On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees. On title page: Returns to orders of the House of Commons dated 14 May 2013 (the Chairman of Ways and Means)

Government response to HC 586, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215061232)

A series of Ofsted inspections on Army Apprenticeships conducted in 2013 rated the overall effectiveness as good. This was an improvement over the last inspection in 2009, rated as satisfactory (now called 'requires improvement'). Some 28 per cent of Army recruits were less than 18 years of age. Further information is needed on why the Army is so dependent on recruiting personnel under the age of 18 years compared to the other two Services, and whether steps are being taken to reduce this dependency. Of those recruited in 2012, 3.5 per cent of the Army were rated at entry level 2 for literacy (that of a 7 to 8 year old) and 39 per cent had a literacy level of an eleven year old. If as the MoD states, it has to recruit personnel at whatever level of attainment is available, then it should boost remedial action when recruitment entry standards are particularly low. In light of changes brought about by Future Force 2020, it may be that recruiting personnel with higher levels of attainment would better meet the future needs of the Armed Forces. Whilst the Committee recognises that some recruits may not be eager to take further academic exams, the MoD should encourage more recruits to undertake English and Maths GCSEs which would stand them in good stead for future employment. The MoD has carried out some useful pilot projects with paramedic training and should identify more potential projects to ensure that vital skills paid for by the MoD are not lost to the country

The Armed Forces Covenant - the commitment made by the Government to those who serve and their families, says that Service children should have the same standard of and access to education as other children in the UK. The nature of Service life means that families are required to be mobile if they are to accompany the Service parent. This mobility has major impact on the continuity of children's education; in particular, parents can find it difficult to get their children into the schools of their choice. The Committee is disappointed that little progress has been made on meeting the needs of Service children with Special Educational Needs by ensuring that their assessments and statements are recognised by all local authorities and devolved administrations. There has also been limited progress on the development of a transition document for all Service children to address some of the difficulties caused by frequent changes of schools. The Government needs to address these problems urgently, before large scale moves of Service personnel as forces withdraw from Germany, and as re-basing plans take effect.

UK military personnel as individuals are properly subject to UK and international law wherever they serve and there are processes to ensure scrutiny of their individual behaviour and legal compliance but, in the last ten years, legal judgments in the UK and elsewhere against the MoD have raised a number of legal, ethical and practical questions for the Armed Forces and their conduct of operations. The growing number of such challenges is leading to a feeling of disquiet amongst military personnel and informed commentators about the extent and scale of judicial involvement in military matters.There are two aspects of the use of human rights law in military operations that most concern the Committee: The extraterritorial application of the European Convention on Human Rights has allowed claims in the UK courts from foreign nationals. However, the requirement for full and detailed investigations of every death resulting from an armed conflict is putting a significant burden on the MoD and the Armed Forces. Secondly, there has been a failure of the accepted principle of combat immunity, most recently evidenced in the Supreme Court majority judgment in June 2013 allowing families and military personnel to bring negligence cases against the MoD for injury or death. This seems to us to risk the judicialisation of war and to be incompatible with the accepted contract entered into by Service personnel and the nature of soldiering.

When servicewomen and men leave the armed forces, their care transfers to the statutory and third sector where the quality and provision of services can vary enormously. This edited book, encompassing a range of perspectives, from service user to professional, provides a comprehensive overview of services available. Each chapter, in turn, examines the policy underpinnings of systems and services covering the psychological health and social care of military veterans and then focuses on the needs of a discrete number of types of military veterans including early service leavers, veterans in the criminal justice system, older veterans and reservists, together with the needs of the children of veterans’ families. This is the first UK book to examine the whole spectrum of contemporary approaches to the psychological health and social care of military veterans both in the United Kingdom and overseas. The book is edited by Professor Jamie Hacker Hughes, a former head of healthcare psychology within the UK Ministry of Defence and all contributors are experts in policy, service provision and academic research in this area. It will be of special interest to those designing and planning, commissioning, managing and delivering mental health and social care to military veterans and their families