Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Women in the Armed Forces

Monday 21 February 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Margaret Ferrier inquired about recent assessments of women's experiences in the armed forces and steps taken to address recommendations from the Defence Committee's report.
  • The Secretary of State addressed concerns about women losing military accommodation when reporting domestic violence and offered to meet to discuss specific cases.
  • Richard Graham praised the work of defence attach Bea Walcot and asked about the potential for women in diplomatic and procurement roles within the armed forces.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Margaret Ferrier SNP
Defence Women & Equalities
Context

The Defence Committee's report on women in the armed forces made several recommendations.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the experience of women employed in the armed forces? The Defence Committee's report on women in the armed forces made several important recommendations. What steps have been taken to address these?

Answer from Ben Wallace

Women are an integral part of our armed forces with thriving careers. The Ministry of Defence's service women's network has adopted almost all the recommendations from the Defence Committee's report and in many cases has taken them further.

Answered
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Q2 Margaret Ferrier SNP
Women & Equalities Veterans
Context

Women serving alongside their husbands or partners have lost out on military accommodation and promotions after reporting incidents of domestic violence.

Question

Women serving in the forces alongside their husband or partner have lost out on their military accommodation when they report incidents of domestic violence, because the Army has prioritised the needs of the male soldier. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that victims are not further victimised by armed forces processes?

Answer from Ben Wallace

I am saddened to hear what the hon. Lady says. I would be delighted to meet her to discuss it; if she brings along the detail of the examples, I will be very happy to sort this. No one should be disadvantaged for making a service complaint or indeed a criminal complaint.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific steps being taken are not clearly outlined.

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Q3 Richard Graham Con
Defence Women & Equalities
Context

Recognition of the appointment and work of Bea Walcot, a female defence attaché.

Question

May I pay tribute to the appointment and work of our defence attaché in Vietnam, Bea Walcot? Does the Secretary of State agree that there is huge potential for women in such roles, which combine diplomacy and procurement as well as armed forces expertise?

Answer from Ben Wallace

Some of our best ambassadors are women, and I hope that soon even more of our best defence attachés will be women. Defence engagement is an extremely important part of defence, with better infrastructure, training, and support committed to the network through the defence Command Paper.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific commitment or steps towards increasing the number of female defence attachés are not clearly provided.

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