Mr. Alan Lee Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to publish the Report of the Committee on Army Welfare which sat under the Chairmanship of Professor J. C. Spencer, Professor of Social Administration at Edinburgh University; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownThe report is being published today and I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library. I should like to take this opportunity of thanking Professor Spencer and his committee for their very comprehensive study of the Army's welfare problems. Their report makes an invaluable contribution to our knowledge in this important area.
I have carefully studied the proposals and accept that the existing system of welfare support for Army personnel and their families can be improved. Some of the recommendations made have already been implemented, or are in hand, and those which have implications for all three Services are being studied further.
After very full consideration I have, however, decided not to adopt the committee's main recommendation for an Army Social Work Service. Leaving aside the fact that pressures on the defence budget preclude the expenditure involved, I am satisfied that such an organisation would not best meet the Army's needs.
We are, however, examining two alternatives considered by the committee. We are considering with the Sailors', Soldiers' and Airmen's Families Association the possibility of expanding its activities to take on a number of the tasks envisaged by the committee for an Army Social Work Service. We also believe there to be scope for improved links with local 78W authority social services, and a pilot scheme lasting a year, and involving the WRVS, is planned in order to look into this. It could be that, ultimately, the Army's needs will be met by an amalgam of these two alternatives.