Last week, I was invited to give a talk at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. This is part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom and offers senior military officers and civil servants – as well as overseas attendees – instruction in defence and international security matters.
Included in the course are six six-day tours of different regions of Britain, including the West Midlands. That’s why I was there: to give the 14 senior military and defence-sector personnel on the current course an introduction to our area, its people, and some of the challenges we face.
After my short talk there was a highly engaging Q&A, and we certainly covered a lot of ground – I talked particularly about the challenges and opportunities offered to the West Midlands’ major exporters, such as Jaguar Land Rover, by our departure from the European Union. It’s always refreshing to get some new perspectives on issues I have been dealing with since I was elected, not to mention introduce new people to Solihull.
Ever since being first elected as your MP, I have made a point of standing up for the Armed Forces. The men and women who put their lives on the line to keep us safe deserve all the support we can give them, and I’m proud to serve in a Government which has enshrined the key principles of the Military Covenant in law. I’m also proud to have taken a lead in the campaign against ‘tank chasers’ – so-called ‘human rights lawyers’ who harass our troops in pursuit of an easy payday.
That’s why I was delighted to hear the latest announcement from the Department for Education: ex-servicemen and women will now be eligible for bursaries to retrain as teachers upon their leaving the Armed Forces. If they have the right A Levels in subjects where we are short of teachers, the Government will help them get their teaching degree.
Not only will this policy help to bring more much-needed teachers into subjects such as biology, chemistry, computing, maths, and modern languages, but it may help to inject some extra discipline into the classroom too – not to mention providing former soldiers, sailors, and airmen with a new post-military career option, and yet another way to give back.
Originally published in the Solihull News, 19/03/18.