§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is regarding monitoring the cycle of tours while on peacekeeping duties and its effect on families and retention. [150659]
§ Mr. SpellarWe recognise that the welfare of service personnel and their families is vital for retention and, therefore, for operational effectiveness. The tour cycle is just one aspect of service life that bears on retention, and we already collect data on this and a range of other relevant factors. This includes continuous attitude surveys of the views of service personnel and their spouses, as well as those seeking premature voluntary retirement, to understand the factors that affect retention. However, we are concerned to ensure that monitoring arrangements are adequate and a number of changes are either in hand or under consideration to improve our capability to monitor individual separation.