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Despite the continued real-terms increases, pressures on the defence budget are well documented. Additional spending on operations in Afghanistan has risen to
reflect the situation, from £700 million in 2006 to more than £3 billion this year, and that is on top of a defence budget of more than £35 billion a year. We are adjusting the core defence budget to reprioritise Afghanistan, and that means some tough choices: for example, we have cancelled some Territorial Army training that is not related to Afghanistan. Let me assure the House that no individual deploying to Afghanistan does so without the required training: no TA soldier will be deployed on operations unless the Army is satisfied that he is properly trained and properly prepared. Those deploying over the next year will of course continue to be paid for the training that they do, as well as for the deployment. That is what making Afghanistan the main effort means, and I make no apology-no apology at all-for moving resources in that direction. That means that pain has to be taken elsewhere, but Afghanistan, with 9,000 people in theatre, has to be the main effort. I have the agreement of the chiefs of staff that that should be so, and we are looking at the degree to which it means that we prioritise resources in the direction of Afghanistan, but, as I have said, I make no apology to the House for doing so.
Mr. Ellwood: I am grateful to the Secretary of State. I think that there are more things on which we agree than disagree and fully support the funding for our armed forces. We disagree about the role of the Department for International Development behind the armed forces, and that is the issue that frustrates people on the ground. I am informed of what goes on there: the company in which I served, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, has just come back, and that is where I get my information. The Secretary of State just said that spending for the armed forces is more than £3 billion, and that is brilliant; according to an answer I received to a parliamentary question about DFID spending, for that Department, spending is £127 million. DFID has £127 million for reconstruction; the armed forces have £3 billion. The two just do not go hand in hand. How can we possibly win over people's hearts and minds when we cannot take advantage of the umbrella of security that our armed forces work so hard to gain?
Mr. Ainsworth: The British development in Afghanistan amounts to £510 million over four years, and there is USAID on top of that. Building the Afghan Government's capacity and giving hope to the Afghan people is an important part of the process. I accept and understand that troops, who are fighting hard in very difficult circumstances, tend to look to others and want them to do the absolute maximum to capitalise on the situation that they have managed to achieve, but I ask the hon. Gentleman to look at the situation in Afghanistan. Our capability in Helmand province is pretty joined up, with a 2-star civilian working alongside the brigadier as a team, and alongside Governor Mangal, who has been an excellent governor. Our whole military effort is not a stand-alone military effort, but a comprehensive programme, looking at what gets done when, making sure that the military do not run away from others' ability to keep up, and trying to plan the effort in a co-ordinated way. Of course it is not perfect; it never will be, but I think that that effort has improved and improved substantially.
Mr. Nigel Dodds (Belfast, North) (DUP) rose-
Mr. Ainsworth: I shall give way to the hon. Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Dodds), to whom I have not given way yet, and then I shall give way to the others.
Mr. Dodds: I thank the Secretary of State for giving way so often. On the issue of the Territorial Army and the freeze on training, I should say that more than 1,000 members of the Territorial Army from Northern Ireland are on operational deployment, which is a very high proportion, and there is real concern about what will happen to preparation for Afghanistan over the next six months. Is he saying that anyone going to Afghanistan will be trained and paid? We need to have clarification about that, because there is great concern.
Mr. Ainsworth: I did the Territorials review, so I have become acquainted with a lot of people in the House who know an awful lot about the Territorial Army and have a close attachment to it. I know that doing anything with the Territorial Army, brings down a storm on yourself, but I have talked to the new Chief of the General Staff about the situation-
Mr. Ainsworth: "He is a regular and therefore cannot be trusted"?-I think that we have to guard against that! I have said to him that I know he is a regular, and I have got my eye on him, but he is running the Army and appears to be a pretty competent guy. I have to take some advice about his priority, and I agreed with him and the other chiefs some weeks ago that we had to make Afghanistan the main effort. It means that we cannot drop everything else, and no way should we, but there must be a degree of priority for Afghanistan. Everyone is agreed on that, and hard consequences flow from it.
