I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Sir Robert Smith) and for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh).
I make no apology for returning to this hugely important issue, particularly in light of the MOD’s recent survey of servicemen and women, which found that up to 59 per cent. of Army personnel are now more likely to leave because of the level of operational commitments and overstretch. Although the steps the Government have already announced are to be welcomed, can the Minister tell the House a little more about what they will do specifically to tackle the twin problems of overstretch and frequency of tours?
As I said in the earlier exchanges, by managing our forces as well as possible given the present calls on them, we have reduced—or improved—the harmony gap in the Army and the other services. In terms of morale, retention and recruitment, the measures in the Command Paper will be significant. For example, if young people look not only at the educational opportunities they will have while in service but at the fact that if they give six years of service to the armed forces we will pay for their qualifications at A-level, or if they are already there, at foundation degree or degree course level, they will see that it is a considerable offer. When it is combined with the retention bonuses and the commitment bonuses paid across the forces—eight years’ service brings a £15,000 commitment bonus—I think we shall be able to continue to recruit good-quality people to our armed forces in the years to come.
I know that we have always recruited soldiers and sailors from the Commonwealth, but we are relying on those countries increasingly. Is there an upper limit on the number of people whom we take from Commonwealth countries?
There has been an increase in soldiers from foreign and Commonwealth countries in recent years, as my hon. Friend knows, but to say that we are totally reliant on them is wrong. We have traditionally recruited from many parts of the world, including parts of Africa and Fiji, and there are the Gurkha regiments, too. We are talking about long and historic connections with our armed forces, and I do not think that anybody thinks that we ought to pull back from them.