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Officers' Children (Education)
5. Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much is being spent in the current year on private education and support of officers' children in the armed forces; and if he will break down this figure between male and female children. [30887]
Mr. Soames: The total cost to my Department of the boarding school allowance for the academic year 1994-95 was £107 million. Information concerning the breakdown of that by boys and girls is not recorded.
Mr. Simpson: I am sorry that the latter piece of information is not available, but it is good to see that the Government are not averse to all forms of public subsidy. How would the Minister justify that subsidy to schools in the east midlands, which can barely afford to cover their running costs and where at least one is having to seek commercial sponsors for its toilets and toilet rolls? Would not the subsidy policy make more sense if the Government shifted it from heavily pampered schools to those that are barely provided for?
Mr. Soames: That is an outrageous question. I hope that the services heard what the hon. Gentleman said. The boarding school allowance is not an education subsidy. It is a function to allow service personnel access to education. It is paid to assist service families in providing a stable education for their children in the face of an extremely turbulent and frequently mouvemente service life, which can lead to great difficulties for service families. The allowance is paid regardless of rank and it is an extremely important part of service life.
Mr. Bill Walker: Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the ways to recruit and retain capable people--the leaders of tomorrow--is to ensure that they know that their children will have a stable education that is paid for by their employer during the critical stage of their schooling? There is nothing odd about that, especially since we have asked them to go off to Bosnia at short notice.
Mr. Soames: I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who understands the importance of the scheme to the overall ethos of service life. It is extremely important that soldiers, sailors and airmen--of whom a great deal is asked--have the assurance that their families are being well cared for. That is something that we can do to help service families during what is frequently a turbulent period in their lives.
Mr. Murphy: Does the Minister accept that the Opposition agree with the boarding school allowance for those who are genuinely eligible, especially those men and women serving on UN peacekeeping missions abroad? Is he aware that many of us are deeply worried about the poor standards of some of the private schools in the scheme? Will he introduce a more thorough inspection system to exclude some pretty rotten schools?
Mr. Soames: In the light of what the hon. Member for Nottingham, South (Mr. Simpson) said, the hon.
Gentleman will not be surprised to hear that we accept no such proposition. We watch the intellectual gymnastics of the Labour party with admiration. Effectively, the hon. Gentleman is saying that everything Labour has said for 15 years has been wrong, and it has made a terrible mistake. We will not buy that, nor will the country.
Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith: In his supplementary question, the hon. Member for Nottingham, South (Mr. Simpson) referred to the people who benefit from the boarding school scheme as "pampered". Will my hon. Friend remind the House that those people serve this country and risk losing their lives?
Mr. Soames: I am happy to do so. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing out what the hon. Member for Nottingham, South said, which I thought was disgraceful. We owe much to our service men and women, who serve in serious and extremely dangerous conditions. They have every right to know that their families are well provided for, and the Conservative party will ensure that that remains the case.
Sri Lanka (Training)
6. Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has held recently with the Government of Sri Lanka regarding the provision of training to the Sri Lankan armed forces. [30888]
Mr. Soames: In March the then commander of the Sri Lankan army visited the United Kingdom to discuss a range of issues with the Chief of the General Staff and others. More recently a British Army officer has visited Sri Lanka to discuss training matters. Details of the discussions are confidential between Governments.
Mr. Gerrard: Is the Minister aware of the reports that Vietnam veterans from the United States are now in Colombo training the Sri Lankan army in guerrilla warfare? Will he confirm that British Army personnel will not get involved in such training? Instead, should we not say to both Sri Lanka and the US that a military solution to the Sri Lanka's problems is not possible and that they should be looking for a negotiated settlement?
Mr. Soames: I am happy to confirm that that is so. The United Kingdom has provided low-level training assistance, including developmental and technical courses for Sri Lanka. I endorse what the hon. Gentleman says about the prospects of peace. My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary continues to monitor the situation closely, and we all hope that a peaceful negotiated settlement can be arrived at shortly.
Mr. Ian Bruce: Does my hon. Friend appreciate that the negotiations started by the new President and Prime Minister in Sri Lanka were disrupted by bombs? Does he realise that the Sri Lankan army is in great need of the expertise that the British Army can provide in training officers to work against a guerrilla army? That would ensure that the civilian population could be properly protected in the Jafna peninsula. Will my hon. Friend look carefully at the recommendation from our embassy in Sri Lanka that we increase the military advice and aid that we give to Sri Lanka?
Mr. Soames: My hon. Friend will realise that I study all such applications with great care. There is immense demand for access to United Kingdom military training, both at home and abroad. Last year, 4,270 students from 117 different countries attended training courses in the United Kingdom. That illustrates the high regard in which our armed forces are rightly held throughout the world and the excellent reputation of our military training. I take note of what my hon. Friend said.
Rapid Deployment Force
7. Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the benefits of a joint rapid deployment force. [30889]
Mr. Portillo: The joint rapid deployment force will enhance our fighting capability by creating a force trained and equipped to respond effectively and speedily to future crises. The JRDF will be drawn from a range of assigned units from all three services, enabling the permanent joint headquarters to assemble a force appropriate to any particular operation.
Sir Dudley Smith: Does my right hon. Friend agree that there is a role for the Western European Union to play in that context, especially in the light of the combined joint task force agreement that was arrived at in Berlin by the NATO council only last week?
Mr. Portillo: I am not sure whether I have ever had the opportunity to pay tribute to my hon. Friend's work as president of the WEU assembly. He does a wonderful job, much to the credit of his country.
My ambition is that the joint rapid deployment force be a thoroughly flexible force that is available for national contingencies, for NATO and as part of a combined joint task force within NATO. Thanks to the agreement made in Berlin last week by NATO Foreign Ministers, it could naturally play a part in a combined joint task force under the political control of the WEU, should there be a Europe-only operation.
Mr. Hardy:
While I associate myself with the Secretary of State's comments about the work of the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Sir D. Smith) in the WEU, does he expect us to believe that, given the Government's enormous cuts in the manpower of Her Majesty's forces in the past few years, any rapid deployment force could be immediately viable or exist other than on paper?
Mr. Portillo:
Yes. It is going to exist. It is being brought together at the moment. It will be a highly effective force based on 3 Commando Brigade and 5 Airborne Brigade. It will have available all the support units that it may need. It will be carried forward in such a way that training between the various components will be a matter of routine. The hon. Gentleman should not be misled; this will not be a paper exercise but an important new capability for the British armed forces. He should direct his attention to his party's proposals to cut defence from where we are now by a further £4.5 billion.
Mr. Churchill:
May I, through my right hon. Friend, pay tribute to the superb job that British forces are doing
Mr. Portillo:
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his remarks. It has been a magnificent and highly successful operation. We are in danger of forgetting how complex it has been, how much planning was necessary, how successful was the logistical support, how much risk there was and how well it has been done. I believe that our forces have had at all times the appropriate medical back-up, but I agree that, when one is engaged in an operation of such size, it is sensible to take stock of the lessons that can be learned. I am keen to make sure that we learn the lessons for the medical and other fields. I undertake to consider that carefully.
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