Mr. Gray: No one would disagree with the Secretary of State about the main effort being centred on Afghanistan, but, to use an example of the situation that we face, I cite the Honourable Artillery Company, my regiment, which has 11 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan, has made regular contributions over the past eight years and, presumably, will wish to do so in the future. The company's commanding officer told the regiment last night that ordinary regular training has been effectively cancelled, and its recruits' corps training has, too, so there will be no training in the regiment. Six months from now, will the Honourable Artillery Company still be able to provide the support that it has given to our efforts in Afghanistan over the past eight years? I, for one, very much doubt that it will.
Mr. Ainsworth: I can only promise the House that, as we take these difficult decisions about prioritisation and the amount of resource that we shift, I shall be very mindful to ensure that we do the minimum damage elsewhere while making certain that we give the appropriate priority to Afghanistan. I know that among those taking the decisions there are regulars who many Members suspect of not having sufficient feeling for the contribution of the Territorials, so I shall bear that in mind as well.
Mr. Brazier: The Secretary of State has been generous in giving way, and he has taken a long-term interest in reserves, for which I am particularly grateful. However, I really do urge him to bear in mind that, however professional our regular forces are, they have a very long history of not understanding how the reserves work. To cancel all training for the next six months for everybody except the relatively small number of people who have immediate call-out papers for Afghanistan will devastate the Territorial Army and completely attenuate its ability to provide forces for the future.
Mr. Ainsworth: I hear what the hon. Gentleman says and know that he says it with conviction, but I can only repeat the assurance that I have: as we go forward and try to ensure that we properly prioritise our operations in Afghanistan to the degree that the nation would expect, we are also mindful of the issues that he has raised.
Dr. Andrew Murrison (Westbury) (Con): Does the Secretary of State understand that such hibernation of skills-of the sort that the Public Accounts Committee's report on support for high-intensity operations highlighted-may be accommodated in the regular forces, although the impact on our generic war-fighting capability would be severe enough, but cannot be accommodated in the reserve forces? Reserves will simply walk: training is what they do, and it holds them in. Does he not understand that this decision will be a huge blow to morale, and that reserve forces, on whom we depend so much, are likely simply to fade away?
Mr. Ainsworth: I understand the hon. Gentleman's point, but I believe that, within the priorities that we have had to make, that decision had to be taken. We carried out the reserves review, but I understand the importance of the offer-we are talking about volunteers, and we have to make sure that we maintain the commitment of volunteers, otherwise we will lose them. I fully understand that point.
Dr. Julian Lewis (New Forest, East) (Con): The information that I have, which I believe to be accurate, is that the reason for the cut in funding for the Territorial Army is that Regular Army recruitment has exceeded expectation and that funds have to be found somewhere in the land budget to pay for the training of that extra recruitment. Is that true? If it is not, why is the decision on the cut in TA funding being taken so late in the year?
Mr. Ainsworth: No one-neither my predecessor nor I-has tried, in the circumstances that we have faced, to discourage the recruitment opportunity that the Army has had. Yes, of course there are financial circumstances. Recruitment to the Regular Army has been so successful over a period of time. I do not think that Conservative Front Benchers would, on reflection, have taken another decision; if they had been in the position of my predecessor or me at various points of this year, I do not think that they would have said no. When the opportunity and need were there, recruitment was allowed to progress. That is the priority, and it is also the Chief of the General Staff's priority.
Mr. Arbuthnot:
By and large, there is cross-party agreement in the House about the priorities for what we devote to defence and about the priorities within defence. However, the Government have taken two profoundly wrong decisions. The first was to reduce spending on
research and technology. The second was to cut funding to the reserves. That is profoundly wrong, and it will have long-term consequences for the armed forces.
