NHS, Armed Forces and Civil Service Staff: Public Meetings

Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Lord Stirrup

Wednesday 2nd July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I think I need to reassure your Lordships’ House, but especially the noble Lord, that there is no guidance that would prohibit leaders within the Civil Service engaging with or talking to their staff in any fora. The only guidance that exists about what would need to be gridded at No. 10—the noble Lord will be very aware of the gridding process, given that he introduced it while he was Cabinet Secretary—covers anything that pertains to the media, nothing that pertains to engaging with your staff.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

Does the Minister agree that, while senior military officers, for example, are Crown servants, and it is not appropriate for them to dissent from or challenge government policy in public, nevertheless, if they are constrained to being little more than oral press releases, they will lose all credibility? Surely, it is in any Government’s interest that they be allowed to address publicly the professional challenges they face in an honest and open manner.

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

At that point, I should declare my status as an honorary captain in the Royal Navy, before I get myself in trouble. Obviously, I would always want to hear from the senior service and the First Sea Lord. I think it is really clear that there is no such restriction. This is about how we do the gridding process. As the noble and gallant Lord will be aware, the Chief of the General Staff made an on-the-record speech to the RUSI conference, which was broadcast live by Sky on 17 June, with an open Q&A. This is about making sure that there is a clear process for government communications, as opposed to restricting government speech.

Armed Forces Recruitment

Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Lord Stirrup

Wednesday 21st May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The noble Lord makes an important point; I will pass his views on to the Minister and report back.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, 2027 is a long way off. The problem is urgent now. I understand that, between now and the full implementation of the contract with Serco, there will be a period that has been referred to as a “mobilisation period”. Can the Minister tell the House what that will entail, as well as what will be done to improve the situation this year and next year, rather than waiting for 2027?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank the noble and gallant Lord for his service and for holding the Government to account on this. The new contract is an important and significant change in the recruitment process: a single recruitment service operating on behalf of the services and the reserves that will make sure we are recruiting where we need to. We need to make sure we get it right so that it does not lead to shortages. We are implementing some of the parts of the contract as quickly as we can. On turnaround times, noble Lords will be aware that one of the biggest challenges that the Army had with the Capita contract was access to medical records; it was taking weeks to get them. We are now utilising AI and that has sped up from weeks to hours, which is speeding up the process.