I give the Minister a categorical assurance that I will mention it. My concern is whether the Secretary of State will even consider those issues. As the Bill stands, he does not have to; he need only look at education, health and housing, and that is not good enough.
I should have liked to explore further with the Minister why education, health care and housing had been chosen at the expense of the many other issues that have been of great concern over the past 12 months. However, he declined to give evidence on his Bill.
I am also concerned that there is nothing in clause 2 that applies to Scottish or Welsh veterans. At the very least, the Bill should be amended to send a clear signal about the UK-wide responsibilities of the Secretary of State. If the family of a Scottish service person live off-base in local authority housing, their housing requirements are devolved. We have been advised that the Secretary of State will update the House even when those matters are devolved. It seems odd that such a thing could happen, because the Secretary of State is not responsible for the delivery of devolved services, nor is he or she accountable, and thus could not answer questions on the matter.
Armed Forces Bill
Proceeding contribution from
Gemma Doyle
(Labour)
in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 14 June 2011.
It occurred during Debate on bills
and
Committee of the Whole House (HC) on Armed Forces Bill.
About this proceeding contribution
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529 c695 Session
2010-12Chamber / Committee
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