Mr. Ainsworth: As I have said, we have to try to be mindful of permanent damage to our reserves and of protecting our research and development. We cannot completely sell tomorrow to pay for today. However, today is the pressing need. Afghanistan has to be the main effort and I do not think that any Conservative Member genuinely disagrees with that in principle.
Mr. Swire: I pay tribute to the fantastic work being done by the medics at Camp Bastion, where our wounded are receiving first-class treatment. A lot of the medical staff there are reservists themselves. Is the Secretary of State absolutely certain that the effective freeze on TA training and recruitment will not endanger the services that we will be able to offer in future to our wounded at Camp Bastion?
Mr. Ainsworth: I am certain that those facilities will not be put at risk in any way, and I will continue to satisfy myself on that point. I know the huge contribution that reserves play in medical services. It varies with deployments, but generally speaking it involves a high proportion.
Mr. Angus MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP): I am informed that the Scottish battalions have to find £4 million of cuts over a two-week period. Does the Secretary of State not feel that we are spoiling the ship for a ha'porth of tar? Will not the soldiers and reservists walk out, so that they will not be there to call on in future?
Mr. Ainsworth: I do not think that they will. I hope that they do not and that the hon. Gentleman does not encourage them to do so. I do not think that he can credibly argue against the idea that Afghanistan should be the main effort.
Providing battle-winning kit to our front-line forces is vital, both for success on current operations and the delivery of longer-term military capability. I am publishing today a detailed and thought-provoking report by Bernard Gray on defence acquisition. I apologise again for the fact that my Opposition counterparts have had the report for only a short time; I would have wanted them to have had it for longer. The report, however, is now in the public domain. It has been published as people wanted it to be, and we can now use it to examine how we should go forward.
My predecessor and the MOD asked Mr. Gray for a thorough and frank review, and that is what he has delivered. I am very grateful to him for the time and effort that I know he has personally devoted to the task. The report acknowledges the commitment of our people, our long-standing commitment to reform and the progress that we have made. It has also put into perspective some of the very real difficulties that we-and, indeed, all countries-face in this area.
The simple fact is that providing the world-class equipment that our forces deserve involves significant technological and other challenges. The report points the way to dealing with those challenges, recognising that cost and time pressures on individual projects are, and will remain, a fact of life. We do not agree with everything in the report, but we do accept most of the
recommendations, particularly its two central themes. The first is that we need to bring the equipment programme into balance with the likely resources, and the second is that we need to improve its management and delivery. Today I have set before Parliament an eight-point plan, building on earlier reform, to improve performance radically. Implementation has already begun, and Lord Drayson is leading the work in the Department. We will publish an overarching strategy for acquisition reform in the new year. In going forward, we will work to adjust our equipment programme to bring it into balance with future requirements and resources through the current planning round and, in due course, the strategic defence review that I announced in the summer.
I turn to that review. In July, I set in train the process leading to a formal defence review after the election next year. All parties have agreed to the need for a new review. The strategic defence review of 1998 helped our armed forces to move beyond the legacy of the cold war and to configure for recent operations. The pace of change since 1998 has been considerable. We have built on the strategic defence review, not least with the new chapter in 2002, which helped to reflect the immediate implications of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Although some aspects of the strategic defence review endure, some have now been overtaken by events. Among others, the notion of "fast in, fast out" has had a much more limited application than was thought likely at the time. In the future, the need to maintain campaign continuity over long periods will have to be written into strategy, doctrine and organisation.
In a speech in September, I set out some of the Department's initial thinking about how global trends will develop, including the character of warfare in which the UK may find herself engaged. I hope that the Green Paper will stimulate a public debate about Britain's role in the world and the shape of the forces that we will need to fulfil our commitments. Going forward, our defence forces will have to balance competing requirements-the need to maintain credibility in the primary role as the ultimate guarantor of territorial integrity and the ability to engage abroad at differing levels of intensity, preventing and resolving conflicts in order to protect national security.
