§ Dr. MurrisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision has been made for armed forces personnel on active service abroad this Christmas. [R] [25353]
§ Mr. IngramThe majority of service personnel on operational deployments overseas this Christmas were in receipt of the standard operational welfare package (OWP), which includes 20 minutes of publicly funded telephone calls per week, free forces aerogrammes, concessionary mail and parcel rates, access to the internet and e-mail, newspapers and book packs, BFBS TV and radio, televisions, video recorders and video tapes, Expeditionary Forces Institute shops and publicly funded laundry.
In addition all personnel deployed over the Christmas week and in receipt of the OWP were granted an additional 20 minutes of publicly funded telephone time. Tesco donated Christmas parcels for all deployed personnel, Clinton Cards provided free Christmas cards 61W for service personnel to send to their families and friends and most locations received an additional distribution of paperback books.