From Leigh to You

The Public Accounts Committee that I chair publishes around sixty reports each year. Some hit the headlines and others have a more limited appeal to the general media though they are often reported in detail in specialist magazines. This week’s was very much in the Premier League as reports go and I was inundated with requests for interviews.

Understandably so since it concerned the equipment and support given to our Forces in Afghanistan.

The Committee found that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has had some successes in providing support notably, the delivery of life-saving medical treatment at the front line, but in other areas the process is creaking.

New equipment has mostly performed well but the serious downside is that problems with reliability have sometimes emerged only after the kit has actually been deployed.

The process of getting equipment and supplies out to our forces is undeniably a demanding one but the fact that the MOD continues to fail to meet its own supply chain targets is of concern. The Department must improve its logistic information systems so that it always knows where stocks are and can fully track through the supply chain their movement to our troops.

Iraq and Afghanistan have presented considerable operational challenges for the MOD. Long distances between both countries and the UK, as well as the lack of direct maritime access to Afghanistan, complicate the transporting of personnel and equipment. In addition, undertaking operations in these countries means coping with difficult environmental conditions - harsh and varied terrain, extreme temperatures and dust. In Afghanistan, the pace and intensity of operations continues to be high against a determined enemy threat. The support the Department provides to forces deployed on operations is crucial in enabling military capability.

The provision of medical support, including life-saving treatment at the front line, has been a success. This is reflected in the increasing number of survivors following severe battlefield injuries.

The provision of pre-deployment training is responsive to changing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and theatre commanders are confident of its quality. But pre-deployment training is constrained by a number of factors, particularly the shortage of equipment to train with and delays in replicating Middle Eastern environments. The proportion of soldiers who are not training with their units before deploying is increasing, passing risk on to theatre commanders.

The majority of equipment procured has performed well in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

There have, however, been shortages of spare parts. Parts for the Merlin and Apache helicopters are in short supply, and cannibalisation of helicopters to support the fleets deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan has contributed to an 11% shortfall in helicopters available for training and to support contingent operations.

The Department has not met its supply chain targets for the delivery of stock to Iraq and Afghanistan. Since July 2007 only 57% of demands made in Afghanistan and 71%made in Iraq met the supply chain targets. Measures to improve this performance, including action to increase the proportion of routine stocks that are delivered by surface transport. Despite progress, the Department's logistic information remains inadequate.

I opposed the deployment to both Afghanistan and Iraq but the Government having taken that decision must improve on the present situation.

From Leigh to You

The Party Conference season has come and gone and for many of you it will have given an opportunity to assess the state of the parties in these last few months before the General Election.

Without wanting to be too political all I would say is that my own Conservative Party showed themselves well aware of the magnitude of the financial mountain to be climbed and set out a clear path towards restoring our financial health.

It was a message that, to some extent, we don’t wish to hear but I am a firm believer that the public must be made aware of how serious a position we are in. The current deficit is projected to be between £175 and £200 billion next year. This is totally unsustainable.

Unless you have hours of spare time and the inclination to watch the BBC Parliament channel all you will see of the Conference will be glimpses of the main speaker winding up each session. But to get a real feel for the mood of the Party and the debates that quite rightly go on within any party you need to be there in the bars, restaurants and most of all in the fringe meetings.

The Fringe provides an opportunity for pressure groups, think tanks and the media to arrange debates and ‘Question Time’ style events. Some feature the front bench spokesmen, others outside speakers and backbenchers pushing their particular concerns. All in all it’s a rich mix.

The Cornerstone Group of MPs, of which I am the co-chairman, held a meeting that was addressed by the Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt. Rev’d. James Jones.

It’s always refreshing to hear an address that links politics and morality. Without a moral foundation our politics is much the poorer.

The Fringe includes meetings that are aimed at highlighting some of the many problems governments must grapple with. There are disability groups, animal welfare organisations, trade associations and so many more.

But now parliament has returned and it’s back to the serious business of holding the Government to account.

As ever I’m keen to hear your views, please email me at leighe@parliament.uk or writer to the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA