Ben Wallace assures Chris Clarkson of the importance placed on this issue and confirms that they are determined to deal with vexatious issues affecting service personnel. He states that measures will be introduced in the next 100 days.

Ben Wallace states that all current systems operate under GPS and resilience is being reviewed. He confirms representations to the Treasury will be made for any funding required, which would likely come from across Government or the Treasury.

Ben Wallace commends the importance of RAF Valley for pilot training and its contribution to economy and community. He expresses eagerness to continue investing in RAF Valley and invites discussions with Virginia Crosbie.

Ben Wallace acknowledges excellent EU engagements like in Kosovo but insists that unilateral entry and exit conditions must apply. He affirms the UK's commitment to European security.

Ben Wallace assures that the carrier strike group is crucial and always has one available. He confirms no plans to get rid of them.

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, and to the men and women of Blyth Valley who have contributed so much to this nation's defence. We are acutely aware that although we are now doing pretty well in recruitment, we have a challenge with retention, and for the first time a Secretary of State has come into role and started talking about how we can better look after our people. I am confident that with wraparound childcare, and all the other things we are doing, we will improve the offer and tackle retention, and that the men and women of Blyth Valley will continue to serve well in our armed forces.

There should be no waiting time whatsoever for medical records that are going from regular regiments to a local GP. We are looking at ways of improving the system, and incentivising, to ensure that the gap is much smaller. If the hon. Gentleman writes to me about his constituent, I will find out what is going on in that case and ensure it is sorted out.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with colleagues in DFID and across the Government to ensure that activity is co-ordinated and mutually reinforced in support of our national security objectives. The Government have announced that they will undertake the deepest review of Britain's security, defence and foreign policy since the end of the cold war, and that will cover all aspects from defence to diplomacy and development.

I stand by the statements I made. I apologise for the time taken to respond to the Committee. The reason is that the original draft reply did not reflect the policy commitment and does not reflect the result of the general election. I am determined that all my Department's replies to Committees are correct, accurate and answer the questions put to them. I hope that when my right hon. Friend reads the reply, he will be happy that it responds to some of the very good recommendations in his Committee's report.

Of course we will look at that issue again. It comes under the armed forces covenant: no individual should suffer disadvantage because of the time they served.

This Government are putting more money than ever before into armed forces accommodation. I am clear that some of the accommodation we ask our personnel to live in is nowhere near good enough. We have a new programme of inspections and we are determined to get a grip on the issue. I am confident that in the next 12 to 24 months, servicemen and women in this country will see a significant uplift in the standard of their accommodation.