Kirith Entwistle

My hon. Friend raises an important point. Our cadets provide a good opportunity for our young people, and they should be supported and backed as much as possible. I am proud to have attended Monday’s flag-raising ceremony in Victoria Square, in my constituency of Bolton North East. I was proud to see the strong showing of support for our armed forces at that ceremony, where the armed forces flag was raised above Bolton town hall. It will fly there proudly until the end of Armed Forces Day on Saturday. The ceremony was an opportunity to reflect on those who have served and those who are currently serving, especially those deployed overseas and in active service. I was glad to join in celebrations with Jerry Mistry, president of the Royal Artillery Association’s Bolton branch, and also members of the Royal Artillery, such as Gunner Paul Brindle. There are nearly 3,000 veterans in Bolton North East, and Bolton is also home to the 216th Battery of the 103rd Regiment of the Royal Artillery, which is the most northerly sub-unit of the 103rd Regiment, with lineage dating back to 1889. I am deeply proud of our local military history, but on Monday I also heard concerns from members of the 216th Battery about a lack of funding, particularly around general training, meaning that there is not enough money to progress training levels. I sincerely hope that the Government will look at ways to provide more support on that. I am also a former employee of the Royal British Legion, and as someone with experience campaigning to improve the lives of our armed forces, I strongly welcome this Government’s commitment to renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve and those who have served. Having worked on raising awareness about the armed forces covenant, I am pleased that this Labour Government recognise its importance in supporting our armed forces communities and that we have committed to enacting it in law. However, what plans do the Minister and his Department have in place to ensure that sufficient funding and budget is in place to implement an extension of the armed forces covenant duty? How do the Government intend to work with different layers of local government and our regional mayors? As a parent, I welcome plans to expand wraparound childcare to support families deployed overseas, and I was pleased to hear that they will now receive 20 hours a week of funded childcare, saving families around £3,400 a year. I strongly commend the Minister and this Government on broadening support to our armed forces families, because I have experienced at first hand how much they struggle and the unique challenges they face.