Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Andrew Murrison

Monday 25th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

T3. An Army non-serving partner says of her children’s mental health treatment: “When you move, they close the case, and then you have to go all the way back through the system, which takes forever. By the time you get in, you are moving again.”Can my right hon. Friend please give the House an update on recommendations 74, 75 and 76 of the “Living in our Shoes” report, which deal with this issue?

[The Minister for Defence People and Families (Dr Andrew Murrison)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and, as ever, pay tribute to him for the work he has done in this area. It is the case that when people move around the country, they are disadvantaged. We recognise that, which is why integrated care boards are now running a pilot scheme on how we can get around people losing their places on waiting lists when they travel around the country. Obviously, the issue involves other Government Departments too. Nevertheless, we have a responsibility, which we discharge in a number of ways. For example, HeadFIT is being adapted and adopted at the moment to ensure that our veterans and service families are able to access much of its content.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Andrew Murrison

Monday 11th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

T7. Dealing with the challenges that armed forces families face is vital for strong defence. I made a promise to many of the families I was privileged to meet during the “Living in our shoes” review that the recommendations would not gather dust. How can I find out where we are on recommendations 36, 48, 68 and 96, for example?

[Dr Murrison]

My hon. Friend will forgive me if I do not know off the top of my head what those recommendations relate to. I can say to him that Defence is very fortunate in having him and his colleagues as co-authors of the report on the armed forces family strategy steering group, acting as critical friends and holding Defence to account against the strategy action plan. I would be more than happy to meet him to go through those recommendations one by one.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Andrew Murrison

Monday 7th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

12. What steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the “Living in our Shoes” report.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Andrew Murrison)]

May I first pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his excellent, comprehensive report? Families are an integral part of the armed forces community, and our evolving assistance to them includes funding wraparound childcare, supporting children’s education and the employment of partners as societal expectations evolve and change. The armed forces families strategy, published in January, sets out the Government’s response to “Living in our Shoes” and sets the framework for the delivery of more sympathetic policies in relation to armed forces families that are fit for the future.

[Andrew Selous]

Will the Government make public each of the six monthly service family steering group meetings and the progress that has been made on each of the 106 accepted recommendations, and ensure that we have parity of esteem in the way that we look after both veterans and service families—a wonderful group of people on whom the defence of the nation depends?

[Dr Murrison]

I am very sympathetic to my hon. Friend. We owe so much to our families and he highlights that very well in his report. Of course we meet service families all the time and I am more than happy to meet him at any time to update him on what we intend to do as a result of his report and indeed the veterans strategy, published earlier this year, which covered many service families and members of the service community.