Speeches by Cox.

“We could think of this exchange as Cox v. Cox. The right hon. and learned Gentleman mentions legal history. I have more than a passing interest in that and am minded to think of the Summary Jurisdiction Act 1879, which moved a lot of cases from a jury system into the magistrates system. The architect of that was Disrae…”

“I very much respect what my hon. Friend is saying, but the right to elect is not an ancient right; it was introduced in 1855 and escaped reforms in the 1970s. It is therefore a relatively recent addition to the judicial armoury.”

“Will he give way?”

“The Opposition have chosen to misrepresent this Bill. That is their choice, but it does the delivery of justice in this country no favours. That misrepresentation has centred on one of the Bill’s many provisions—the proposed changes to mode of trial—but this Bill does not abolish jury trials. It moves some cases to the…”

“Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?”

“Thank you for sharing some pretty damning evidence, along with the previous panel, about the state of military housing in the UK. That evidence has been reinforced by members of the Committee who have lived in that housing. Given the scale of the challenge and the ambition of the Bill, is there anything that you would …”

“I am a member of the Justice Committee, so this is of interest to me. The cross-cutting nature of the Bill is intended to encourage the MOD to work with other Departments, for example with the MOJ and the Home Office on crime and justice. The victims code has existed for some time nationally. I would be interested to k…”

“I agree; it is one of the challenges of our age.”

“Could you talk us through the post-PFI models and what you are looking at with your colleagues in the City?”

“My second question, which is for the whole panel, is about identifying and tracking reservists. What progress has been made on that to date, noting the SDR’s ambition to bring in a digitalised management system? Does the success of the Bill depend on that?”

“Vince, what is your assessment of the opt-in and opt-out options under the new arrangement? We have heard some discussion of it, but could you perhaps give us an academic overview from your research?”

“Can you describe how similar duties such as, for example, the public sector equality duty are already factored into decision making at the moment, and how that might be a model for what we will see going forward?”

“Can I push a bit more on that? You said that these cases are complex. What makes them specifically complex, and what is the DWP currently doing to deal with that?”

“Thank you for joining us this morning. What practical difference will the extended Covenant legal duty make to your Departments? I will ask Nick first, because yesterday we had a panel where the DWP was raised many times by our witnesses. How might the DWP change its practice as a result of the Covenant?”

“The Covenant is a cross-cutting strategy, and it is extended in that way. Similarly, the VAWG strategy, which came in just before Christmas, is trying to do the same thing. Are you already learning any lessons from trying to implement the VAWG strategy across Departments that can be carried across to this area?”

“My final question is about arm’s length bodies. Which ones that you currently collaborate with do you think will be most affected by the extended Covenant?”

“It would be helpful to the Committee, and certainly to me as a member, if we had a better understanding of the inconsistencies between the groups that you represent. The bigger question is how you think the Covenant will work to eliminate or eradicate inconsistencies, as far as is possible.”

“We have been talking about consistencies and inconsistencies. You have half-answered this already, but do you three meet regularly and swap tales of consistencies and inconsistencies? Are they logged somewhere in a handy table that the Committee might look at?”

“Many of our serving personnel and their families come from overseas, from outside the UK, and make a fantastic contribution. How do you think the extended Covenant will improve their experience of service life, veteran life and family life?”

“If we have a moment, Chair.”