The national security strategy, updated this year, sets out the global nature of the threats that we face. In my view, UK security and national interests are underpinned by the ability to project power; the timely application of soft power and conflict prevention should remain a high priority. But when they fail, it is better to deal with threats at a distance; an expeditionary approach, as set out in the strategic defence review, remains valid. I believe that there is a general consensus in the House for such a forward defence posture.
Mr. Ian Davidson (Glasgow, South-West) (Lab/Co-op) rose-
Mr. Ainsworth: I shall give way to my hon. Friend, so that he can tell me how many aircraft carriers he thinks should be built.
Mr. Davidson: Would the Minister like to confirm that the two aircraft carriers that have been ordered will be proceeded with, and will he consider building me a third?
Mr. Ainsworth: That is an improvement, as the last time I spoke my hon. Friend wanted five-to span the Firth of Forth as a mobile bridge. I do not think he wanted them used for anything else other than to provide jobs on the Clyde, but he has now come down to three. Yes, it is our intention to continue with the two aircraft carriers, but not the third.
Mr. Brian Jenkins (Tamworth) (Lab): In the course of the defence review we shall take a lot of evidence about the demands on our forces, but will my right hon. Friend put as much emphasis on supply in the configuration of the armed forces to ensure that the outcome is that we have armed forces fit for the 21st century rather than the 19th?
Mr. Ainsworth: We will certainly try to draw these issues out in the Green Paper. I do not think that in any defence review we can concentrate solely on equipment issues. We have to consider the people issues and the sustainability of the force. The costs of the people need to be properly examined alongside the costs of the equipment. We need to do as rounded a job as we can in order to try to inform that strategic defence review, which, as I say, all parties are committed to. I hope that we can do that constructively. I am enormously pleased that the other two main parties have agreed to participate in the defence advisory forum-that gives strength to the process.
In terms of defence as a whole, the pace of change that we are facing means that we will need to learn the lessons of operations and effect change more quickly, from training to procurement, from operational tactics to overarching doctrine.
Our armed forces do a difficult job, often in difficult circumstances, but always with outstanding commitment, professionalism and bravery. I am sure that all those in the House will agree that we owe them our gratitude and our thanks, but more than that, we owe them the best support that we can give them, not just now but on an enduring basis.
Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. Before I call the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox), let me observe to the House that the opening speech has been one of great length, which is a consequence partly of the material that the Secretary of State wanted to put before the House, but also of the very large number of interventions from Back-Bench Members, and that will affect the available amount of time. In the 57th minute of his speech, the Secretary of State referred to the Gray report, which had been the subject of exchanges earlier on. Unless the reactions to that form part of the main material of the debate, I think that Mr. Speaker would bear in mind that if the House did not feel satisfied with the opportunities for exchanges on it, he might well be minded to allow further opportunities for it to be discussed.
1.32 pm
Dr. Liam Fox (Woodspring) (Con): Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am very aware from your previous record of how your gentle hints are firm instructions to the Front Bench.
Once again, let me echo the Secretary of State's comments about the sacrifices made in life and limb by our armed forces, particularly in Afghanistan. As a country, we are indeed fortunate that we have those in our society willing to volunteer to risk their own safety for our safety and security; and as a country, sometimes we would be wiser to count our blessings more often than we do.
Three events dominate today's defence debate. The first is Afghanistan, which we all agree must be the priority on which I imagine most hon. Members will want to focus. Secondly, there is the Gray report, which we should not be spending time on in this particular debate because hon. Members have not had a chance to read its 296 pages. In fairness to the Secretary of State, it is fairly well known in Whitehall that the MOD wanted to publish that report but No. 10 very much did not want to do so; anyone who has had a glance at it can quickly see why. We need a separate statement on that. Following its somewhat disastrous appearance in the public domain, I note that the Defence Board minutes of 9 July say that
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