09 Jan 14. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2012–13. The Defence Committee will publish a report on Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2012–13 on Tuesday 14 January 2014 at 00.01 am (BST). Embargoed copies of the report will sent on Monday 13 January from 10 am.
06 Jan 14. NEW INQUIRY: THE ARMED FORCES COVENANT IN ACTION? PART 5: MILITARY CASUALTIES. The Defence Committee today announces a new inquiry into the support given to members of the Armed Forces, both regulars and reservists, wounded in the service of their country and to their families. In December 2011, the Committee reported on its first inquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant – Military Casualties. The Committee praised the first class medical treatment provided for the Armed Forces but questioned whether the support for injured personnel will be sustainable over the long term. In particular, the Committee was concerned about the number of people who may go on to develop severe and life-limiting, physical, mental health, alcohol or neurological problems. There is still a question mark over whether the Government as a whole fully understands the likely future demands and related costs. The Committee has followed the progress of work introduced by the MoD to address the recovery of personnel and has examined the approaches taken by the NHS and the Devolved Administrations to the support given to wounded, injured or sick Armed Forces personnel discharged from the Services. This inquiry will follow up the issues identified in the Committee Report’s into military casualties. The Committee is particularly interested in:
* The mental health care of Armed Forces personnel, in particular, following deployment on operations;
* Support for families of deployed personnel and of those bereaved or where a family member has been severely injured;
* The arrangements for the supported recovery of wounded, injured or sick personnel;
* Continuing long-term support for wounded, injured and sick personnel after discharge from the Armed Forces, including from the NHS and the Devolved Administrations; and
* The MoD’s relationship with the charitable sector and its role in supporting serving and discharged personnel.
Written submissions
The Committee would welcome written evidence to this inquiry. The deadline for submissions is Friday 21 February 2014. Written submissions for this inquiry should be submitted via the Military Casualties inquiry page on the Defence Committee website. As a guideline submissions should state clearly who the submission is from e.g. ‘Written evidence submitted by xxxx’ and be no longer than 3000 words, please contact the Committee staff if you wish to discuss this. Submissions must be a self-contained memorandum in Word or Rich Text Format (not PDFs). Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference and the document should, if possible, include an executive summary. Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee. Please bear in mind that Committees are not able to investigate individual cases. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence. The personal information you supply will be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 for the purposes of attributing the evidence you submit and contacting you as necessary in connection with its processing. The Clerk of the House of Commons is the data controller for the purposes of the Act.
07 Jan 14. TOWARDS THE NEXT DEFE