plan if that investment is not available?”

“Thank you for your time today, Secretary of State. The chief executive of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation has said that the condition of the defence estate is, in his words, “shocking”, and that it will take at least £2 billion to bring it up to standard. Is it possible to improve the condition of that estate m…”

“You mentioned retaining those capabilities, the industry base and the staffing. Where does Typhoon fall into that? What are your thoughts on GCAP going forward?”

“You briefly mentioned GCAP earlier—the General mentioned it—and the Prime Minister has mentioned it recently, too. Can you confirm that we are fully committed to it and that funding will be available and released as it is needed?”

“You mentioned recruitment and retention, and that we are losing more than we are recruiting; what weight would you put on the conditions in accommodation contributing to that problem?”

“Thank you, Chair. Professor Chalmers, do you think it is a problem that we have annual spending limits on defence, given the particularly long timescales for some of the major procurements? Do you see that as a significant issue?”

“What changes could help, and are they politically realistic?”