Armed Forces Bill

My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendment 8. These amendments have been tabled in the name of my noble friend Lady Drake, who is sorry not to be here; she is involved in the work of a Select Committee this afternoon. We will all remember her particularly telling speech at Second Reading on the matters covered by these amendments. At the outset I should also like to pay tribute to my noble friends Lord Rosser and Lord Tunnicliffe on their Amendment 22, which underlines some of the objectives of these amendments. I will argue that the MoD has a legal duty of care to all service personnel. In the case of personnel aged below 18 years, additional legal and moral obligations arise due to the fact that they are minors and recognised as children in national law. The MoD has to ensure and demonstrate that it is meeting these specific obligations, including through the regular and transparent publication of relevant data for public and parliamentary review. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure such a review by requiring the Secretary of State, in preparing the Armed Forces covenant report, to include a report on the position of minors under the age of 18 with regard to their physical and mental welfare, education and employment. The need for constant vigilance regarding the welfare of minors in the Armed Forces is a particular priority given that they constitute a very high percentage of new recruits each year. In the financial year 2010-11, minors alone constituted 29.8 per cent of new Army recruits: some 2,400 individuals. Averaged across the three services, minors constituted 24.1 per cent of the intake in the same period. As far as I am aware, no other ministry or department directly employs such a significant proportion of minors, making the MoD’s duty of care obligations quite unique. The British Armed Forces offer new recruits of all ages a unique lifestyle and unique career opportunities. Many individuals thrive on the excitement, challenge and personal reward which this entails. At the same time, an Armed Forces career is extremely demanding, and the risk of serious physical harm and psychological pressure faced by service personnel both in training and on active service should never be underestimated. To ensure that the MoD is adequately discharging its duty of care, evidence is needed to demonstrate that recruiting minors does not place them at excessive, unnecessary or disproportionate risk of such harm as a result of their age and reduced maturity. These concerns arise in particular in relation to evidence that the youngest Armed Forces recruits are more susceptible to serious mental health problems than older colleagues. The MoD itself has published interesting research demonstrating that the suicide rate among soldiers aged 19 and below is 50 per cent higher than the rate among equivalent males in the general UK population. Conversely, older Armed Forces personnel have significantly lower suicide rates than their civilian peers. Analysis has also indicated a link between vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder and youth in soldiers. If it is the case that younger personnel are at risk of such difficulties, proper measures obviously need to be taken to redress the problem. The gathering and review of comprehensive data on this matter is an essential preliminary step. While recognising the potential opportunities offered, the recruitment of minors into the Armed Forces is nevertheless in stark contrast to the age limits imposed on other dangerous work, for example in the police, fire or ambulance services. The recruitment of minors is also the exception rather than the rule among armed forces internationally. Fewer than 60 countries still recruit minors, and fewer than 20 recruit 16 year-olds. To justify these exceptions and demonstrate that current policy reflects the best interests of the child—a key principle in national and international law—continual evidence-based review is surely required. One of the Government’s primary duties to young people is to ensure their education, both as a means of personal development and as an essential prerequisite for a life of gainful employment. The Armed Forces offer recruits a variety of training and educational opportunities. However, as the number of teenagers staying on in education to at least the age of 18 in the country as a whole increases each year, along with the quantity and quality of qualifications they gain, it is necessary to ensure that recruits who join the Armed Forces while still of school age are not placed at any long-term disadvantage. Sitting suspended for a Division in the House.